Most Catholics remember their First Communion day. Not only do they remember it, but they can provide many details about it. A woman will tell you about the white dress she wore that day, while men will recall that they wore white shirts and ties, and possibly suits.
When my twin brother and I made our First Communion in 1970, the boys at our parish did not wear suits. We wore a robe that looked very much like a dalmatic — the vestment worn by deacons over their albs when they assist at Mass.
While a 7-year-old boy might not be comfortable wearing a suit, white shirt and tie, I know two who would have preferred that to wearing dalmatics and having to pose for photos in front of the flowering crabapple trees in front of our house — and hoping that none of the neighbor kids would see us! Little did I know at that time that less than two decades later, I’d be wearing a dalmatic as a transitional deacon in my ordained ministry.
It is interesting what we recall about our First Communion day. Beyond what they wore, decades later, people can often describe, as though it occurred yesterday, the weather, practice processing into church, and a gathering of family and friends for a meal afterward.
The specialness of that day, of course, was receiving the Body of Christ for the first time. It was a major step in our initiation into the Church. We had reached the age of reason — an age when we were expected to understand the importance of who we were receiving.
That understanding, as minimal as it may have been for a 7-year-old, was the result of the catechesis we received at school and, more importantly, the Catholic environment in which we were raised. Both my parents had a significant effect on that environment. But so many of the prayers I learned, participating in Marian devotions and becoming familiar with the traditions of Church came from Mom.
There is no inherent connection between First Communion and Mother’s Day, but since most parishes celebrate reception of this sacrament during May, it is often scheduled close to, if not on, Mother’s Day, as mine was. The faith commitment of my mother exemplified the important link between receiving First Communion and highlighting and being grateful for the role of moms in our families, especially in transmitting the faith.
In his catechesis on the family, Pope Francis featured the value of mothers:
“Mothers often pass on the deepest sense of religious practice: in a human being’s life, the value of faith is inscribed in the first prayers, the first acts of devotion that a child learns. It is a message that believing mothers are able to pass on without much explanation: these come later, but the seed of faith is those early precious moments.
“Without mothers, not only would there be no new faithful, but the faith would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth” ( Jan. 7, 2015).
As we celebrate with and pray for our First Communicants this month, take time to reflect upon what a gift it was for you to come forward and to receive Jesus’ body for the first time. Renew your devotion to making certain that every time you receive the Eucharist it is a special time in your life.
Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for your mother — the person who fed you at the table in your home and who helped prepare you for coming to the table of Our Lord. As Pope Francis said that day in 2015, “Dearest mothers, thank you, thank you for what you are in your family and for what you give to the Church and the world.”