House of Eight; Home of Love: Honey Bunches First Communion

Sunday, April 29th, Honey Bunches received his First Holy Communion. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful celebration. We were all a bit worried if this event would take place, as days leading up to it a nasty virus spiraled through the elementary building. Three days before, 1/3 of the student body was home sick. Out of my three children who attend school, Honey Bunches was the only one who contracted this ugly virus. With much rest and much prayer, he made a full recovery in time for Sunday.


Waiting for the signal to load up the van

As I've written in the past, Honey Bunches is a man of few words. I couldn't detect his emotional state leading up to his First Communion. Then about a week ago, he began a countdown. "5 days until my First Communion Mom!" I would ask him, "Are you getting excited?" He would simply smile and nod his head.

Monkey Toes and Honey Bunches walking towards the church

There were 41 First Communicants (22 from the Catholic school). One could just feel the excitement among the kids as we gathered in the wings, awaiting our cue to process in the church. The boys were very handsome and the girls darling.

I wanted to embrace the moment that Honey Bunches received the Eucharist. I was moved by the experience, knowing that Honey had taken one of the most important steps in his Catholic faith. As we knelt down after receiving the Body and the Blood of Jesus, I was thinking about the day of Honey's Baptism. This day of First Communion seemed so far off at that point in time, and yet, here we were with our son.

To me, faith is an equally important basic need as food, clothing and shelter. The Eucharist is gift and it is one that will sustain him the rest of his life; through good and difficult times. My hope is that his love and understanding of this Sacrament will only grow and increase over time.

I am proud of Honey Bunches. I am overjoyed at this place in his faith journey. I am humbled at Christ's love for us and His gift to us in the Eucharist. I am grateful that Honey has been entrusted to us. I will remain vigilant in my prayers that Honey will hear Christ's voice and choose to follow Him throughout his life.