Holy Communion
Turtle has suddenly begun asking detailed questions about receiving Jesus at Mass. She wants to know what "the bread that is Jesus' body" tastes like and "does it really melt in your mouth?" She wants to know what Father says and what we say when we receive Him. We have talked about receiving in the hand versus on the tongue. She tells me confidently that on her birthday when she turns 7 she will wear her flower girl dress and walk up to get Holy Communion too. I wish she didn't have to wait. I was not yet 6 years old when I made my first Communion. It was at a school chapel and it was a private Mass said by my family's priest friend who had prepared me. I remember that I carried up the gifts and remember putting out my tongue at the altar rail to receive Jesus. My siblings didn't all receive Jesus as early as 5 yrs, but my mother has always been of the private opinion that 2nd grade is too late to make one's 1st Communion. "The...
