HOLY COMMUNIONS

A few weeks ago in one of my rare occasions to preach now being retired, I was reflecting on Jesus’ words that we need to eat his body and drink his blood and how that all relates to my First Holy Communion (in caps) back in 1950 when I was eight years old. My point was, and still is of course, that Sunday in May was really not my first holy communion (not in caps). Rather my first holy communion and the holy communions thereafter took place at my grandfather’s home.

For whatever reason as a toddler Grandpa allowed me to share coffee with him. It was and still is the best coffee I have ever had. When I told my mom in later years how much I loved that coffee, she said that she thought it was awful and that the only reason I loved it was because I loved grandpa. Maybe so. Drinking coffee with Grandpa was a holy communion for me.

So were Sunday afternoons at his home. Each Sunday Grandpa would walk a mile or so to church, attend Mass and then return home to make Sunday dinner for our family. My parents, siblings and I would arrive around 4:00, have dinner and then spend some time in Grandpa’s and Uncle Dom’s company. Those Sunday afternoons were also times of holy communion.

Granted, I never realized they were such, until, in all honesty after all these years of preaching, I started to reflect on that Gospel passage about eating Jesus’ body and drinking his blood. I suspect that over the years I was too caught up on visualizing such a reality, as did all those who walked away because they, too, could not imagine eating anyone’s body or drinking that person’s blood.

Jesus’ point was that his whole message was about how we are to form holy communions one with another, like drinking a cup of coffee or eating a meal with someone we love. In fact, the way to begin working towards holy communion with another or others is to first sit down and share a cup of coffee or a meal. If we cannot do that, there is no possibility of being in any communion, let alone a holy one, with another.

Sometimes that is easy as it was with Grandpa. Often, not so. Following Jesus is, at times, very difficult, as we all know. Sometimes we are not in communion with him because we deliberately do what we know such a communion would forbid, namely, when we act selfishly and hurt those we are in communion with or wish to be in communion.

Those holy communions I have been in and still are over the years have made me a better person, and I hope, helped me make others better as well. What I also know is that I am thankful for each and every one of them. I need to remember this the next time we share a cup of coffee or sit down to a meal together. How about you?