{"id":15418,"date":"2012-04-24T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=15418"},"modified":"2012-04-24T08:44:38","modified_gmt":"2012-04-24T13:44:38","slug":"first-communion-took-my-breath-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/04\/first-communion-took-my-breath-away\/","title":{"rendered":"First Communion Took my Breath Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This past weekend, my second child celebrated his First Communion.\u00a0 I’ve been thinking about this day for years and planning for *almost* that long (hey, party planning is my vice).\u00a0 To think I almost missed the big event during Mass makes me chuckle.\u00a0 But, more on that in just a moment.<\/p>\n

As I opened my email on Monday morning, I was delighted to see my daily Vatican Information Service (VIS) email sitting in my inbox.\u00a0 It’s a free Vatican e-communication anyone can receive and I love that it gives “the rest of the story” when the mainstream media falls short.\u00a0 You can register to receive it by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was even more excited to read that during Pope Benedict’s\u00a0Sunday audience, he\u00a0appeared at the window of his study to pray the Regina Coeli with faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square below.\u00a0 “The Holy Father recalled that during the period of Easter it is customary for the Church to administer First Communion to children. In this context, he exhorted pastors, parents and catechists ‘to prepare this feast of the faith well, with great fervour but also with sobriety.'”<\/p>\n

Not only is this Holy day special to the children, but when<\/em> it’s celebrated is of equal and noted importance.\u00a0 I’ve always believed there really is no greater time to celebrate a sacrament than during the Easter\u00a0season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I volunteered to Lector during the First Communion Mass, my oldest was an Altar Server and my husband served as a Eucharistic Minister.\u00a0 It was humbling to participate in such a precious day for our son, John Paul.\u00a0 The church was filled with family, a Godmother and dear friends.\u00a0 As I looked around that sanctuary, I saw nothing but love.\u00a0 That’s the way every Mass should be!\u00a0 Just before communion, my youngest started to fuss.\u00a0 My husband had just left to serve as an EME and the baby of the family was none too pleased.\u00a0 “Great,” I thought.\u00a0 I quickly scooped him up and walked to the back of the church.\u00a0 The whole time I was flipping through my mental rolodex of distractions.\u00a0 How was I going to get him to calm down, see John Paul and not disturb the entire congregation?\u00a0 I said a quick Hail Mary, spotted an open seat on the second row with an awesome view and a made a beeline for the seat, praying the whole way.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Pat McCord Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

It was as if the Holy Spirit knew I needed to be there.<\/strong>\u00a0 Fr. Danny began calling the children forward, one by one, to receive the sacrament.\u00a0 Tears leaked from my eyes, one after the other.\u00a0 The beauty of the moment was almost blinding and my heart swelled with what can only be explained as intense love.\u00a0 The preciousness of that moment will never leave my memory.\u00a0 Oh my, God must’ve been dancing in heaven to see all those children standing before the altar saying, “AMEN!”\u00a0 This IS the Body of Christ.\u00a0 This IS the Blood of Christ.\u00a0 It is not a symbol, but the true presence.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!\u00a0 As I looked behind the altar to catch the eye of my husband, I could see an entire row of Eucharistic Ministers with tears of joy.\u00a0 I looked around the sanctuary and saw a roomful of love and admiration.<\/p>\n

After Mass, my husband commented that if people could’ve felt what we did, if there was some way to bottle that emotion and faith, we could convert the world to Christianity.\u00a0 The words Fr. Danny spoke during the homily were touching, as well.\u00a0 While he did a wonderful job of speaking directly to our children, he also took a few moments to address the parents of the First Communicants.\u00a0 He reminded us that our children have been given the gift of faith, but it’s up to us to nurture it.\u00a0 Faith can be lost, but it can also\u00a0grow ten-fold.\u00a0 As parents, we help our children develop a relationship with Christ by talking to Him regularly, by surrounding themselves with community and\u00a0by living a life of discipleship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This weekend was about the real presence<\/em> of the Eucharist, its mighty power and our responsibility to go forth and preach the Gospel.\u00a0 It was also a reminder that if it weren’t for my children, my faith life would be dismal.\u00a0 May we all have the faith of a child, the confidence of a disciple and the love of Christ in our hearts this Easter season, and always!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, my second child celebrated his First Communion.\u00a0 I’ve been thinking about this day for years and planning for *almost* that long (hey, party planning is my vice).\u00a0 To think I almost missed the big event during Mass makes me chuckle.\u00a0 But, more on that in just a moment. As I opened my… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[57,721,177],"class_list":["post-15418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","tag-easter","tag-first-communion","tag-sacrament","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t