Receive the gift
This weekend in our parish, nineteen
children will receive the gift of the Eucharist for the very first time. Over the past few weeks, the children (you) have
learned that when we receive this gift, it is Jesus himself that is given to
us. There will be (is) great excitement
on these children’s faces. Their parents
and families will all be (are all) here to witness this great day of
rejoicing. After the Mass is complete,
there will be celebrations of various kinds to mark this occasion. Yet, I can’t help thinking that each time we
receive the Eucharist, even though we may understand what it is, there’s still
a part of us that, like the disciples, doesn’t quite grasp the full depth of
this gift.
The gospel today tells of
another such moment, when Jesus greeted his friends with the familiar words: Peace be with you. They didn’t respond as we might respond
today: And with your spirit. In fact, perhaps they had no verbal response
at all to such a greeting on that day.
Even today, if we’re really thinking about what happens at the Mass, we
too have no words to respond adequately to the great gift of love that God
gives in the Eucharist.
Perhaps because the disciples
said nothing in response to his greeting, it was Jesus who continued the
conversation that day of Pentecost in the Upper Room. Receive
the Holy Spirit he said, and those who were present and who wrote about the
experience later said that they didn’t quite understand what happened
next. To their human eyes, there were
strange sounds like the rush of a violent
wind … Divided tongues as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on
each of them. Even though they had
been told ahead of time that the Spirit would come to them, I think that they
were surprised when that moment arrived.
Afterwards, they went out into
the community and told others about their experience. Perhaps they were speaking in their native
tongues, but it appears that others who were there also heard their words in
other languages. The readings for
Pentecost are often used for the Sacrament of Confirmation, but we’re not going
to witness that sacrament here today.
Instead, we celebrate with children who receive the gift of the
Eucharist, food for our journey. This is
their (your) FIRST communion, but there will be countless other opportunities
to receive this gift again. Each time, Jesus
gives us special food to strengthen us in faith so that we can share the variety of gifts and talents that are
ours with Him, with this community of believers, and with others who need us to
be living witnesses of compassion, mercy and forgiveness today.
Congratulations to all our
children. Celebrate this day the special
gift of God’s love that you receive.
Cherish it, for it Is a gift of great value. Ponder its significance in your life, for in
the Eucharist, God gives us his very self so that he can live in us, strengthen
us and enliven us. Dare to use the gift
of love that is given to you today so that you too can tell others about how
God is present in your life. That’s what
the disciples have done for generations: In
the one Spirit we were all baptised … and
we all drink of the one Spirit who was given to the disciples on that first
day of Pentecost when Jesus breathed a breath of life into them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit.
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