The Mystery of the Eucharist: Part 6

 

Receiving the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a sacred encounter that calls us to holiness. But what precautions should we take after receiving the Holy Eucharist? The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church teaches us to approach this Mystery with reverence and to observe the proper spiritual precautions after receiving Holy Communion.

What Precautions Should We Take After Receiving Holy Communion?

As St. Paul teaches, “ሥጋችሁ የክርስቶስ ብልቶች እንደ ሆነ አታውቁምን? እንግዲህ የክርስቶስን ብልቶች ወስጄ የጋለሞታ ብልቶች ላድርጋቸውን? አይገባም።” (1 Cor. 6:15), our bodies, honored by the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Christ, should strive to avoid sin.

Especially on the days we receive the Holy Eucharist and are united with Christ, we should guard ourselves against sin with even greater care.

This may be compared to a bride (ሙሽሪት) awaiting her husband. Although she always strives to preserve her purity, she takes special care on the day she awaits her husband for their union, which is a profound mystery.

Likewise, having become the Bride of Christ (የክርስቶስ ሙሽራ), we repent and receive His Holy Body and Precious Blood. Therefore, the Holy Church, the Body of Christ, has prescribed the proper precautions we should observe after receiving His Holy Body and Precious Blood.

One should avoid going to court (ፍርድ ቤት) or engaging in disputes (ሙግት) on the same day after receiving the Holy Eucharist, since courts commonly involve disputes, quarrels (ጠብ), and arguments (ክርክር).

Similarly, because the day should be devoted primarily to spiritual reflection rather than physical pleasure, married couples should abstain from sexual relations and avoid excessive eating and drinking on the same day—በዚሁ ዕለት ለባለትዳሮች ሩካቤ፣ አብዝቶ መብላትና መጠጣት አይገባም።

Moreover, one should refrain from cutting one’s nails, shaving, bathing, or removing one’s clothes on the day of receiving Holy Communion—ጥፍር መቁረጥ፣ ጢም መላጨት፣ጸጉር መላጨት፣ በውኃ መታጠብና ከልብስ መራቆት ክልክል ነው።

For example, Egyptian Christians avoid walking barefoot on the day they receive Holy Communion, taking care not to slip and injure their feet. After receiving the Holy Eucharist, they read prayer books and spend the remainder of the day peacefully, avoiding unnecessary social encounters and devoting themselves to prayer and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.

After receiving Holy Communion, if we encounter any difficulty (እክል), especially due to a lack of proper care—for example, a nosebleed, encountering an obstacle (እንቅፋት), vomiting, or a fly or other insect entering the mouth—we should confess everything that has happened to us by explaining it fully to our spiritual father. We should not receive Holy Communion again until we have fulfilled the penance (ቀኖና) assigned to us.

The reason for this confession is to affirm that there is no weakness (ድካም፣ እንክን) in the Mystery of the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Christ. The Holy Eucharist grants us eternal life and leads us toward the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is no weakness or weariness (ይህም ምስጢሩ ፥ ሥጋ ወደሙ መንግሥተ ሰማያትን ያሰጣልና ፡ በሥጋ ወደሙ ድካም የለበትም፤ አንድም መንግሥተ ሰማይ ከገቡ በኋላ ድካም የለምና ነው)።

During this period, we should also refrain from undertaking long journeys (ሩቅ መንገድ መሔድ) or prostrating ourselves (መስገድ).

Conclusion:
Receiving Holy Communion calls us to live in holiness. Let us guard our thoughts, words, and actions, devote ourselves to prayer, and live in a manner worthy of the Holy Body and Precious Blood we have received. May our lives bear witness to our union with Christ and lead us toward eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom.

The Mystery of the Eucharist: Part 5

The Holy Eucharist is not a common meal, but the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. How, then, should we prepare to receive this sacred gift? What does the Church teach us about approaching the Holy Mysteries, and what should our hearts be like when we receive them? Let us explore the preparation, repentance, humility, and reverence required to partake of the heavenly King’s banquet (ግብዣ).

What Preparation Is Required to Participate in the Eucharist?

Even when a person is invited to an earthly king’s banquet (ግብዣ), he prepares himself as much as he can. How much more, then, should a Christian prepare to partake of the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at the banquet of the heavenly King?

Matthew 22:11 says, “ንጉሡም የተቀመጡትን ለማየት በገባ ጊዜ በዚያ የሰርግ ልብስ ያለበሰ አንድ ሰው አየና፦ ወዳጄ ሆይ፥ የሰርግ ልብስ ሳትለብስ እንዴት ወደዚህ ገባህ? አለው እርሱም ዝም አለ።”

We should therefore prepare ourselves carefully, so that we are ready to stand before the heavenly King.

When preparing to receive Holy Communion, we should guard all our bodily senses so that sinful thoughts do not enter our hearts. We should wash our bodies and, as much as possible, wear clean, pure (white) clothing (Revelation 6:11). We should eat a light meal on the eve of Communion and then abstain from food for 18 hours. Married couples should abstain from sexual intercourse for three days before and two days after Communion.

