Receiving Holy Communion for the first or the hundred and first time is like nothing else in the world.
Catholics believe that the Bread and Wine that is offered at Mass becomes, through transubstantiation, the actual body and blood of Jesus. This is very important as it means we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and in practicing this we remember the events of the Last Supper.
It’s a wonder we can take it so calmly. Blessed Imelda died after receiving Communion from the hands of Our Lord, but for the rest of us there is little chance of that. We salute Football stars and Hollywood beauties with wild enthusiasm, and we take Communion so calmly. We greet new cures for our physical ills and new scientific advances with bounding optimism. We act as though the important thing is how long men will live, not how many will get to Heaven.
First Communion is the 3rd of the Sacraments we follow, coming after Baptism and First Confession. In taking First Communion, Children become closer and more unified to Christ, a relationship they can develop further before taking the Sacrament of Confirmation in later years.
Preparing for First Communion
If we are not careful, the First Communion event will be remembered by the small details – the trips to rehearse the procession, the shopping for clothes, the dress fittings, the last-minute reminders to bring the camera, planning the party afterwards, worrying whether it will be barbecue weather - All these things are normal and important in their own way, but they are not the heart of the matter.
Many parents question the value of First Communion for young children. “After all, do you honestly think they understand what it’s all about — at seven?”
The Holy Eucharist is a mystery as profound and unfathomable as the Trinity. We do not understand how Christ can assume the form of bread and wine – We believe. A child must believe – or perhaps we might say understand – they must understand that the bread looks like bread but is not bread, it is the Body of Christ. The wine looks like wine but is not wine, it is the Blood of Christ.
To ask them to understand the mystery of it is asking of them something that even their elders do not understand. In other words, children will understand this as well at 7 as they will at 70 years of age – but it is this understanding that is so important in preparing them for their First Communion.
We work closely with Holy Cross School in helping and preparing our First Communion candidates. For more information please contact Father Cahill.