Church sacraments in Christianity are not always clear not only to beginners, but also to those who have been baptized for a long time and even regularly attend church with their loved ones. However, priests consider such an approach to the service of Christ unacceptable, because having accepted faith, we, along with eternal life and blessing, receive a number of rules that we must follow. In Christianity, it is impossible to classify the sacraments according to their degree of importance. All of them bring only benefit to the human soul, which means that every believer should take part in them. If you ask the priest a question about the sacraments and their sequence, then you will most likely be answered that baptism is the first step on the way to the Lord, but the communion can be considered the second, carrying great cleansing power. Preparation for it takes a rather long period of time and requires a serious approach. A believer who wants to receive communion must perform a series of manipulations and ceremonies in order to be admitted to one of the great sacraments. Our article is fully devoted to the preparation for the sacrament. For beginners, this text can become a quality guide that will help to do everything on time and, accordingly, church canons.
Communion: the essence of the church rite
Preparing for the sacrament involves several stages, but any minister in the church will advise you not to go through them thoughtlessly. In this case, the sacrament loses its importance and becomes a useless ritual, and such an attitude to the sacrament is considered sinful. Therefore, those who are going to perform the rite for the first time, it is recommended before learning information about preparation for the sacrament to learn in more detail about the very essence of the sacrament and its features.
Generally speaking, communion is a special moment in the spiritual life of a believer when he can unite with the Creator, thus receiving a reassurance of his eternal life. It can be said that during the rite the Christian tastes the Body and Blood of Christ in order to approach him. This tradition began with Jesus himself bidding farewell to his disciples at the Last Supper.
The Gospel describes how he broke bread and distributed it to those present, and then poured wine into bowls, calling it his blood. Each of the students tasted bread and wine, having communed, thus, for the first time. Today, believers who want to have eternal life should regularly perform this sacrament. It is impossible to be saved without him. This moment is especially marked by Jesus Christ himself.
A quick look at the ritual we are describing will not allow us to understand its essence and depth. From the outside it seems that the parishioners just eat bread and drink wine, but in fact, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, these products are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This is perceived as a real miracle that every true believer in God can touch.
The main meaning of the sacrament is that in the process the Christian receives spiritual food, as well as the guarantee of the immortality of his soul. In the sacred texts it is written that only one who has managed to unite with Jesus during his lifetime can be sure of eternal life. Naturally, even after death, the soul will be able to do this.
The preparation for the sacrament without fail includes the reading of the Gospel in order to recall the very first communion of believers in the history of Christianity.
Holy Communion: preparation
As noted earlier, preparing for the ceremony is necessary in several stages. At the same time, each of them should be consciously evaluated and evaluated from the point of view of the spiritual, not worldly. Unfortunately, not all believers thus approach the sacrament, therefore, even after the churching, they cannot always name all the items on the list of preparations for such an important Christian ritual.
We compiled a list in which we made all the manipulations and actions necessary in order to approach communion in full accordance with the rules prescribed by the church:
- home prayer (preparation for the sacrament includes church services);
- fasting;
- gaining and maintaining spiritual purity;
- confession;
- attendance of the liturgy.
In addition, there are features of the participle procedure itself, as well as behavior after it. We will definitely mention all this in the future.
Number of Communions: How many times do you need to participate in the sacrament
Preparation for the sacrament and confession is very important, but usually for those who have just recently gained faith, a reasonable question arises about the possible frequency of participation in the ceremony. Many people realize that the sacrament can be performed more than once, which significantly distinguishes it from baptism. But still it remains unclear how regular the ritual should be, requiring such careful preparation.
Priests advise doing this at least once a month. Even better if you begin to receive communion weekly. For some Christians, this amount seems unnecessary, but in fact it is difficult to imagine how one can consider the opportunity to unite with Christ and feel his closeness as a burdensome duty. Of course, for beginners, preparation for the sacrament and confession is not an easy task, requiring the exertion of all spiritual forces and is partly a real test of faith. However, over time, the feeling of goodness that encompasses a person after the rite becomes literally a necessity, without which it is difficult to exist in the world.
Therefore, beginners can perform the sacrament four times a year. It is recommended to do this during large fasts, when the soul is ordered to work and voluntarily undergo certain restrictions. Particularly important is preparation for the sacrament in the church on the eve of Easter. On this great holiday, every believer must perform the sacrament. It is believed that without this rite, a Christian cannot be fully imbued with the light that Jesus gave to all people on earth by his resurrection from the dead.
