The Beauty of the Beatitudes and the Call to Communion

by Fr. John Granato  |  02/01/2026  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

Today's gospel passage from St. Matthew is the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins with the Beatitudes before he gives us the more difficult teachings which we will hear in the next two weeks, leading us into the Lenten season. The Beatitudes are not things we seek to do; rather they are blessings given to us because we live the gospel message (blessed are those who hear the word of God and act on it) And as beautiful as these beatitudes are, there is none more beautiful than the one that we will hear right before Holy Communion.

I will hold up Our Lord and say, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world; blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb." All of us are called to the Supper of the Lamb; all are invited to the wedding feast of Our Lord with his Bride, the Church. Not everyone hears the invitation, or if they hear it, they refuse to attend the wedding feast. Yet there are also those who are called to this Supper and are indeed here now but are not able to feast on our Lord's Body and Blood for a variety of reasons.

Some reasons for not being able to receive is that the person might be in mortal sin and has not confessed it yet in the Sacrament of Confession, or the person might be in an irregular marriage (marriage is between a man and a woman who are married in the presence of a priest or a deacon). The person might also feel unworthy and decides to fast from the Eucharist in reparation for his or her sins. Still others might have broken the Eucharist fast and ate something before Mass (the Eucharistic fast was originally from midnight until Mass, then it was three hours before Mass, now it is one hour before Mass).

For example, if you decide to eat something on the way to Mass (a bagel or donut or sandwich or ice cream etc.) you should refrain from receiving Holy Communion. Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914) was the pope who urged Catholics to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis (for centuries Catholics received Holy Communion infrequently, so much that the Catholic Church required a Catholic to receive at least once a year). What a gift it is to be able to receive our Lord's Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity every Sunday if not every day if you attend daily Mass. Good is inviting you; he is calling you; he desires that you want to receive his Son totally and completely.

God bless!