“Our Blessed Lord has instituted the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, wherein is His Flesh and His Blood, that whosoever eats thereof may have eternal life. Therefore he who frequently and devoutly feeds thereon, so strengthens the life and health of his soul that it can scarcely be poisoned by any evil passions. No one can be fed with the Bread of Life, and yet live upon dead affections, and as in Eden there was no death for the body owing to the living fruits which God had placed there, so those who eat of this Sacrament of Life shall find no death for their souls.
Saint Francis de Sales, Philothea or An Introduction to the Devout Life, TAN Classics, p. 107-113
If the most delicate and perishable fruits, such as strawberries, cherries, and apricots, can easily be preserved the whole year by means of sugar or honey, surely it is no great marvel that our hearts, albeit frail and weak, should be preserved from the corruption of sin when they are immersed in the sweetness of the incorruptible Body and Blood of the Son of God. (…)
I neither exhort you to receive the Blessed Sacrament daily, nor do I forbid it. But I do exhort every one to communicate at least every Sunday, if his heart be pure from affection to sin. In this I follow St. Augustine, who neither enjoined nor blamed the practice of daily Communion, leaving that to the judgment of each person‘s spiritual guide, for on so nice and important a point it is scarcely possible to give any general rule. Inasmuch as the requisite dispositions for so great a privilege may often be found in some pious and devout persons, it is best neither to counsel it generally, nor dissuade, but leave it to be decided according to the individual needs of each. For whilst it would be unwise indiscriminately to recommend daily Communion, it would be equally unwise to blame any one for it, especially when under the guidance of a prudent director. (…) But St. Augustine strongly recommends and exhorts us to communicate every Sunday, therefore adhere to that rule. (…)
Those who would communicate weekly must be free from all mortal sin, and all affection to venial sin, desiring earnestly to communicate, but those who would daily approach the holy altar must still further have overcome in great part their evil inclinations – nor should any come without the advice of their spiritual guide. (…)
If men of the world ask why you communicate so often, tell them that it is in order that you may learn to love God, that you may be purified from your imperfections, delivered from your perplexities, comforted in your sorrows, strengthened in your weakness. Tell them that there are two classes of men who need frequent Communion – those who are perfect, since surely they above all men should draw near to the Source and Fountain of all perfection, and the imperfect, in order that they may learn to be perfect; the strong that they may not lose strength, the weak that they may become strong; the sick in order to be healed, the healthy that they may not be sick; and that you who are imperfect, weak, and diseased need constant intercourse with your Perfection, your Strength, and your Physician. Tell them that those who are not encumbered with wordly business should take advantage of their leisure, and communicate frequently; and those who, on the contrary, are pressed and harassed require it the more, for he who labors long and hard needs solid and abundant food. Tell them that you receive the Blessed Sacrament that you may learn to receive it rightly, for what we do but seldom we do ill. Therefore communicate as often as you have permission, and remember that as the hares amidst our snowy mountains grow white from living in the snow, so by perpetually worshiping and adoring beauty, goodness, and purity in this Divine Sacrament, you too will become beautiful, good, and pure.“
