Early Christmas Gift of Grace

One of the delights of being a parent are the special moments that we share with our children.  In particular, it is a unique joy and a gift to watch them walk in faith;  These occasions are the ones that I treasure the most!

Today, our seven year old Superboy received an early Christmas gift of grace~His First Holy Communion!

Is he beaming with JOY or what?

It was an extreme honor, to say the least!

For months, Superboy has been yearning begging to be an altar server with his older siblings for early morning daily Mass.  Father M. agreed that he could be an "apprentice" on the altar to receive some on-the-job-training.  He had been doing this for about a month when Fr. M. asked us our thoughts about having Superboy receive an early Holy Communion so that he could receive the Body of Christ on the altar.  

Father M. felt that he would receive many extra blessings from this Sacrament before the age of reason.  Understanding the magnitude of this honor, we held many discussions about the pros and cons of agreeing to this early Sacrament.  As a Mama, I feared rushing into it too soon as the other children had to wait patiently and enjoy that anticipation.  After much prayer and a meeting with Father M., we decided to go ahead and allow Superboy to receive this Sacrament.

Surrounded by his parents and 4 siblings, Superboy received Jesus in the warm, intimate, peaceful, and {early} setting of 7 AM Mass.

What greater gift is there than this?

The stresses of the season were far behind me at this moment...Jesus as the reason- for- the- season suddenly had new meaning.

Father M. challenged all of us to renew our own faithfulness and love for Christ in the Eucharist.  I know for me, personally, I fall deeper in love with our Savior every time one of our children receives a Sacrament.  Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One, Emmanuel.

It was a beautiful morning of Advent grace, followed by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast at home in the company of a few special guests...Grandma Judy, Great Grandma Jackie, and Fr. M. 

Later on in the morning, I read this quote, during my Holy Hour, that summed the day up perfectly!

"God wishes to be seen, 

and He wishes to be sought, 

and He wishes to be expected, 

and He wishes to be trusted."

~St. Julian of Norwich~

In the end, Superboy taught us all a few things...He saw, he sought, he expected, and he trusted God.  Ultimately, God provided a great gift, as He always does:)