First Communion Weekend

Image Credit: Google Gemini AI

This weekend, we celebrate the Fist Holy Communion for many of our children. This is a precious time for our children, though their grasp of it is very simple. Do you remember your First Holy Communion? I do. I was nervous. I didn't want to do anything wrong. In time, it became something rote. I knew that it was Jesus' presence, but I didn't have a great appreciation of it. In time and through prayer, I have found a greater love for this precious Sacrament of God's love for us. It is a profound way, among many, to remind us that Jesus is with us and in us.

He is with us by the very fact that he has offered himself to us and we received him in our hearts and, through the Sacrament of Eucharist, on our tongues. He is in us by his presence in our hearts, and again, by our consuming his Eucharistic presence.

When times are tough, when you feel alone, when troubles surround you, when those pesky venial sins plague you, the Eucharist--our Lord Jesus--is with and in you! He's forgiven you of this pesky venial sins and want you to know that He is always with you and ready to help when you call.

For those of us who are surfing the loss of a loved one, the Eucharist can be an important touch-point for a mystical communion with them if they are in Heaven. How can I say that? Well, if Jesus is in Heaven as well as present in the Eucharist, then our participation in the Eucharist connects us through Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection to all the Saints in Heaven. Most intimate than a photo and more strong than a memory, Christ's Eucharistic presence and reception connects us to those who have gone before us and are experiencing the joys of Paradise.

Join me in prayer for all our young ones who are receiving their First Holy Communion. May Christ's amazing presence therein be our source of joy and purpose in our lives!