When I was preparing to receive my First Communion in the Catholic Church, we were sternly instructed not to chew the communion wafer. Now to a seven year old there are two challenges to that rule. The temptation to bite the wafer to discover if anything horrific would take place was overpowering. Since chewing was prohibited, then the next challenge was to keep it from sticking to the roof of my mouth. I imagined that scraping it off with my finger was a far more serious offense than chewing.

The instructions concerning Holy Communion overshadowed the significance of the tradition. As an adult I came to appreciate the bread as the representation of the body of spiritual ideas and the wine as the circulation of those ideas into consciousness.

Receiving the bread and wine as the symbol of the body and blood of Jesus is a gift of renewal, rebirth and an act of love. The blessing of communion is bringing heaven to earth.

Affirmation: “God’s pure life and substance are constantly renewing and rebuilding His holy temple, my body.” Keep a True Lent by Charles Fillmore