First Holy Communion
Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City, Philippines
Readings
(New American Bible:
Philippines, USA)
Readings
(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel Matthew 11:25-30 (New
Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)
At that time Jesus
said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to
infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All
things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come
to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
The
Census at Bethlehem (detail)
Peter
Bruegel the Elder [Web Gallery of Art]
The Flight into Egypt
Melchior Broederlam [Web Gallery of Art]
Lo, your king comes
to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey
(Zechariah 9:9, First Reading).
The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem
Giotto di Bondone [Web Gallery of Art]
The Rule of St Francis states that brothers are forbidden to ride on horseback, unless compelled by manifest necessity or infirmity. Many years ago I asked a Capuchin Franciscan friar about this, thinking that it had something to do with the kindness to animals that we associate with St Francis. He explained to me that the horse was the 'Mercedes of the day' in the time of St Francis. So it was a matter of poverty, humility and simplicity for the Franciscan friars not to ride a horse.
The gospels tell us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, as the Prophet Zechariah foretells in today's First Reading. Peter Bruegel the Elder in his wonderful painting The Census at Bethlehem shows our Blessed Mother, carrying her very soon-to-be born Son, riding on a donkey led by St Joseph. Many paintings of the Flight into Egypt, such as that of Melchior Broederlam above, show Mary carrying the Infant Jesus on a donkey.
Jesus tells us in today's gospel: you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants. One of many experiences I had of this was in the spring of 1969 north of New York City. A fellow Columban priest had introduced me to a large Italian-American family whose house had that 'well lived-in' look about it. They invited me to the First Holy Communion of their youngest daughter, Betsy. I wasn't able to attend the Mass but joined the family with the other priest for dinner that evening.
Here in Ireland it is the custom for children on their First Holy Communion day to visit their relatives who give them some money. We have an expression for someone who is tight-fisted (kuripot in the Philippines), 'He still has his First Communion money'. I discovered that at least in the New York area they have a similar custom. During the evening at Betsy's house I learned that she had received $100 that day, an enormous sum for her. Her mother told her that we two priests were missionaries and that missionaries depended on the money that people gave them.
When Betsy heard this she immediately wanted to give us her $100. We were both embarrassed and made an excuse that we didn't need the money right there and then. But the real gift that Betsy gave me, a gift I still have, though not as something hoarded but something living and to be shared, was her pure act of love on the day of her First Holy Communion. Like the widow in the gospels of St Mark and St Luke, she wanted to give everything she had. You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
The photo at the top was taken maybe ten years ago on Pentecost Sunday when I baptised and confirmed some of the girls in Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City, run by the Cpauchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family. Most of the girls there come from a background of poverty and the majority have experienced being abused before they were referred to the home. None of them owned the white dresses they were wearing that day. They were focused on receiving the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. They knew they would be receiving Jesus Christ the Risen Lord himself, 'Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity', not a symbolic piece of bread. And what greater humility can God show than to come to us in the form of bread?
I was involved with Holy Family Home for Girls from the ende of 2002 until June 2017 and I would say that that involvement was the biggest blessing from God in my life as a priest. So often I experienced there the truth of the words of Jesus today: You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Again, that is an ongoing blessing from God, as is the blessing I received from God through Betsy 51 years ago. I met her some years after that and reminded her about the incident. She didn't remember it. But, with God's grace, I do. So often God reveals himself through persons, usually of 'no standing', who have no idea of how powerfully and profoundly they are sharing His love.
Jesus tells us in today's gospel: you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants. One of many experiences I had of this was in the spring of 1969 north of New York City. A fellow Columban priest had introduced me to a large Italian-American family whose house had that 'well lived-in' look about it. They invited me to the First Holy Communion of their youngest daughter, Betsy. I wasn't able to attend the Mass but joined the family with the other priest for dinner that evening.
Here in Ireland it is the custom for children on their First Holy Communion day to visit their relatives who give them some money. We have an expression for someone who is tight-fisted (kuripot in the Philippines), 'He still has his First Communion money'. I discovered that at least in the New York area they have a similar custom. During the evening at Betsy's house I learned that she had received $100 that day, an enormous sum for her. Her mother told her that we two priests were missionaries and that missionaries depended on the money that people gave them.
When Betsy heard this she immediately wanted to give us her $100. We were both embarrassed and made an excuse that we didn't need the money right there and then. But the real gift that Betsy gave me, a gift I still have, though not as something hoarded but something living and to be shared, was her pure act of love on the day of her First Holy Communion. Like the widow in the gospels of St Mark and St Luke, she wanted to give everything she had. You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
The photo at the top was taken maybe ten years ago on Pentecost Sunday when I baptised and confirmed some of the girls in Holy Family Home for Girls, Bacolod City, run by the Cpauchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family. Most of the girls there come from a background of poverty and the majority have experienced being abused before they were referred to the home. None of them owned the white dresses they were wearing that day. They were focused on receiving the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. They knew they would be receiving Jesus Christ the Risen Lord himself, 'Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity', not a symbolic piece of bread. And what greater humility can God show than to come to us in the form of bread?
I was involved with Holy Family Home for Girls from the ende of 2002 until June 2017 and I would say that that involvement was the biggest blessing from God in my life as a priest. So often I experienced there the truth of the words of Jesus today: You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Again, that is an ongoing blessing from God, as is the blessing I received from God through Betsy 51 years ago. I met her some years after that and reminded her about the incident. She didn't remember it. But, with God's grace, I do. So often God reveals himself through persons, usually of 'no standing', who have no idea of how powerfully and profoundly they are sharing His love.
The Nativity
El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]
O magnum mysteriun
Setting by Tomás Luis de Victoria, sung by The Cambridge Singers
This ancient Latin Christmas hymn is very much in tune with today's First Reading and Gospel and shows the utter humility of God who comes to us in His humanity in a stable, a donkey a witness, and who reveals Himself to unlearned shepherds.
O magnum mysterium
O
great mystery
et admirabile sacramentum
and
wonderful sacrament
ut animalia viderent
that
even the animals saw
Dominum natum
the
new-born Lord
jacentem in praesepio.
lying
in a manger.
Beata Virgo cujus viscera
Blessed
Virgin, whose womb
meruerunt portare
was
worthy to bear
Dominum Christum
our
Lord Christ.
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Hail
Mary, full of grace,
Dominus tecum.
the
Lord is with you.
