This is a big weekend as we celebrate the young members of our community who are receiving Communion for the first time. It’s a profound moment in their lives as they pass over another threshold in their journey of discipleship. From now on, they will receive the sacrament of Jesus to strengthen them in following Jesus with their lives. It’s also a profound moment in all our lives even if we’ve been receiving the sacrament for many years. As we observe our children receive communion for the first time we are all renewed in our commitment to help one another to remain firm in our conviction to follow Jesus. Sunday Mass is when we ritually renew this commitment to God and one another.
Mass is something we do together; we all have tasks to fulfill as our parish family assembles. There are really four tasks or steps for all of us. We gather. We listen. We respond. We are sent. If we understand these steps as an assembly, we will better understand what it means to say that Sunday Mass is not a private act, but something we all do together as one parish family. It is in this sense that we say that we are all celebrants. A worshiping community that begins to believe in itself and act as God’s priestly people will unleash tremendous power for life. It is through that faith experience that God touches us and we touch God. If we actively work at the task of being an assembly, then we will see what a difference that can make.
Congratulations to our young people on this very special day and to their families. Congratulations to the entire parish family as we all embrace our mutual celebration of God’s presence among us and in us at Sunday Mass. I love the way we unleash God’s power together.