SPIRITUAL COMMUNION. — I. Eucharistic practice consisting, as the Council of Trent says (sess. XIII, c. 8: Denz-U, n. 881), in voto Sacramenti: it is uniting oneself to Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist, not by receiving him sacramentally, but through a living desire proceeding from faith animated by charity. In the supernatural order, desire can at times substitute for certain Sacraments (when it is impossible to receive them), even to the point of causing justification, as does the desire, at least implicit in an act of charity or contrition, for Baptism and Confession. Thus the desire for sacramental C. has an efficacy approaching that of the Sacrament.
Spiritual C. is constituted by three acts: 1) faith in the real presence of J. C. in the Eucharist; 2) the desire (which here must be explicit) for sacramental Communion; 3) thanksgiving for the gift by which Jesus gives himself, as in sacramental Communion. It may be repeated as often as one wishes; but it is particularly recommended during the Mass at the priest’s Communion; the Council of Trent, in giving this recommendation, draws from it proof that all Masses, even those in which only the priest communicates, are the sacrifice offered by the faithful, because they communicate spiritually (sess. XXII, c. 6: Denz-U, n. 944).
Confession is not required for spiritual C.: if the faithful person were in sin, he must precede the desire to communicate with an act of contrition, otherwise he would lack an essential disposition, namely charity; but he is not obliged to precede it with Confession, as he is for sacramental Communion.
The effects of spiritual C. are then identical with those of sacramental Communion, namely an increase of grace and of virtuous habits, that is, spiritual nourishment; but they are certainly less intense, since they do not occur ex opere operato (that is, by virtue of divine institution), but only ex opere operantis (that is, by virtue of the individual’s dispositions, and are proportionate to them). St Thomas says: «Sacramentalia manducatio plenus inducit Sacramento effectum» (Sum. Theol., 3ᵃ, q. 80, a. 1, ad 1). They are nevertheless always effects of great value, among which is that of immensely reviving faith and love for the Most Blessed Sacrament and impelling one toward sacramental Communion.
II. In an entirely different sense, the name spiritual C. is given to a particular manner of prayer, taught by the ven. Olier and promoted by him in the seminary of S. Sulpice in Paris (Catéchisme chrétien pour la vie intérieure, lesson 8ᵃ). According to Olier, the process of prayer, besides the preparation and the concluding colloquy, consists of three distinct acts, which must always be performed, whatever passage from the life of Christ is being meditated upon: adoration, communion, and cooperation. After adoration (thinking with faith and love of Jesus present at that particular point), communion (or, more precisely, communication) consists in applying Jesus’ teaching to oneself and striving to conform oneself to him in one’s ideas and affections. It is followed by cooperation, consisting of practical resolutions according to the lights received, in order to order one’s life in a holy manner. This is a method of meditation in which attention is directed more to the effects than to the development of the subject; and spiritual C. is psychological and moral conformity, not a desire for sacramental union.