Anyone who attended one of our First Communion Masses the last two weekends would have been edified by our young boys and girls. They looked so angelic in their nice outfits and well excited as they prepared to receive Jesus for the first time. I asked one little girl bubbling with enthusiasm how she felt, and she replied “I’m so excited! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time!” Actually, it’s the way we should all feel. We should be excited every time we come to Mass to receive Jesus. The entire world cannot contain our Lord, yet he wants to be contained in us. He wants to be in our hearts as a great guest. However, the years have a way of diluting that youthful fervor, and so the Eucharist can be taken for granted. It saddens me to see some people receive Holy Communion and then walk right out the door as though they had just picked up a burger at fast-food drive-in window. No time for a proper thanksgiving for such a great gift.
Jesus says in the gospel, “Unless your become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt 18:3) May we all recapture the attitudes of our young First Communicants.
- Fr. Carl
“One ought always to be ready to give up one’s own will
to do what God wants… ”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
