First Holy Communion, 3rd Sunday Easter (6:30pm Mass)

 

Today, is special because Hazel, Emma, and Judd will make their First Holy Communion.

A few weeks ago, they made their first Confession. At that time, Jesus washed away all their sins for the first time.

They are now able to go to Confession regularly and allow Jesus to wash away their sins and give us peace. They are encouraged to go to confession once a month or more often if they like, whenever they want. We always have confession before every Mass. They learned that penance, means to do prayers or actions to make up for their sins.

During the year, I discovered that they are fast learners. They’re smart kids! But it’s not just about learning. It’s about believing. They believe the bread is totally changed into the person of Jesus. They believe the wine is changed into the blood of Jesus. They believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist when they receive Him in Holy Communion and they believe Jesus is here in the tabernacle. They know why they genuflect when they come to church.

Today, Jesus will come into their hearts for the very first time today. And so, they will be able to receive Holy Communion every time they come to Mass.

After they receive Communion, they will go to their pews, bow their heads in prayer, and tell Jesus, they love Him, they will thank Him, they will pray for others and for themselves.

At the end of Mass today, they will also be enrolled in the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In the 1200’s, the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Simon Stock and gave him the brown scapular. She promised those who wear the scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. But it’s not a lucky charm, we need to practice our faith and do the best we can to be holy. When we wear the scapular, the Virgin Mary will be protecting us, and praying for us. It’s a protection against evil spirits. The month of May is dedicated to Mary. Tomorrow morning, we will have the crowning of a statue of the Virgin Mary and after the 8am Mass we will pray the Living Rosary in front of the statue of Mary at the parish hall.

The Virgin Mary is our spiritual Mother and She prays for us. We should regularly pray to Mary and ask favors from Her. Like a good mother, she will answer our prayers if what we are asking is good for us.

After Mass tonight, I encourage the children to light a candle before the statue of Mary and ask Mary to keep you close to Jesus.

In the Gospel today, after spending the night on their boat fishing all night and not catching anything, then in the morning, only when Jesus told them to throw the fishing nets off the side of the boat, did the apostles catch 153 fish. Doesn’t it make you wonder how they knew the exact number of fish? Obviously, they counted them, like any good fisherman would.

Do you think any of the Apostles prayed that night on the boat, asking God to help them catch fish? I doubt it.

I am sure most of you have gone fishing before and before you went fishing, did you ask Jesus to help you catch fish? I’ll suspect not.

But, why not ask Jesus to help you catch fish, after all, He helped the Apostles catch fish when He told them to throw the net over the side of the boat.

During Holy Communion, we are one with Jesus and during that time our heart is united to His Heart. That is the best time to ask Jesus for something you may want. The next time before going fishing, during Holy Communion, ask Jesus to help you catch fish. You can ask Jesus to help you do well in sports or to help you to paint something, or to help you to avoid sin, or to do good on a test or ask Jesus to help your family. You can ask Jesus to help you to be holy. You can pray for someone who died, so they can go to heaven in case they may be in purgatory.

Most especially, we should thank Jesus when we receive Holy Communion. In fact, the word “Eucharist”, means thanksgiving. We should thank Him for everything we can think of, especially for coming inside our heart.

Finally, I would like to thank the parents of the children for praying for them, giving a good example and helping them to take their classes. And I would like to thank Haley Stroppes for teaching the children every week, giving them snacks, watching videos, and practicing Confession and Holy Communion. We are blessed to have her teach the children.

Today, let us ask the Virgin Mary, to intercede for these children, their families and all of us. May the Virgin Mary keep all of us close to Jesus in the Eucharist and to receive Him as often as possible.