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Opening the Word: A letter to my son on his first Communion

Opening the Word: A letter to my son on his first Communion

Opening the Word: A letter to my son on his first Communion

FIRST COMMUNION PENNSYLVANIA
(CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Timothy P O'MalleyThe writer has taken the occasion of his son’s first Communion to speak about the Eucharist considering the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Since you were a young child, you have yearned for this moment. Initially, your desire stemmed from a desire to emulate rather than anything significant. Your mother and your father were presented with the body and blood of Christ, and if it served as nourishment for them, then it ought to be nourishment for you.

You were correct, dear son. Nonetheless, the Church’s wisdom had you hold off until this year. In your patience, your toddler tantrums during Mass transformed into a peaceful, nearly reflective, look of affection. You desired to partake in the body and blood of Christ not merely because your parents do, but because you learned to understand who was offering himself to you at that altar.

April 25 – Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:8-12
Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
1 Jn 3:1-2
Jn 10:11-18

“I am the skilled shepherd, and I recognize my own and my own recognize me…” (Jn 10:14).

You probably recall this excerpt. Prior to this dreadful virus, you dedicated each Monday to Catechesis of the Good ShepherdIn the atrium, you reflected on the Good Shepherd, who cares for his sheep to such an extent that he will go to great lengths to remain with them. You understood that he continues to do everything to be with us, offering himself to us at the altar in forms that resemble bread and wine.

And now, cherished son, you are encouraged to engage in a more profound reflection on the Good Shepherd. He understands you and cares for you. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, you will encounter him in a fresh manner. You will partake in his body and blood; you will be nourished with the best wheat by the Good Shepherd, who sacrificed his life for you and for me.

Throughout all these years, I have referred to you as my cherished son. And I always will. However, your mother and I have an additional bond with you that might be even more significant.

The apostle John describes this connection. He states, “Beloved“Consider the love that the Father has granted us, that we should be referred to as children of God” (1 Jn 3:1).

Mom and dad, your sibling and you, fellow church members at Pius X. We are all God’s children, baptized into a connection with Jesus. Jesus, as you know, is the cherished Son of the Father. And we are siblings of Jesus, offspring of the most benevolent and caring God.

You probably do not recall the moment you began to eat. We would select a small morsel of food. You would come closer to me, and I would softly place it on your tongue. There was such trust reflected in your eyes. You believed that I would provide you with something beneficial, something that would nourish you.

This is the identical mindset we should adopt as we come near to Christ’s body. As God’s children, we understand that our Father will provide us with something nourishing. In this instance, it is not merely bread and wine that we are meant to accept. We are to accept him. The Lord of heaven and earth, the maker of the stars above desires to be intimately close to us. So close that he permits us to consume his body and drink his blood.

In the upcoming years, I will clarify what this signifies, how our extraordinary God converts bread and wine into body and blood.

However, for the moment, understand this. Recognize that when you receive Our Lord in the Eucharist, not only today but throughout your entire life, the Good Shepherd offers himself to you. You, a son or daughter of God. I, a son or daughter of God.

Behold the affection that has been granted to us, offspring of such a benevolent Father.

Timothy P. O’Malley, Ph.D., is the director of education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.

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