Do you believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? I know this girl didn’t.
I bet this girl didn’t even know what the word Eucharist meant. I bet she thought she was wearing a pretty dress to eat a piece of bread and drink wine for the first time.
I realize I don’t give that girl much credit. That is a much younger me after all. Or maybe I just don’t give my parents any credit. From what I know, my parents sent me to Catholic school so I would have a better education. Sure I was Baptized, and as you can see, received my First Communion, but it didn’t get much further than that. I don’t think I went to church on Sundays. And if I did, I don’t remember it at all.
The most I remember is squeezing a boy named David’s hand during the Our Father. Our class had to attend Mass once a week and we dreaded it. (Notice I said the word had and not could.) We played a game that we passed “the squeeze” around during the whole Our Father and whoever ended with the squeeze at the end of the prayer was a LOSER.
And for some reason, squeezing David’s hand at one particular Mass throughout my adolescent is all I remember. Ain’t that a shame.
Today is the anniversary of my First Communion. The only reason I know this is because when I got married I had to have my religious records transferred to my new church. I decided to write down my important religious dates on our master calendar. Every year on this day I say, “hey, today is the anniversary of my First Communion.”
And that’s that. One of these years, it might be a good idea to go to daily Mass on that particular day. A good way to say, “hey Lord, thanks.”
In our house, we celebrate Baptismal anniversaries as if they are a birthday. We do it up big. Cake and all. It is a super important day in our household.
But why not the First Communion anniversary too? Receiving the Lord should be just as important as becoming a Child of God? Maybe by the time my girls are old enough to make their First Communion we will be celebrating this special day.
Because I sure would like some cake today.
It’s been 31 years since I joined the Church (as an adult). The meaning of Eucharist grows every year. I frequently play piano at the first communion Masses here. A precocious neighbor girl had her first communion. I got a kick out of watching her go up. A couple of weeks later, I asker her about her experience. She said, “it’s really different, but I’m getting used to it.” My wife and will be laughing about her comment for years to come. My 88 year old mother-in-law lives with us. We bring communion home to her. She never “gets used to it” … she’s in heaven every time she partakes. No, a 2nd grader isn’t going to appreciate the significance on that day, but the day will come when she/he does.
Yes I agree. And my day has come!