On the Communion of the Holy Divine Mysteries (Continuation of the Spiritual instructions of Elder Nazarius)

          Once the time comes for the Divine Liturgy, hasten as quickly as possible to its start and enter the Church with reverence and ardent love. Stand with fear and trembling, imagining¹ in your mind, soul, and heart the Son of God, slain and sacrificed for your iniquities, for the salvation of all who believe in Him.

          If you have the intention and want to partake of the Divine Mysteries, and if a spiritual father finds you worthy of receiving Communion, then observe a strict fast throughout that week². Remain in an honest fast, abstaining from abundant and indulgent food and drink. Strive to remain in vigil, in love for God and in diligent prayer; with a contrite heart, in groaning, in lamentation, in heartfelt sighs, and in tears. Know that nothing so cleanses the defilement of soul and body as tears, contrition, groaning and sighing, as well as heartfelt, fervent, and warm prayers, together with other God-pleasing deeds, thus purifying yourself through true repentance. Be diligent, lest you join those who crucified Christ, lest you become like Judas the traitor. Consider carefully What you consume, and to Whom this Food belongs. Know that you are receiving God Himself on Whom you feed; He Who is the true manna that came down from heaven, that you may live forever. You must have great and firm faith for that, and you must certainly renounce all vices and make your soul and body as pure as possible, for you are preparing the entrance within you for the Holy One. Behold, with what an incomprehensible honor you are honored. When you partake of this Divine Mystery, do not the purest Angels stand invisibly before you, trembling and unable to watch with awe? Yet you, a mortal one and filled with all manner of impurity, are nourished by this through union with the Divine Holiness. Consider carefully Whom you dare to receive within – the most Holy God Himself. With Whom do you wish to be in union? With the One Who created us. Be terrified and tremble, for the Divine Fire touches your lips, filled with idle talk, obscenity, and all manner of impurity. Beware, lest your tongue be scorched, for you have spoken much evil, lawlessness, and unrighteousness. With What do you wish to water it? With the Blood of the awesome Judge.  Be terrified, lest you fall under His righteous judgment. Thank God for His ineffable mercy that He has deemed you worthy of this. Understand also that even if you had or will have angelic purity, or the immaculate holiness and veneration of John the Baptist, even then, without God’s special mercy, you cannot be deemed worthy of this Divine Mystery. Thank the Lord for His unspeakable mercy, that He, the fearful and incomprehensible God, does not disdain our poverty, but unites Himself with us out of His immeasurable love for us. Therefore, you must thank the Lord with all your might, not only in words, but in deeds and thoughts. Try as much as possible to avoid talkativeness, do what is pure and holy, and not only remain in reverence before Communion, but also after receiving this Holy Gift, stay away from everything impure. Strive to always be with Christ the King and God and do not distance yourself from Him. Thus, after the Divine Liturgy, enter your cell with silence of tongue, mind, and all senses, remaining in prayer and thanksgiving.

          At the same time, you should also consider this:  you, of course, are indignant at Judas the traitor, as well as at those who crucified and pierced Christ with nails and a spear. Be mindful, therefore, of yourself, lest you too become guilty as a traitor of the Body and Blood of Christ. Judas betrayed Christ once; but do you not betray Him many times when you are not faithful to His word and His commandments? He suffered the wounds of the crucifiers once; but do you not inflict wounds upon Him many times with various ungodly passions and sins? He suffered for every sin of ours; look then within yourself, into your soul, heart, and your thoughts – will you not see within yourself the abyss of passions and sins, blasphemy, deceit, gluttony, lust, drunkenness, envy, wickedness, flattery, hatred of your brothers, vindictiveness, slander, judgment of others, unkindness, mercilessness, pride, rage, wrath, and every kind of impurity? Having such vileness within you, have you cared for your soul?

          Strive, as best you can, with heartfelt contrition, sighs, and frequent tears to wash away the filth of your soul and body. Beware, lest with your impure soul, you receive the Most Holy One into judgment. Reflect that you are partaking of the ineffable sacrament of sacraments, the sweetest of all sweetness, and the holiest of all holiness, through which you yourself become holy. Oh, incomprehensible God, who can utter Thy mighty works? Who can praise Thee worthily? Who can measure the depths of Thy mercy?