If you have only recently come to the temple, then know that in every action the regularity of its fulfillment is important. For example, many receive communion for the first time after baptism, and then for a long time forget about this necessity, believing that they have already fulfilled all that is prescribed for believers. However, such an attitude to the sacrament is fundamentally wrong, so try not to lose the sensations of goodness, lightness and light received in the process of eating the Body and Blood of Christ. Keep in mind that the Lord sees not only our actions, but also our intentions, and therefore we must not forget about their purity. In today's world, it’s very easy to get dirty about gossip, intrigue, anger and envy, for example. You can only remove such a load by participating in the ritual we are describing.
Prayer rule
In the process of preparing for the sacrament, prayers are a very important element that sets a person in the right mood and clearly characterizes his intentions. We must say right away that they are secretly divided into home and church. Both of them have great power, so the priests instruct the parishioners in such a way that they must come to the temple, where the collective power of turning to the Lord increases several times, but at the same time devotes time to home prayer.
The fact is that in the church every person feels the presence of higher powers, and the vibrations caused by the priest’s words uttered in the service and mental thoughts of ordinary parishioners are a real energy flow. He is able to calm and heal mental wounds, as well as literally "wash away" any negative energy from a person.
At home, prayer is built a little differently. Naturally, she possesses some healing and purifying power, but at the same time requires greater concentration. Indeed, among worldly affairs and concerns, it is quite difficult for an ordinary person to reject all affairs and completely surrender to fellowship with the Lord.
If your goal is to prepare for the sacrament, the canons should be read by you daily. Some believers read them only a day before the Sacrament, but it will still be correct to begin to do so at least ten days before the rite. Three canons are important:
- to Jesus Christ;
- to the mother of God;
- to the guardian angel.
The text of the listed prayers can be found in the prayer book or on the corresponding information resources. But usually believers know them well by heart, although they are quite difficult for beginners to perceive. For example, the canon to the guardian angel includes eight songs, three troparia and prayer - and this is far from all of its components. Therefore, at first, it is allowed in the process of home prayer to read the canons from the sheet.
If it’s difficult for you to pronounce all the texts as a whole, then try to take one song from each canon. You can pronounce them in any order, alternating with each other.
Among the prayers, it is customary to single out the Follow. It consists of psalms and prayer texts directly. The beginning of this appeal to the Lord is as follows:
In preparation for the sacrament, the canons and the Follow are read every day at any time convenient for the Christian. But still it would be better to do this in the evenings just before going to bed, when it becomes possible to analyze the days lived.
Fasting
At all stages of preparation for the sacrament and the practice of prayer, even daily, it will not be enough. Therefore, a prerequisite for admission to the Sacrament is fasting. It must be observed by both men and women, but children under seven years old can take part in the ceremony without prior preparation. In addition, babies are allowed to participate in the sacrament first.
Fasting is a deliberate action necessary to be imbued with the importance of the upcoming ritual. Priests always condemn the mechanical observance of the rules, and even recommend a special post to some parishioners. In the original understanding of the word "post" is a limitation. For the sake of enlightenment and glorification of God, man must abandon the necessary and important for him. In ancient times, food served as this value, so people fasted, limiting themselves in it. Today, ministers of the church recommend giving up what is very dear to you. For example, one should close all social networks for a certain period of time, and the other should refuse the Internet or purchases.
However, preparation for communion and confession includes the classic version of fasting. Three days before the Sacrament, dairy and meat products, as well as eggs and dishes with their use, are banned. In order to support themselves, you can eat vegetables and fish. However, in the evenings before communion, seafood also becomes forbidden. Since midnight, believers should give up any food and liquid. It is believed that the Body and Blood of Christ purify a person and sanctify him only if the above conditions are met.
A few words about spiritual purity
Preparing for confession and communion involves abstaining from all kinds of entertainment. The church does not forbid its parishioners to have fun and be in a good mood, but, unfortunately, in the process of preparing for the sacrament, any such events do not contribute to the preservation of spiritual purity.
Believers should not only abandon trips to visit, theater, cinema, but also significantly limit watching TV. Better if you manage to completely avoid television.
