First Communion Homily: Parents Wake Up!

[after speaking to the children about Jesus’ promise of eternal life for those who eat his body and drink his blood, I shifted gears and addressed the parents]

Jesus promises us eternal life and He could not be any clearer: he tells us to eat of his body and drink of his blood to have eternal life because his flesh is true food and his blood true drink.

If faith in Jesus Christ is an integral part of your life, if you wish to live by Biblical principles and Jesus’ teachings, you must receive the bread of life, the bread of heaven, through which we are guided into eternal life. Mass attendance is an integral part of our faith; it is here that we receive the Bread of Life which Jesus promised us.

Today your children receive their First Communion, do not impede them from receiving this precious gift in the future: come to Mass, come as a family.

Your primary duty as Christian parents is to prepare your child for heaven, doing all you can to help them grow spiritually. All other things are done in vain if your child’s spiritual wellbeing is not maintained.

Mass attendance and prayer in the family are number one, nothing else is above them. One cannot be a Catholic in good standing and not attend Mass, or attend Mass just occasionally when the schedule permits it.

If you already faithfully come to Mass, continue, knowing this is the best path to achieve eternal life for your whole family. Children learn by example, give them a worthy example to follow.

If you do not, your efforts to get your children to Sunday School for two years will have been in vain. Your sacrifice for your children to attend Sacred Heart School will have been in vain. The Eucharist, the Mass, is at the heart of our faith, not Sunday school or religion class. Sunday school without Mass attendance is like going to practice but never getting to play on the field. It eventually gets boring and you quit.

May this day be a moment of grace for all of us here as we witness these children receive their first communion. The true presence of Christ in them, and in us, will transform us if we’re open to the working of the Holy Spirit. May it be a day of transformation, a day of grace, a day of growing closer to Our Lord.