To First Communicants — Pope Benedict XVI
On October 15, at the close of the Year of the Eucharist, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in St. Peter’s Square
with several children who had received their First Holy Communion during the past year.
Dear Pope,
What are your memories of your First Communion day?
Of course, I remember my First Communion day very well. It was a lovely Sunday in March 1936, 69 years ago. It was a sunny day, the church looked very beautiful, there was music..... but at the heart of my joyful and beautiful memories is this one—I understood that Jesus had entered my heart, He had actually visited me; and with Jesus, God Himself was with me. And I realized that this is a gift of love that is truly worth more than all the other things that life can give. So, on that day, I was really filled with great joy, because Jesus came to me and I realized that a new stage in my life was beginning, I was 9 years old, and that it was henceforth important to stay faithful to that encounter, to that Communion. I promised the Lord as best I could, “I always want to stay with you”, and I prayed to Him, “but above all, stay with me”. So I went on living my life like that; thanks be to God, the Lord has always taken me by the hand and guided me, even in difficult situations. Thus, that day of my First Communion was the beginning of a journey made together. I hope that for all of you too, the First Communion you have received in this Year of the Eucharist will be the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Jesus, the beginning of a journey together, because in walking with Jesus we do well and life becomes good.
In preparing me for my First Communion day, my catechist told me that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. But how? I can’t see Him!
No, we cannot see Him, but there are many things that we do not see but they exist and are essential. For example: we do not see our reason, yet we have reason. We do not see our intelligence and we have it. In a word, we do not see our soul and yet it exists and we see its effects, because we can speak, think and make decisions, etc. Nor do we see an electric current, for example, yet we see that it exists; we see this microphone, that it is working, and we see lights. Therefore, we do not see the very deepest things, those that really sustain life and the world, but we can see and feel their effects. This is also true for electricity; we do not see the electric current but we see the light. So it is with the Risen Lord, we do not see Him with our eyes but we see that wherever Jesus is, people change, they improve. A greater capacity for peace, for reconciliation, etc., is created. Therefore, we do not see the Lord Himself but we see the effects of the Lord; so we can understand that Jesus is present. And, as I said, it is precisely the invisible things that are the most profound, the most important. So let us go to meet this invisible but powerful Lord who helps us to live well.
Your Holiness, everyone tells us that it is important to go to Mass on Sunday. We would gladly go to it, but often our parents do not take us because on Sundays they sleep. The parents of a friend of mine work in a shop, and we often go to the country to visit our grandparents. Could you say something to them, to make them understand that it is important to go to Mass together on Sundays?
I would think so, of course, with great love and great respect for your parents, because they certainly have a lot to do. However, with a daughter‘s respect and love, you could say to them, “Dear Mommy, dear Daddy, it is so important for us all, even for you, to meet Jesus. This encounter enriches us. It is an important element in our lives. Let‘s find a little time together, we can find an opportunity. Perhaps there is also a possibility where Grandmom lives”. In brief, I would say, with great love and respect for your parents, I would tell them, “Please understand that this is not only important for me, it is not only catechists who say it, it is important for us all and it will be the light of Sunday for all our family”.
What good does it do for our everyday life to go to Holy Mass and receive Communion?
It centers life. We live amid so many things. And the people who do not go to church, do not know that it is precisely Jesus they lack. But they feel that something is missing in their lives. If God is absent from my life, if Jesus is absent from my life, a guide, an essential friend is missing, even an important joy for life, the strength to grow as a man, to overcome my vices and mature as a human being. Therefore, we cannot immediately see the effects of being with Jesus and of going to Communion. But with the passing of the weeks and years, we feel more and more keenly the absence of God, the absence of Jesus. It is a fundamental and destructive incompleteness. I could easily speak of countries where atheism has prevailed for years; how souls are destroyed, but also the earth. In this way we can see that it is important, and I would say fundamental, to be nourished by Jesus in Communion. It is He who gives us enlightenment, offers us guidance for our lives, a guidance that we need.
Dear boys and girls, brothers and sisters, at the end of this very beautiful meeting I can find one word only, thank you. Thank you for this feast of faith. Thank you for this meeting with each other and with Jesus. I repeat at the end the words of the beginning of every liturgy and I say to you, “Peace be with you”; that is, may the Lord be with you, may joy be with you, and thus, may life be good.
Pope Benedict XVI
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