Spiritual Communion is the practice of desiring union with Christ in the Holy Eucharist when an individual cannot receive Holy Communion in person. Spiritual Communion is practiced in the Anglican tradition as well as in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist Churches.
Spiritual Communion has been especially used by Christians in times of persecution, such as during the era of state atheism in the Eastern Bloc. It has also been practiced in times of plagues, such as during the current 2019–20 COVID-19 pandemic, when many Christians are unable to attend church, and therefore not able to receive the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day.
Listed below is a traditional Anglican form for Spiritual Communion.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
OUR FATHER, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect
LET the power of the Holy Spirit come upon me, O Lord, I beseech thee: that he may both mercifully cleanse my heart and defend me from all adversities. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle (Revelation 3:20)
BEHOLD, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
The Gospel (St. John 15:5)
I AM the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Act of Contrition
O GOD, I am very sorry that I have sinned against thee who art so good. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake, and I will try to sin no more.
Act of Reception
IN Union, dear Lord, with the faithful at every altar of thy Church where thy blessed Body and Blood are being offered to the Father, I desire to offer thee praise and thanksgiving. I believe that thou art truly present in the Holy Sacrament. And since I cannot now receive thee sacramentally, I beseech thee to come spiritually into my
heart. I unite myself unto thee, and embrace thee with all the affections of my soul. Let me never be separated from thee. Let me live and die in thy love.
Amen.
COME Lord Jesus, dwell in thy servant in the fullness of thy strength, in the perfection of thy ways, and in the holiness of thy spirit, and rule over every hostile power in the might of thy Spirit, and to the glory of thy Father. Amen.
MAY the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life. Amen.
I can’t thank you enough for posting this Spiritual Communion. I write a Christian blog each day, based on the New Testament reading for Morning Prayer. Recently, I made a note that while everyone, post virus, denegrates Zoom and Face Book live stream of the Mass each week, it’s a boon to the shut-ins, the house-bounds, to be able to be ‘in community’ with their churches each week. I use this very form myself but yours is the best formating of it and when I posted it, I got positive response; not everyone knew that this was available to them.
Thank you again.