First Holy Communions!

These past few weekends have seen adults and children receiving Holy Communion for the first time. My thoughts begin with the Easter Vigil and the four adults who received their first Holy Communion. The adults were already filled with joy because two of them had been baptized and the four of them were confirmed. Receiving the Eucharist for the first time was the culmination of their sacramental journey. By receiving the sacraments that night, they became full members of the Roman Catholic Church. Then, on April 15 and April 22, the second grade students from Saint Augustine in Washington, Kansas and Saint John the Baptist in Hanover, Kansas received their first Holy Communions. The smiles on these young peoples faces told the story. They had been preparing for this time since the school year began. Those young people had already made their first Sacrament of Reconciliation so they were ready to make their first Holy Communion. As I told the people gathered for these celebrations, look at the joy you see in the faces of these young people. That is the same joy and enthusiasm that we all need because it is an honor and a privilege to receive the Eucharist- Jesus Christ- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. As we say before receiving communion, I am not worthy to have the Lord enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. We are all sinners in need of God's mercy and forgiveness and we have received that forgiveness by our Lord's death on the cross. It is the mercy and forgiveness of God that allows us to approach the sacrament because we are not worthy. This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is important because if we have committed a mortal sin, we need to approach the sacrament before receiving communion, but anytime the Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered, we need to make the most of those opportunities so that we can receive our Lord with a pure mind and heart. Our young people are a good example for us because they have approached both sacraments in their journey of faith and they received the Body and Blood of our Lord with joy and enthusiasm. No matter how long it has been since our own first communions, we need to have that same joy and enthusiasm, even though we know that as the years have gone by, we have hopefully grown in our Catholic Faith. We congratulate our First Communicants and ask God's blessing upon them. May God Bless us as we approach the sacraments because they are life-giving and faith-sustaining. Have a blessed day!!!