There is a maxim from the early days of the Church that says, “lex orandi, lex credendi”, or, the law of prayer is the law of faith. In other words, how we pray informs what we believe. For example, if I deliberately genuflect when passing the tabernacle (a bodily form of prayer), then I’ll believe more deeply that the Eucharist inside the tabernacle is actually the Body and Blood of God; my prayer has informed my belief.
the law of prayer is the law of faith. In other words, how we pray informs what we believe.
Over the upcoming years in our diocese and across our nation, we are intentionally focusing on our practice of divine worship and particularly our love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist. This is the national “Eucharistic Revival” and we will be hearing much about it in the coming months and years. We will speak more about the gift of the Eucharist, we will preach and teach more about God with us in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and we will celebrate the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Eucharistic adoration with more devotion, reverence, and love.
Our lex orandi of receiving Holy Communion could play a vital role in this Eucharistic revival. Receiving the Eucharist on the tongue (and even kneeling) is a bodily prayer that profoundly highlights the reality that we are receiving the Body and Blood of God, not feeding ourselves any kind of ordinary food. Jesus says to be like little children, and don’t little ones receive food directly into their mouths from their parents? If you have not often received Holy Communion on the tongue, I encourage you to try it as a child of God being fed by God, your Heavenly Father—it is a beautiful opportunity for the practice of our prayer to continue to deepen what we believe.