Particularly worth paying attention to your mood and state of mind. In the process of preparing for confession and communion, it is important to maintain purity of thoughts. Believers should control feelings such as envy, malice, reprobation, and so on. Avoid the condemnation of your near and unfamiliar people, negative statements and swear words. Nothing that can offend any other person should come from your lips. It’s usually the hardest thing to control your mood. Try to be in an even and calm mood, avoiding bursts of emotions.
Free time is recommended for prayer and reading church books. How much effort to spend on this lesson, the person decides. There are no specific regulations or rules in the church on this subject. Preparing for the sacrament implies a rejection of intimacy between spouses on the eve of the rite. For the time interval preceding this evening, the ban does not apply.
Confession
Repentance and awareness of one's imperfection is an indispensable condition for the performance of the Sacrament. In the process of preparing for the sacrament, sins before the priest should be voiced by everyone who plans to take part in the ceremony. Reconciliation with the Lord is possible only in the process of confession, which can be imagined as a listing of your sins before the priest. He, in turn, will pray for their atonement, which significantly distinguishes confession from ordinary conversation with the minister of the church. If you have accumulated a lot of questions for the minister of the church, then try to arrange a meeting and a conversation in advance. Usually, quite a lot of people gather for confession, and therefore a thorough conversation may not work. Therefore, newcomers who first prepare for the sacrament and confession, sins committed over the years of life, remember in advance and come to the temple with full awareness of their evil deeds.
Anyone who first thinks about confession understands that he does not always do the right thing. The commandments given by the Lord to Moses list all aspects that a Christian must adhere to. If you do not observe at least one of them, then sinful behavior is close to you, which means that the time has come to come to the temple with repentance.
It is interesting that many people think in the process of preparing for confession and communion how to make a complete list of sins. However, ministers strongly condemn this approach to the sacraments. The fact is that in the modern world of information technology, it is customary to treat everything mechanically. Therefore, ready-made registers of sins are often used. In the process of preparing for confession and communion (how to compose such a list yourself, many do not even think about it), such an attitude to the great sacrament is condemned and cannot be a characteristic of a worthy Christian.
Keep in mind that in the process of confession there is no need to be embarrassed and come up with the correct names for sins. Strange as it may seem, many even try to “keep the mark” during confession and not to face the priest in the mud. However, you should not behave in this way. From century to century, the list of sins remains virtually unchanged, and the ministers of the church managed to hear about various sins, so it is difficult to surprise or amaze them with anything.
Practical Advice on Confession
Even those who make preparations for confession and communion more than once (prayers, fasting, confession of sins, and so on) can not always put together all the rules that will help to confess to the Lord a full understanding of the deed.
First of all, it’s worth understanding that in the literal sense of the word, confession or repentance sounds like a “change of mind”. Therefore, you must understand that changes in your life begin even before you come to the temple. If you are willing to spend time realizing the unrighteousness of life, then by the time you meet the priest, the changes have already begun.
Do not forget that repentance mainly refers to mortal sins, such as adultery, theft, renunciation of faith, and so on. Of course, in confession it is necessary to list the minor sins that we commit every day and do not even always realize that we are doing wrong. Be sure that we will always make such mistakes, and you need to be prepared for this. Quite often, ministers of the church advise to accept their sinfulness humbly, because only the Lord has no sin, and everyone else is more or less prone to errors.
Keep in mind that it is impossible to completely repent of sins if you are in a quarrel with someone. Of course, the priest will accept repentance from you, and you can take communion, but in reality the confession will be incomplete. Try to resolve all conflict situations before going to the temple. If this cannot be done due to the categorical refusal of another person, then mentally ask him for forgiveness and forgive him for everything yourself.
Keep in mind that after confession, the priest may appoint you a penance. Many see it as a punishment, but it is in reality an opportunity to purify and prepare for the sacrament. Penance is appointed for a certain period of time and may constitute abstinence, reading special prayers, or, for example, performing certain acts associated with charity.
When we speak of the sacrament, confession must be performed on the eve of the sacrament. In extreme cases, this can be done in the morning on the day of communion. But in this situation, you should know for sure that the clergyman will be able to give you time. Otherwise, you will not participate in the sacrament.
Divine Liturgy
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Remember that fellowship with the Lord is a very valuable gift that every Christian can take advantage of. Communion can completely change your life, so do not waste time and take this important step towards light and spiritual rebirth.