How often should we receive the Holy Communion? What are the sins that serve as a deterrent to the Holy Communion? When can one receive the Holy Communion? What is the Holy Communion?
According to the New Testament, as well as the Sacrament that Jesus Christ Himself passed on to us at the Last Supper, the Holy Communion is His Body and Blood.
It is not just a symbol or bread and wine, it is the Body and Blood of Christ. One who receives the Holy Communion communicates with God.
After the Fall of Adam and Eve, communication between God and human being was lost. Communication with God begins immediately after the Last Supper, when Christ said, “Take and eat; this is my body,” holding the holy bread. Then, taking the cup with the wine, he said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood,” which He spilt for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of the world, as we read in the Gospel of Matthew.
Therefore, one who partakes the Body and Blood of Christ opens the channel of communion/communication with God. The human body is united with the Deity, with the Body and Blood of Christ. We become united in body and blood with Christ, and a new chapter opens in our lives with the Mystery of Holy Communion.
Just as one needs food to live to keep this person alive, so the human soul needs the Body and Blood of the Lord so that one does not die spiritually or live in the death of the devil. One lives seemingly, humanly, earthly. But when one participates and unites with the Deity through the Mystery of Holy Communion, then this person lives differently. One lives truly, heavenly, but also eternal.
Who can receive the Holy Communion? One who does not have the “obstruction”, that is, the sins that prevent this person from Holy Communion. One who does not have these “obstruction” can receive the Holy Communion provided that one has first confessed and the confessor/spiritual father has allowed this person to do so. Along with the fasting on the days set by our Church and the confession to the confessor, one can commune often. When one does not receive the Holy Communion often, the human soul withers, just as when we have a plant in a pot and we do not water it often.
When a person can receive the Holy Communion after the permission of the confessor/spiritual father, then he can commune every time one is in the church after the priest’s words: “In the fear of God, with faith and love draw near.” We have to be ready every time. This, after all, is the purpose of the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is not just a prayer that we participate in on Sunday or some other feast day. The Divine Liturgy is not carried out only for the prayer. The Divine Liturgy is performed for an essential reason, that is, for the faithful to receive the Holy Communion. To come into communion/communication with God.
Source: Metropolis of Zambia