Preparation for Holy Communion
10 Things [1]
6. On the evening before Holy Communion, we should not behave as if it is just another day.
We should prepare ourselves for an awesome mystery (and attendance at the evening service, and the pre-communion rule are important for this). It is not an appropriate time for parties, and movies and entertainments, especially if they are instead of attendance at the evening service.
7. It has always been Christian tradition that a man and wife abstain from sexual relations on the evening before Holy Communion.
This was even the case in Old Testament times before important events. The reason we observe this important tradition is because marriage is an IMAGE of the love of the bridegroom (Christ) for the church, and therefore, of how we should love God. An image is inferior to the prototype, so we abstain from sexual relations, which are inferior to our love for God.
There is not a shred of feeling that sexual relations are in any way not a holy thing, in their proper context.
We live in a time when self-restaint is at low ebb. A couple who sacrifices their “Saturday night”, an “American tradition”, but not an Orthodox one, will benefit greatly.
From St Nicholas Orthodox Church, McKinney Texas – www.orthodox.net
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