June 06, 2010
Corpus Christi - First Holy Communion
What was the first sacrament you received? Yes - baptism! When you were baptized the priest or deacon asked your parents: "What name are you giving your child?" Jesus was calling you by name to become his friend and to be part of God's family. As God's family today we gather for Eucharist. "Eucharist" is a Greek word meaning "giving thanks." We give thanks for the special gift of Jesus in the bread and wine, his body and blood. One of our 1st Communicants has the name Brendan. He is named after an Irish saint: Brendan the navigator. He sailed the North Atlantic in a boat made of animal skins. In his journal he writes of sailing to the "Land of Promise" and offering Mass on the top of a whale on Christmas Day. Likely, whales swam by the boat out of curiosity. There alone on the high sea, Brendan and his companions were grateful for God being with them in their perilous voyage -- perhaps to the New World, 900 years before Columbus! We give thanks for Jesus being with us on our journey. Wheat becomes bread. Grapes become wine. The bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The bread and wine are the precious gift of Jesus' very life, his goodness, kindness, love and forgiveness. With faith we can see Jesus in the host. We can see ourselves too for we are the body of Christ. We can see children from Haiti and Nicaragua who are hungry. We know too that those special persons who have died and gone before us are also present in the host. "Host" can mean "one" and also mean "many." It is a beautiful Holy Communion. We are one in Christ. That is why we give thanks.
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