A prayer for those who cannot receive the Eucharist sacramentally — taught by St. Alphonsus Liguori and indulgenced by Pius VI.
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Whenever sacramental Communion is impossible (illness, distance from a Mass, the hour of death).
St. Alphonsus Liguori composed the most widespread form of the Spiritual Communion prayer in his Visits to the Most Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Most Holy (1750), as a remedy for the many lay Catholics of his time who attended Mass but rarely received Communion. The Council of Trent (1551) had already affirmed that the desire for the Eucharist, even when sacramental reception is impossible, brings spiritual benefit.
Pius VI granted a partial indulgence to the prayer in 1772. It became particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, when public Masses were suspended worldwide and millions of Catholics relied on it as their daily Communion with the Lord.
