We just finished up with the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Communion. They both went very well. I would like to congratulate all those who made their Sacrament of Confirmation and First Communion, yet I’m thinking that neither the second graders nor the teenagers are reading this, so I would like to congratulate their parents and all the family involved. What a beautiful gift the Sacraments are! My favorite part of this experience has to be the interviews. I think I can speak on behalf of the priests and deacons and say they would agree with me. It is such a joy to be able to talk to the candidate and their parents one-on-one. The parents are seemingly more nervous than the child most of the time. Inching off of their seat, looking sternly at the child, awaiting an answer that they know they know. Some of the children are so nervous that when I try to throw them an easy pitch like “tell me what Sacrament you are going to make”, they look at me like it’s a curve ball. But once they get rolling the answers don’t stop. I had multiple 2nd graders upset with me saying, “Aren’t you going to ask me my Ten Commandments?” or “Don’t you want to know if I know the Memorare?” Of course I quickly reply, “Yes, I would love to hear what else you know.”
Yet, at the heart of all my questions, the one question I want to know most of all is, “Do you know who you are going to be receiving?” The answer is a resounding, “Jesus!” to which I respond, “And do you know who Jesus is?”, looking for the answer “God”, so I can bring to light the reality that when they receive the Eucharist they are truly receiving God in all of His glory. Then, moved by this truth, it seems that response was always, “Isn’t that awesome!” The child’s face would light up with a smile and say definitively, “yeah!”
This is exactly what the Eucharist is – awesome and amazing. It is so moving to see that these 2nd graders understand that, at least for the time. The problem is that at some point, most of them will lose this awe and wonder for the Eucharist and their hearts will fill with uncertainty. So the question is, why does this happen? Why do they lose this faith and trust in God? I think many things can factor in to this, but I think overall it is their experiences with the people in the Church. I think we do a bad job in leading by example. The children observe us and our attitudes that have become desensitized to the reality that God is truly present in the Eucharist. They watch us walk right by the tabernacle with no genuflection or acknowledgement of Who is there. They notice our attitudes, like that of being inconvenienced or bored. Also, they notice what we do and who we are after we receive the Eucharist. When children observe this, a sliver of doubt enters inside them, and the questions arises “why if this is really God are these people not acting like it”, and that doubt grows. The more doubt there is the less faith there can be. I think Jesus sums this all up with his teaching, “Truly, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3)
