Written by Fr. Dan Janasik, Pastor

The Easter Season is the traditional time for First Communions. We have three First Communion Masses at St. Leonard. The 5 p.m. Mass next Saturday, May 4 will include children receiving their First Communion. Congratulations to all of our First Communicants and their families!

As I do the First Communion Masses, I love the joy on everyone’s faces. Parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and many other family and friends seem to be bursting with happiness on the special day of a First Communion. And rightfully so! I think that should be our attitude about each and every time we get to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist! There’s no greater gift that God could give us than Himself. And God does that in the Eucharist- the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus.  

The Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist “the source and the summit of our faith.” All that we have and all that we are comes from Jesus, and everything is directed to return to him. The word “Eucharist” comes from a Greek word which means “thanksgiving.” I’m convinced that from the Eucharist we can learn everything about how to live: with love, generosity, and humble self-giving. We feed on Jesus so that we become more like him- to think like Jesus, act like Jesus, and love like Jesus.

This past year as I was teaching the children the proper way to receive Holy Communion, some of the children started telling me ways that they’ve seen people in church receiving Holy Communion in an improper way. Don’t you love the brutal honesty of children?!

From time to time, it’s good for all of us to refresh our knowledge about important matters because bad habits can easily settle in.

We believe that Holy Communion is truly the real presence of Jesus Christ: his body, blood, soul, and divinity. Because the Eucharist has infinite value, we give extraordinary reverence and devotion to this sacrament. Therefore, the church asks us to do the following out of love for Jesus:

• Catholics should fast from all food and drink (except water or medicine) for at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion so that the physical hunger you feel will point to the deeper spiritual hunger we all have for God.
• If you’re aware of a serious sin in your life, you should go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion to be healed and forgiven.  
• As you step forward to receive Holy Communion, make a reverent bow.
• When the minister holds up the host and says, “The Body of Christ,” you respond by saying “Amen,” which is an Aramaic word that means “I believe.”
• To receive Communion on the tongue, open your mouth and slightly stick out your tongue. To receive Communion in the hand, hold one hand over the other and extend your hands toward the minister. We tell our parish children to “make a throne with your hands for Jesus the King!”  
• The Eucharist should NOT be grabbed (sometimes people will grab the host from the minister). There is a symbolism here:  God is to be received, not grabbed at. Think of Mary’s receptiveness to the Angel Gabriel’s announcement that she would be the mother of the Savior: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38). 
• Holy Communion is fully received under either the form of bread OR wine. When you receive the host you receive the full, real presence of Christ in the sacrament.

Take some time in prayer after receiving Communion to speak with the Lord. You have become a living tabernacle of Jesus’ presence!  You have become like Mary who carried Jesus within her!