Liam's First Holy Communion

Last Sunday, July 22, was an incredibly joyful day as our third son made his first confession and First Holy Communion...his second and third sacraments in the Catholic Church. Summer is snowballing on me and I've been forgetting most Saturdays that it is, in fact Saturday (blog day). I cannot let these amazing moments slip by unacknowledged!

By way of an introduction, in case you're new here or don't understand the differences you see, my family and I are Traditional Roman Catholics. That means that we try to practice the Catholic Faith as it was practiced before the Second Vatican Council, beginning in 1962. There's a laundry list of whys for this decision, but essentially God comes first. We believe Vatican II opened the doors for abuses to the Faith, sacrilege, indifferentism, widespread loss of faith, lack of catechesis, and confusion about what it truly is to be Catholic; gorgeous churches full of soul-lifting works of art were razed and rebuilt or remodeled to accommodate modern aesthetics, and it initiated a prevailing spirit of humanism: for man rather than for God.

We attend the Latin (universal language of the Church) Masses of a society of priests which has taken an oath against (religious) modernism. Faithful, along with the priest, face God on the altar, as he is an earthly shepherd leading us to God. Dress is not casual, but your best for God. Additionally, women cover their heads in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament as an act of respect for Our Lord, and acknowledgment of the dignity of woman, so as the tabernacle is veiled. We maintain quiet in church unless it's prayer or song; there is no visiting, handshaking, or clapping inside church, out of reverence for God.

We also believe in the Real Presence: that Our Lord's Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. Believing the words of Christ, echoed through the Gospels: "Amen, amen I say to you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up on the last day." He is not present symbolically or metaphorically, as many Catholics mistakenly believe today. Because of this belief we receive Our Lord kneeling and on the tongue, as only priests' fingers have been blessed especially for the purpose of touching the Sacred Species.

What greater joy can there be in this life than being physically united to Our Lord?

Liam worked so hard for this day, studying his catechism and waiting! He was incredibly excited. He received his First Communion with his godmother's son, his friend.

Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccáta mundi.

Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world.

Corpus Dómini nostri Jesu Christi custódiat ánimam tuam in vitam ætérnam. Amen.

May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto life everlasting. Amen.

After Mass the boys were enrolled in the Brown Scapular. All our boys wear the brown scapular once they reach the age of reason, and the scapulars are often mistaken for necklaces. More information about the Brown Scapular can be found here, but essentially it is a sacramental that reminds us that we are Catholics and as such, have a duty to fulfill in living our Faith. Those who are enrolled in the Brown Scapular must fulfill certain conditions to receive the promises made by Our Lady to those who wear it; it is also a constant plea for help to Our Lady in attaining salvation.

Our pastor, Father Dean, was on vacation, so we had a visiting priest, Father Carlisle, this Sunday. Father Carlisle celebrated his first anniversary as priest this year.

My crew

Liam's gift from us: his first rosary.

After Mass there was a parish picnic. This picture unintentionally captured four of the grandparents of the First Communicants, and both boys getting to go first in the food line.

Deo gratias!