Queuing to receive the Holy Communion? Try contemplative silence while on it

By Charles Muchiri

Receiving the Holy Eucharist

In order to drive my point home, I wish to invite you to internalize this hypothesis: Imagine you have won one of the most prestigious honorary award in your Country, and the person who is bound to bestow this honour on you is non other than the very president of your country!

And so, on the material day, you have to make sure that you are dressed well for the occasion, and of course that you are very much in time, not to miss anything crucial on such a big occasion in your life.

The venue: The State House, the White House, the Buckingham Palace or whatever name it is that you call your head of state’s official residence.

Finally you are there. And as it is, you aren’t alone; you are together with a couple of other persons who have been fastidiously selected to be honoured on this occasion.

Of course there are lots of merriments on such a lively day: And when it is your turn to walk up, to the head of state for the knighting, for the state commendation, even if the audience around you were singing, ululating, applauding every step that you take towards the biggest thing to ever occur to you, you’d certainly be very sober, perhaps silently contemplating, in a calm disposition, in tune with every sound of your steps, as you make your way to the head of state.

Similarly, my brothers and sisters; when we make our way to commune with Christ in the Holy Eucharist, when we walk towards the altar, when we approach the administrator of the Holy Eucharist; and we queue for the Holy Communion, we should always take in mind, that we are not even approaching a throne of some earthly king or head of state; but that we are approaching the Christ; who is the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords!

Perhaps, this is one of the best times that you can silently offer your prayers, your petitions to Christ.

So, the next time that you are queuing, awaiting to receive the Holy Communion, try not to be tempted by that favourite Communion Hymn.

Try not to be distracted by that familiar glances; just be yourself, in tune with yourself, contemplating, gathering together all the right dispositions: Give Christ your full concentration; your unassuming nature; your total abandonment to Him that loves you so much to the point of giving you a gift of His total Self!

/E-mail this writer: muchirimuchoki@yahoo.com/