Abstract
According to Thomas Aquinas, the faithful can receive Holy Communion by sacramentally receiving the consecrated host and wine or by so-called spiritual communion. The latter kind of the Holy Communion is reserved for people who cannot receive the sacramental body and blood of Christ. In modern Catholic theology, the subject of spiritual communion was forgotten for many years. In the present article, spiritual communion is illustrated from the liturgical and piety perspective of the Middle Ages in the theology of Doctor Angelicus and in the context of the modern teaching of the popes. This article can inspire new theological and pastoral ways of looking at the liturgy and gift of the Eucharist.