Never forgetting our First Holy Communion
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord
Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given
thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in
remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do
this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he
comes.
I have a
picture here of a very special flower. Does anyone know what is the name of
this flower? It is called a “Forget me not.” Do you know how it got that name?
Back when God created the world, he was giving names to all the flowers. God
didn’t notice this little blue flower. Since the flower didn’t want to be left
out of the naming, it yelled out, “Forget me not! Forget me not!” God noticed
the little flower, smiled and said, “Then that shall be your name.” And that’s
how this flower got its name. Sometimes when someone is going on a long trip,
they will give this flower to their friend so they will remember them, as a
“forget me not.”
In the
letter to the Corinthians, we see that Jesus also gives us a little
forget-me-not, something that will always make us think of him. Now did Jesus
give his friends a bouquet of little blue flowers called “Forget me not”? No.
What little things did Jesus give us to remember him? In the second reading,
St. Paul says, “Jesus gave us bread and wine in remembrance of him.” Receiving
Jesus’ Body and Blood is a lot more special than little blue flowers, but both
help us to remember others. And why do we need little flowers and Holy
Communion to remember special people? Because sometimes we forget about Jesus,
and we don’t go to Mass on Sunday, especially when we’re on vacation. Mom and
dad, have you ever forgotten about Jesus and missed Mass on Sunday? Don’t
answer that question. But that’s why Jesus gave us Holy Communion, so we won’t
forget about him. Like the little blue flower, Jesus yells, “Forget me not!
Forget me not!”
Last week
some students wrote me letters saying why they wanted to receive Holy
Communion. Let me share one special letter with you; they were all good, but
this one was really good. So as not to embarrass the writer, let’s call her,
“Suzy Q.” She wrote: “Dear Father John, my name is Suzy Q. I am going to make
my First Communion in May! It is coming very quickly! I am very excited for the
big day. I am excited to wear a beautiful white dress. Then I’m going to be
excited to eat the bread and drink the wine. After my 1st Communion I might
have a party! Then we’re going to eat somewhere with my whole family. After the
day has ended I will go to my room and thank God for letting me live on the day
of my 1st Communion. I will say at least 3 Our Father’s, 2 Hail Mary’s, 4 Glory
Be’s, and 4 Acts of Contrition. I might get scared a bit but I know that God,
Jesus and Mary are with me so I’ll know that I’m going to be brave on the big
day. I will pray to Jesus, Mary and God to give me a brave and loving heart in
my life. I will trust my heart to be a good girl and be honest while I’m doing
my 1st Communion. Father John you are an amazing priest and you are cool. Your
friend, Suzy Q.”
Actually, I
just wanted you to hear that last part about me. Now, do you think Suzy Q will
ever forget this day of her First Holy Communion? No, she certainly will not.
No matter how old she gets – even as old as Mrs. Surennah! – she will never
forget this day. That’s why Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Today,
Jesus gives us a very holy forget-me-not, please don’t ever forget him.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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