Much of this weekend’s focus and energy is given to our Parish celebration of First Eucharist. Even if we are not at the specific Mass during which these youngsters will receive Our Lord for the first time, they are very much in our thoughts and prayers.
Until this day we have done our best to help their eyes to be open to the Mystery within the signs of bread and wine. And we have done our best to open their hearts with ours to the Mystery of Christ’s victory over sin and death so clearly proclaimed in this weekend’s readings. The greater challenge, of course, is to give our own hearts completely to the Mystery beyond the things we see, and beyond the time we are living now.
The human heart and imagination are capable of managing “chunks” of time, within seasons or leading up to a season. It is perhaps for this very reason that when a season appears again on the horizon, it always offers something new for all the times we have enjoyed it or suffered through it in the past. There is always something new within us that will be drawn out by the words, the sights, the smells, the music and even the silence of a season. There is always the promise of some new sign of the deepest love when celebrating a birthday or an anniversary, or even remembering the anniversary of someone we love who has died.
The youngsters among us who approach the Lord in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood for the first time are guided by us and they renew and encourage us in return! The horizon we see and against which we measure is perceived by us in a way that limits us. Christ has gained and offered us so much more! The youngsters among us ... if only we could see through their eyes open wide!