The joy of receiving the Eucharist is abundant on Corpus Christi and in the sacramental season of spring, when scores of Catholic children receive Jesus for the first time.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke of this joy in 2005 to first communicants:

“As for the question, of course I remember my first Communion day very well. It was a lovely Sunday in March 1936, 69 years ago. It was a sunny day, the church looked very beautiful, there was music. ... There were so many beautiful things that I remember. There were about 30 of us, boys and girls from my little village of no more than 500 inhabitants.

“But at the heart of my joyful and beautiful memories is this one — and your spokesperson said the same thing: I understood that Jesus had entered my heart; he had actually visited me. And with Jesus, God himself was with me. And I realized that this is a gift of love that is truly worth more than all the other things that life can give.

“So on that day I was really filled with great joy, because Jesus came to me and I realized that a new stage in my life was beginning — I was 9 years old — and that it was henceforth important to stay faithful to that encounter, to that communion. I promised the Lord as best I could: ‘I always want to stay with you,’ and I prayed to him, ‘but above all, stay with me.’ So I went on living my life like that; thanks be to God, the Lord has always taken me by the hand and guided me, even in difficult situations.

“Thus, that day of my first Communion was the beginning of a journey made together. I hope that for all of you too, the first Communion you have received ... will be the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Jesus, the beginning of a journey together, because, in walking with Jesus, we do well and life becomes good.”

Saints’ Big Days

Catholic kids the world over look forward to their first Communion  — and so did the saints.

St. Thérèse received Jesus for the first time on May 8, 1884.

Pope St. John Paul II received Jesus for the first time in the 1930s:

St. Gianna received her first Communion at the parish of Santa Grata in Bergamo, Italy, on April 4, 1948. 

Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis celebrated in 1998: On June 16, 1998, he received his first Communion at the Convent of the Romite Sisters of St. Ambrose in Perego, Italy.

Social media has chronicled the 2024 first Communion season well. Here is a sampling:

 

 

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Join Father of Mercy Wade Menezes for the free “Eucharistic Devotion” EWTN Online Learning Series at EWTN.com/devotion.