The disconnect at 1st Holy Communion

Today was that special day; our 2nd graders received their 1st Holy Communion. They were wonderful. The girls were adorned in their beautiful dresses and characteristic veils. The boys struggled with wearing that darn tie. They lined up before processing in the Church with hands folded in a praying position. They were ready. Having been wonderfully prepared by their teachers and director, I have no doubt that they fully understood what was about to happen. The children were ready to receive Jesus; body, blood, soul and divinity. They were ready to respond to the parts of the Mass we say aloud and even a few of them were prepared to engage Father during the homily.

So what is the disconnect I refer to in the title of this post? It's the grownups; yep, the grownups. Not all the grownups; not by a long shot. But many in attendance at this special spiritual moment in the life of these children seemed to have little idea where they were or what they were attending. Both before Mass and during Mass, right after Communion, a verbal reminder to be quiet, at prayer, reflecting had to be made to the congregation. Now excitement is normal, but really, to have to make an announcement during the period of silence after Communion. Unlike the regular Masses for Sundays and weekdays, today we had to invite the congregation to stand, sit, kneel. And if not for the enthusiastic children, you could hear hardly a response to the congregations spoken parts of the Mass. All of this, coupled with some of the attire from family and friends, not to mention the amazing amount of gum chewing witnessed today, by adults, gives pause for concern.

Now if you know me well, you know I'm not overly hung up on things that bother others. Today, I was struck by the commitment to have our young children get to a place where they indeed "make" their 1st Holy Communion, while seeing evidence that going to Church, particulary Mass, frequently with these same kids may be problematic. I do not want to be overly judgemental here. However, it is evident that we, who are responsible for the faith formation of the people maybe need to do a better job. But I'm also hoping that many of you who may read this will recommit to do your part, our part, in staying true to our faith and teaching our children not just in word, but by example.

If we, the adults, take the time to know the faith, practice the faith regularly and support the local parish where we are comfortable sending our children for CCD, we will all be the better for such efforts. And perhaps, just perhaps, our children will remain Catholic as they grow older and venture off to high school and college.

We, as parents, must bear witness to being the foremost instructors of our own children in the Catholic faith. They should learn from our teachings, and our own example about Jesus, the Church, the sacraments and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

My prayer today is that I will see those 26 children and their families at Mass, week in and week out, and as active members of our parish family.

When it comes to Holy Communion, we truly must become what we believe!