NOTES for Co1 11:23-32

Whatever may be happening within us during the Church's principal act of worship, the Eucharist, whatever thoughts may occupy or distract us, the moment when the priest pronounces these words holds our attention. We may understand them differently and perceive them a little differently each time than we did before, but the most important thing is that they are spoken. They flow into our hearts, pass through them, and inevitably leave their trace. For even if there are no sensations or feelings at that particular moment, the moment of consecration, we are called to answer Christ by consenting to His sacrifice for us. Each time the heart gives this answer, even though we may say and think nothing. This, perhaps, is what it means to "examine ourselves" before Communion (see 1 Cor 11:28): by our life, by the way we live each day, to prepare and help the heart give the right answer at the necessary moment...