June 1, 2021
Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Josephine Bakhita Parish,
The past few weeks have been filled with the joy of our young third graders celebrating their First Holy Eucharist. Dressed to the nines, excited and happy…they willingly and wholeheartedly came and eagerly received the Lord as a friend in this special Sacrament. After more than a year away from church they seemed genuinely delighted to be gathered as church in our parish church.
I want to share with you the essentials of my talk to the children and their families. I hope you find these words thought-provoking and relevant as you begin to return (or are considering a return) to face-to-face attendance at our two parish churches. I hope my words to our young ones give you reason to consider why it is so important for us to gather again safely.
Girls and boys, we are all very excited that you are going to make your First Holy Eucharist…we love you! For a long time now, we have wanted to share with you something that is so very important to us…our friendship with Jesus.
I like to spend time with my friends. I am sure you do to. Sometimes I eat with my friends, listen to music, watch a movie, travel, and lots of talk. We like being together. Of course, you can stay friends with people even without being with them. But, being with friends, face-to-face is the best way to stay friends.
A long time ago Jesus made real good friends with his disciples. He was their Savior but also their friend. Jesus ate with them, went fishing with them, walked with them and talked a lot with them. And when he died the disciples lost their best friend. But Jesus did something amazing. He found a way to be with them always.
The most important way that Jesus stays with them and us is in communion. The same Jesus who walked and talked with his friends comes to us too in the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. And if you want to always be a good friend and disciple you will want to always be a good friend to Jesus too.
You are his friend in the same way you enjoy your other friends: you spend time with Jesus, you talk with Jesus, you listen to Jesus, you meet with him face-to-face often, and you carry Jesus in your heart.
Let us remember being with friends is the best way to be friends. Jesus wants friendship with each of us. He wants our time; he wants communion with us.
Again, I hope these simple remarks to our third graders is a help to all of us as we discern our way back into our own communion and friendship with Jesus, our friends in faith and beyond, face-to-face. A special word of gratitude to our Faith Formation Staff, our catechists, our parish staff and especially to all the families of our young ones. For it is in the family that our youth first encounter the meaning of friendship with Jesus.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr. George Couturier
Pastor
