God Wishes That We Receive Communion Often

In his 2018 Apostolic Exhortation on the call to holiness, "Gaudete et Exsultate", Pope Francis explained that to maintain the strength to resist the temptations of the devil, we must regularly receive the Holy Eucharist, which is Christ's body, blood, soul and divinity. In the same way that food nourishes our physical body, the Eucharist nourishes our spiritual body, the soul. What would we expect if a person ate a meal once a week or once a month? The same applies to receiving the Holy Eucharist. We should receive Communion often in order to have abundant spiritual life, while being mindful that we must be in a state of grace to receive our Lord and so must receive the sacrament of Confession, as needed.

Many Christians however, though baptized, no longer receive the sacraments. They no longer attend Sunday Mass and no longer receive Holy Communion. The following is an excerpt from Appendix 4 of "Le Bonheur de Vieillir", by Quebec spiritual writer, Leandre Lachance (fcdj.org):

"I have often heard people tell me that they used to go to Church but that after hearing a priest say or do something, they have decided to stay away from the Church and, in so doing, from God."

Have you noticed that we do not react in the same way to other situations we encounter?

For example, if a hydro employee came to my house and was rude, provided subpar service and even wore his boots in my living room, would it make sense to conclude: "I will no longer have anything to do with hydro; they can shut the power off!"

In this situation, we can make a distinction between the benefits of electricity and the behavior of one of the representatives of the power supplier. Can we not respond with the same clarity when considering a close relationship to God, His Church, and its representatives?

Nothing justifies punishing our souls and depriving ourselves of intimacy with God. Why punish ourselves by severing ties with God, our Creator? Why deprive ourselves of His merciful love that gives us a life of true happiness in the here and now, and for all eternity?