We continue the translation of the book by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite and Saint Macarius of Corinth, “The Soul-Profiting Book on Continual Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.”

Only let us, if we reflect well, understand that it is impossible for anyone to attain perfection without continual communion of the Holy Mysteries. For without this one cannot acquire love, and without love one cannot acquire obedience to the Lord’s commandments, and without obedience one cannot attain perfection. As the most wise Solomon says: “The beginning of her (wisdom) is the sincere desire of instruction; and the care of instruction is love; and love is the keeping of her laws; and the keeping of her laws is the assurance of incorruption; and incorruption maketh us near unto God; therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to a kingdom” (Wis. 6:17–20). That is, the beginning of Wisdom is the sincere desire for instruction, and the care for upbringing and instruction is love, and love is the keeping of God’s laws, and the keeping of the laws is firm and unquestionable purity and incorruption, and incorruption brings the person near to God. Therefore the desire for wisdom raises people up to the Kingdom of Heaven.

For this reason the holy Abba Apollos also, knowing that Divine Communion is the power that accomplishes Divine love, reckons it among the commandment of love and says: “Upon these two commandments, that is, upon frequent communion and upon love for one’s neighbor, hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

But is there any need to say much? Those who object to us – do they commune once every forty days as those who are perfect, or as sinners and the imperfect? If as the perfect, then they ought to commune more frequently, according to their own words; and if as the imperfect, they ought to commune more frequently in order to become perfect, as we said above.

For if an infant cannot grow into an adult person without bodily food, then all the more can the soul not come to perfection without spiritual food. The outward sages say that three things are observed in an infant: first, the one who eats; second, that on which it is nourished; and third, that which gives it nourishment. And that which gives it nourishment is the nourishing essence; that which is nourished is the ensouled body; and that on which it is nourished is the food.

So it is, says Gabriel of Philadelphia, also in spiritual rebirth: “The one who partakes is the baptized, reborn person; that on which he is nourished is the Most Pure Mysteries; and the one who gives nourishment is the Divine grace that transforms these [Mysteries] into the Body and Blood of our Savior.” For this reason Basil the Great says that the one who has been reborn by Baptism must henceforth be nourished by communion of the Divine Mysteries (On Baptism. Book 1, ch. 3).

But if they commune as sinners, then they ought not to commune even once every forty days, nor once a year, as the golden-tongued John says: “As the one who has a pure conscience ought to commune every day, so for the one who abides in sins and does not repent, it is dangerous to commune even on a feast. But even if we commune once a year, this does not remove us from our sins, if we approach unworthily. On the contrary, this all the more condemns us, because, approaching only once, even then we approach impurely. Therefore I beg you all: do not touch the Divine Mysteries merely on account of a feast” (Homily on St. Philogonius; Against the Anomoeans 6, 4 (“On the Blessed Philogonius…”). Cf.: St. John Chrysostom. Works. Vol. 1. Book 2. St. Petersburg, 1898 (reprint: Moscow, 1991). P. 554).

And in another place he writes: “Since the priests cannot know all the sinners and those who commune the Mysteries unworthily, God often reveals them and delivers them up to Satan. For this reason there sometimes befall them sicknesses, sometimes snares, sometimes troubles and misfortunes, and at times other things of the kind. And Paul shows this when he says: ‘For this cause [that is, because they commune unworthily] many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.’”

“How then,” you say to me, “does this come about, if we commune only once a year?” The trouble is that we determine the worthiness of communion not by purity of thoughts but by an interval of time, and that you consider it piety not to approach the Mystery frequently, not knowing that to approach unworthily even once is to do oneself harm, and to approach worthily, even if frequently, is to gain salvation.