          Consider, brother, that all of our Forefathers and all the Prophets hungered and thirsted for this mystical food and drink, that is, the body and blood of Christ, from the first-created Adam, but did not receive it. Yet, you, who are far removed from them by your unworthiness, partake of this Divine Meal. If anyone were to think to himself, “I am a priest, and therefore am worthy,” then, on the contrary, through such thoughts he would be unworthy of performing the sacred rite. As it was in the womb of the Most Holy Virgin, so it is here on the Altar: by the good will of the Almighty God and the action of the Holy Spirit the gifts offered become the body and blood of Christ. Behold this is beyond the nature, comprehension and reasoning of man. Therefore, no one can worthily partake except he who believes with deep humility and has strong hope in the Lord. Think of what Christ the Savior says with His most pure lips: “This is My body.” He says “I give you not an image of the body, but My Body, in the form of bread, take it and eat for the remission of sins. This is My Blood, not an image of blood, but My Blood, in the form of wine, drink of it for the remission of sins.” (cf. Matt. 26:26-29.) That is why you must diligently consider with what fear, trembling, and true humility, with what humbleness and contrition of heart, sighs and tears, ardent love, with what undoubting faith, hope, reverence and joy and the greatest thanksgiving from of all your soul and heart you must approach this Divine Communion. You must certainly follow this instruction precisely: when approaching the holy altar, imagine that you are truly honored to be with Christ and the holy Apostles at the Mystical Supper.

          When the gates are opened and they say, “With the fear of God,” fall to the ground in terror before the Almighty God and Judge. Try, as much as possible, not to let the above words escape your thoughts, but imagine and meditate on all of them. With your hands folded crosswise and pressed to your chest, bow your head slightly, gaze reverently, and with eyes filled with tears, read the prayer: “I believe, O Lord, and I confess” to the end. Say it with all your soul, with sighs, with fear and trembling, and contrition of heart. Tremble as you stand and think that you may receive the Lord’s flesh and drink His Blood without condemnation. Ask the most merciful God to visit you with His grace at least in this moment, so that you may express contrition and tenderness, and shed warm tears.

          After fervently reciting the aforementioned prayer, bow to the ground, and again pray to the all-merciful God that you may be deemed worthy to partake of this most divine sacrament without sin. With this in mind, look diligently and tenderly at the Holy Chalice and pray that the Divine Fire will not scorch you, but that it will heal your soul and body upon receiving it. Have hope; and believe that it will consume all of the sinful thorns living in you, if you imagine and feel as described here.

          Furthermore, as soon as you see the priest’s hand stretch out to you with the holy sacrament and it moves on to your lips, do not think that you are receiving this divine gift from the priest’s hand, but imagine and believe with all of your soul that you are receiving it from the hand of Christ Himself Who is standing invisibly before you and placing it in your mouth. Imagine and believe without a doubt that you are indeed eating the very flesh of the Master, and as if you are now drinking Blood and Water flowing from the very side of Christ; that you see Christ hanging on the cross, and now from His wounds you are receiving Blood, and Light, and Life. This is how you should partake; this is how you should believe without a doubt; this is what you should imagine continually in your mind. Approach with this kind of images and feelings and say in your mind: “May the gates and rivets of my heart open, may Christ, the King of glory, enter therein. Enter, my Light, and enlighten my darkness. Enter, my Life, and raise me up from death. Enter, my Physician, and heal my wounds. Enter, Divine Fire, and burn the thorns of my sins; kindle my body and my heart with the flame of Thy love. Enter, my King, and destroy the kingdom of sin within me; sit on the throne of my heart, and reign in me, Thou alone, my King and Lord.” Partake of the Divine Mysteries with such good thoughts. Moreover, do not forget frequent sighs and contrition. Weep incessantly, lament, and reproach yourself for being utterly unworthy, for not yet having divested yourself of the flesh and the world, and not have not yet mortified bodily passions in you. Still you are being filled with impure desires and unjust impulses of the soul. You remain lazy in spiritual labor, despondent and careless, cold in listening to the words of God; and you are the smallest, poorest, and a most impure and unworthy vessel for receiving the Fountain of Life, which the Heavens of Heaven cannot contain. Remember that the Saints and all the Venerable Ones bowed down to Him with great reverence, joy and gratitude united through Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. They were enlightened like the sun, and now live with Him forever. With such desire and great zeal, strive as best you can to draw near to this sweetest source of grace.

1. Whenever a form of imagination appears in this text keep in mind what one Athonite monk has said, “Imagination is from God and creative, while fantasy is from the devil and destructive.”

2.During Elder Nazarius’ life the norm for the laity was to receive Holy Communion four times a year at most, at the end of the four fasting periods.