Dear Folks,

As I write this it is Hot, Hot, Hot…. I think the last place I would want to be today is the beach. I guess that is one side benefit of Corona Quarantine…. no sweltering on the beach! And I send this with a prayer of thanksgiving for whoever invented air-conditioning.

Over the last two weeks I gave the (mostly) same talk to First Communicants and parents 15 times. Whew! How can I help our children get ready for First Communion: in body, mind, and heart? We give our best to the Lord externally with our bodies, so that our souls may be quieted and lifted up to God! At one point in the talk, I said two prayers: one at attention, kneeling, with eyes closed; the other slumped over and floppy. The children recognized that in one prayer I was more fully lifting my heart to the Lord; and in the other I was more worried about my own discomfort. We can’t tell everything about the quality of a prayer from external appearances, but we sure can know our own motives and weakness by examining our own postures in prayer. Give Jesus your best: body, mind, and heart.

Finally, I’d like to relay a comment from the Sister in the video that we shared at the First Communion meeting. Her convent makes hosts that become Jesus.

She said she was told to, “ask Jesus for anything at your First Communion, and He will give it to you.” She asked to become a sister, and has a beautiful and joyful life!

If the King of the universe is giving you Himself, how many more blessings does He want to give, if you will just ask? Ask rightly, of course, (not for a new XBox)! Ask of the Lord the blessings that will endure into eternity. And if you come to one of the First Communions this summer, renew the memory of your own First Holy Communion! We cannot outdo God in generosity, but we should try.

pax et bonum,

Fr. John Mosimann