Skip to main content

Celebrate First Communion Anniversaries

Celebrate First Communion Anniversaries:

Most of us receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist when we’re in the second grade.  We’ve prepared all year, and now, filled with joyful anticipation, the moment we will receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ is here. Really reflect on that for a moment. As Catholics, every Sunday (and weekday), we have the opportunity to receive Jesus—His body, soul, and divinity—in the Holy Eucharist, and continue to join in communion with him. Wow! When you reflect upon this amazing reality, the word “wow” does not even begin to describe the truth that is contained in the Holy Eucharist. Now, years after making our first communions, I wonder... Do we continue to approach and receive Him with the same enthusiasm and excitement we did as children on our First Communion Day? Or do we take this treasured sacrament, and He who is present in it, for granted; merely going through the motions instead of reflecting upon whom we are receiving into our bodies and inviting into our hearts? I’ll be the first to admit that there have been times in my life when I’ve merely gone through the motions and not truly appreciate the sacramental gift I have been given, but I’ve found that when I reflect and prepare through prayer, I’m able to see holy communion as the sacrament that it is and be aware that I am walking towards and receiving God the Son. Each time you receive communion, not only is it a chance for you to receive a sacrament, but it is an opportunity to connect with Jesus and Jesus with you in an intimate and extraordinary way! I challenge you, and myself, to approach the altar, and Jesus in the Eucharist, with the heart of your first-communion-self. When your first communion anniversary arrives, don’t overlook it. Celebrate your first communion anniversary and reflect and celebrate upon the beautiful sacrament of the Holy Eucharist each time you approach the altar and receive our Lord hidden in the veil of bread.  

Some additional ways to celebrate your first communion anniversary:

1. Go to Mass
2. Go to reconciliation
3. Spend some time in adoration
4. Have a sweet treat 
5. Look through your first communion photos with your kids,and talk about the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist with them

(Below are pictures of me on my first communion day)


(Here is a picture of my husband when he made first communion)

(A holy card I received on my first communion—I love this image!) 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Margaret Mary

Saint Margaret Mary: Feast Day October 16th  “Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.” ~ Saint Margaret Mary ~ Faith is a gift—an undeserved and valuable grace granted by the Holy Spirit. Each of us has the capacity to seek The Way, The Truth, and The Life, for this longing has been inscribed within our hearts. Yet, in our free will, we have the choice and ability to ignore and turn from this divine call. Like the image of the tree Saint Margaret Mary describes above, if we seek Jesus and are rooted in our faith, nothing can shake us. Our water is the Church, and Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is who makes our roots deep and strong enabling us to withstand the winds of the world and produce good fruit in His name.  Jesus offers us so many opportunities to find Him, and so many ways to live with Him in Heaven. In the 1600s, He appeared to Saint Mar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Baptism of the Lord

Baptism of the Lord: The Last Day of Christmas  “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Since Jesus is God and, therefore, sinless and perfect, he didn’t need to be baptized, but by being baptized, he gave us a sacrament for adoption into his family—a means to become children of God. What makes the Sacrament of Baptism important? (1) Baptism claims us as children of God, forgiving us of our sins, (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), it is the first sacrament of initiation into the Church and Her mission, and through Baptism, God gifts us with grace. What exactly is grace? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as: “Grace is favor, the free undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saints Joachim and Anne

Saints Joachim and Anne: Feast Day July 26th Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus had grandparents? When God the Son took on human flesh, he also paced himself within the dynamics of the human family. Although there is no specific reference in the Bible to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents by name, the Church celebrates Jesus' maternal grandparents under the names Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. It took a special father and mother to raise, care for, and help prepare the Blessed Virgin Mary for her future vocation and extraordinary relationship with God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and her saintly husband, Saint Joseph; and those special parents were no doubt saints themselves. Speaking of Saint Joseph, his parents would also have been grandparents of the Lord. Celebrating Jesus' grandparents today, reminds us that grandparents are the keepers and transmitters of family history and tradition, and are the patriarchs and matriarchs of families, holding generatio...
Post a Comment
Read more