Memories of First Communion

By Sister Alodia Carney, OLVM

Victory Noll Sisters experience the holy urgency of the First Communion morning from West to East. We have the joy, the angst, the satisfaction of seeking, encouraging, preparing children for the important day. Parents share with us in this mission.

It occurs on a warm Sunday May morning in a dusty town or in a congested parish compound in Inner City. Children gather like fluttering doves, little girls in white dresses and veils, boys in Sunday suit and neck tie. Mother gives the final positioning of the veil and the final straightening of the neck tie. Dad is parking the car.

One of our Sisters, very much a social observer, commented that an enduring icon of our community is the Sister photographed with the First Communion class. Those are the photos a Sister saves. Those are the stories a Sister tells.

Each spring young children are welcomed into the circle of those who come to the Table. Parents and community, learn from the children's innocence, to stay at the Table and acquire courage to face life's difficulties.

Our Church declares itself to be in solidarity with the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time. What do parents ask of their parish church? Whether members of several generations or recently arrived immigrants, they ask that their children be prepared for First Holy Communion.