Pastor’s Corner
Dear Sacred Heart Family,
Do you remember your First Holy Communion? I hope so! I must admit, that I do not! Not very much that is; thankfully we have pictures, and I remember taking one of those. But I am so grateful for that tremendous day. The day you first received Holy Communion is not like a graduation or a completion of a course. Rather it was a beginning of a life-long relationship.
This weekend we celebrated First Holy Communions here at Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thanks very much to the commitment of our parents, who made this day a priority in their children”™s lives. Thanks also to the generous dedication and tireless hard work of our Director of Religious Education, Mrs. Julia Carty and her wonderful team of staff, catechists, and volunteers, this beautiful weekend has arrived. There is great rejoicing in Heaven when a child receives Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time.
The greatest of friends, Our Lord, comes to us. St. Therese once wrote, “œDo you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you – you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart.” Jesus is our best friend, and wants to encourage us, especially in our struggles. He knows our discouragements, struggles and weaknesses. Therese continues, “œThe guest of our soul knows our misery; He comes to find an empty tent within us – that is all He asks.” We come to him for the first time, or after years of relationship, because He comes down from Heaven to find Heaven in us! “œIt is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in which He takes delight.”
First Holy Communions are celebrations and opportunities. They are celebrations of the new beginning of a deeper relationship with Jesus and our children when receiving Him in Holy Communion. They are also opportunities for us to grow in our appreciation of Who we receive in Holy Communion. Do I prepare myself for Holy Communion? Am I aware of the gift of Divine Mercy in Reconciliation when I am conscious of serious sin? Do I try and love the Mass, the Sunday Liturgy of Christ in the Church? May God bless us with a deepening awareness of how much Jesus yearns to come to each one of us, personally: Our Lord Jesus Himself, in Holy Communion!
In Our Lady”™s Immaculate Heart,
Fr. Bjorn Lundberg