Besides being in the state of grace, we must adequately prepare ourselves for the reception of Holy Communion. To do this, we should make long term and short term preparations. The long term preparation is to rid one’s life of sin and imperfections, and the short term preparation is exciting fervor in your soul immediately before receiving our Lord. The more we are able to rid ourselves of our imperfections, the more we will be able to be united to Jesus. Let us reflect first on the long term preparation.

“This, then, will be the best preparation for my Communion: to rid myself of everything in my life, no matter how trivial it may be, that might be in disagreement with the divine will, with the sentiments and dispositions of the heart of Jesus” (Divine Intimacy, p. 601). 

“The more perfect the dispositions with which I approach the Holy Table, the more complete this union and transformation will be. These dispositions consist in preparing my heart for an ever greater union with the Lord, a union which requires conformity of aspirations, tastes, sentiments, and wills. How can I enjoy the visit of a friend and spend moments of sweet intimacy with him, moments of real union, if differences of desires, affections, and will separate us?” (Divine Intimacy, p. 601)

“The best preparation is, of course, a good life: and a sincere sense of one’s need of God will lead to the proper disposition” (This Tremendous Lover, p. 147).

While one is actively striving to grow in virtue and abandon all sin and imperfection, short term preparation for receiving the Holy Eucharist is accomplished by spending time in prayer and reflection before receiving the Blessed Sacrament, which assists in avoiding routine and exciting fervor in one’s soul (This Tremendous Lover, p. 147). Acts of faith, hope, and love can help one, in the moments before receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, to prepare to receive this great gift. “Intense acts of faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist will help to arouse my love and make me actually love Him, and precisely during this actuality of love, Jesus will pour out the increase of His charity, the living flame of His infinite love” (Divine Intimacy, p. 602). 

It is not enough to be united with Jesus materially, we must be united with him spiritually as well. “In order that the Eucharist may produce its full fruit in me and be the occasion of very close, intimate union with Jesus, it is not enough, as St. Augustine says, for me to eat His Body materially; I also need to eat it ‘spiritually,’ that is, my spirit must be well disposed and prepared to receive the Body of Christ, to let itself be invaded and transformed by Christ. If when Jesus comes to me, He finds my heart, will, affections and sentiments entirely conformed to His own, nothing can prevent Him from giving Himself to me in the most complete manner. His spirit, His life, His divinity will penetrate the innermost fibres of my being and transform me into Him. Then I shall be able to say in all truth with St. Paul: ‘I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me’ (Gal 2,20)” (Divine Intimacy, p. 601).

“Jesus penetrates me, transforming me into Himself only in the measure that I place no obstacles in His way, and insofar as I am disposed to receive the special grace of the Eucharist, the grace of ‘union with Christ’” (Divine Intimacy, p. 600-601).

To discourage an improper disposition when approaching the Holy Table, we must focus on a growth in virtue (faith, hope, charity, humility, submission to God’s will) and spend the precious fifteen minutes after receiving Jesus offering thanksgiving and giving Him our full attention. “And just as corporal food only produces its full effects when properly digested, so this eucharistic food may be frustrated from producing the fullness of its effects by lack of proper disposition in the soul of the recipient. Faith, hope, charity, humility and submission to the will of God are the fundamental dispositions required. Torpor of the will, negligence, distraction, or affection for some venial sin, are the usual failings which interfere with the effects of this sacrament. The ideal thing is to receive it at the proper time during Mass, and to remain for about fifteen minutes afterwards making a proper thanksgiving” (This Tremendous Lover, p. 146). 

There are countless devotions to excite fervor in one’s soul before and after receiving the Holy Eucharist, and it is often encouraged to use various reflections so one’s devotion is not inhibited by routine. The unity that Jesus desires to have with each of us is extraordinary, and we will be more closely united with Him as our imperfections decrease and our devotion increases. “In this sacrament, then, under the appearance of bread, our Lord and Saviour gives us His Flesh and Blood, for the food of our souls. It was not enough for Him that He should become one of ourselves by adopting a human nature like our own. It was not enough that He should share the hardships of a life like our own - that He should suffer and die and atone for our sins, in our name. He loved us, and He would not rest until He should be completely united to us. And in His love He devised this most extraordinary method of union, in which He Himself becomes our food! Truly a Tremendous Lover!” (This Tremendous Lover, p. 139)