Men should be free from night emissions (ሕልመ ሌሊት / ዝንየት) on the eve of receiving Holy Communion, while women should not receive Communion during menstruation or any other bleeding or discharge. Anyone with a bleeding or flowing wound should likewise refrain from receiving Communion. After childbirth, women should complete 40 days for a boy and 80 days for a girl. Finally, all those receiving Communion should be present from the beginning of the Divine Liturgy on the day they receive Communion.

Why Was the Priest’s Declaration, “I Am Innocent of Your Sins—እኔ ከበደላችሁ ንጹሕ ነኝ!” Necessary??

In the Divine Liturgy, the priest formally warns those approaching Holy Communion, saying:

“ንጹሕ የሆነ ከቁርባኑ ይቀበል፤ ንጹሕ ያልሆነ ግን አይቀበል፤ ለሰይጣንና ለመልእክተኞቹ በተዘጋጀው በመለኮት እሳት እንዳይቃጠል፤ በልቡናው ቂምን የያዘ ልዩ አሳብም ያለበት ቢኖር አይቅረብ፤ እጄን ከአፍአዊ ደም ንጹሕ እንዳደረግሁ እንዲሁም ከሁላችሁ ደም ንጹሕ ነኝ፡፡ ደፍራችሁ ወደ ክርስቶስ ሥጋና ደም ብትቀርቡ ከእርሱ ለመቀበላችሁ መተላለፍ የለብኝም በደላችሁ በራሳችሁ ይመለሳል እንጂ፡፡ በንጽሕና ሆናችሁ ባትቀርቡ እኔ ከበደላችሁ ንጹሕ ነኝ”, and he washes his hands.

The deacon then continues, saying:

“ይህን የቄሱን ቃል ያቃለለ ወይም የሳቀና የተነጋገረ ወይም በቤተክርስቲያን በክፋት የቆመ ቢኖር ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን እንዳሳዘነው በእርሱም እንደተነሣሣ ይወቅ ይረዳ ስለበረከት ፈንታ መርገምን ስለኃጢአት ሥርየት ፈንታ ገሃነመ እሳትን ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ይቀበላል”.

This proclamation is not intended to frighten us, keep us away from the Holy Body and Precious Blood, or make us mere spectators (ተመልካቾች). Rather, it reminds us to repent, prepare ourselves according to the guidance of our spiritual father, and approach the Holy Mysteries with purity and reverence.

If we receive the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord without first cleansing ourselves from sin through repentance, they will bring judgment upon us. However, the enemy, the devil, can distort this warning in our minds, causing us to see the priest’s proclamation as a threat: ““You are not worthy to receive the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ .”

Its true message is the opposite: repent, seek guidance from your spiritual father, and then draw near to Christ’s Holy Body and Precious Blood.

What Is Expected of Us When Receiving Holy Communion?

The Holy Eucharist is a mystery through which our weak flesh is strengthened by the grace of God. Our bodies, weakened by sin, must be cleansed through repentance so that we may receive the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Christ. Such repentance must be accompanied by deep humility, like that of the Roman centurion (መቶ አለቃ).

When our Lord Jesus Christ entered Capernaum (ቅፍርናሆም), a centurion ((መቶ አለቃ) came to Him, pleading for the healing of his servant. When our Lord told him He would come and heal his servant, the centurion humbly replied:

“ጌታ ሆይ፥ በቤቴ ጣራ ከታች ልትገባ አይገባኝም፤ ነገር ግን ቃል ብቻ ተናገር፥ ብላቴናዬም ይፈወሳል።” (Matt. 8:8)

Likewise, when we understand that through the Holy Eucharist we receive the glorious Body and Blood of Christ, we should not approach Christ with pride, like the scribes (ጸሐፍት) and Pharisees (ፈሪሳዊያን), but with humility, following the example of the Roman centurion. We should humble ourselves and pray:

“አቤቱ! አንተ በእኔ በኃጢአት በረከሰ ሰውነት ልታድር አይገባህም፣ እንደ ቸርነትህ አንጻኝ፣ ቀድሰኝ።”

To help us prepare ourselves in this way, our fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have prepared prayers that lift our hearts above earthly thoughts and faithfully preserve the teachings of the Church as we approach the Holy Eucharist. The faithful should first recite the prayer appointed for before Communion.

The main priest offers the Body of Christ in his hand, while the assistant priest offers the Blood to the priests using the holy spoon (ዕርፈ መስቀል). The deacon offers the Blood to the faithful using the same holy spoon (ዕርፈ መስቀል). The assistant priest does not offer the Body, nor does a subdeacon offer the Blood.

Priests, children, virgins, laypeople, and other faithful receive the Holy Eucharist according to the order established by the Church.

The order of receiving Holy Communion is as follows: in the sanctuary (ቤተ መቅደስ), archbishops, bishops, monks, priests, and deacons receive Communion first. In the Qiddist (ቅድስት), infants, boys, girls, adult men, and adult women receive Communion in that order.

Immediately after receiving the Holy Eucharist, the faithful are given holy water. They then recite the prayer appointed for after Communion.

Conclusion:

Receiving the Holy Eucharist calls us to sincere repentance, deep humility, and reverence for the sacred Mysteries. We must neither approach carelessly nor allow fear to keep us away from Christ, but prepare ourselves through repentance and the guidance of our spiritual fathers. May we always approach the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord with purified hearts, trusting in His mercy and seeking the transformation of our lives.