Catechist Know-How May 2009

Show Me Jesus

By Mary Lou Rosien

A friend just called to tell me about her three year-old daughter’s understanding of Jesus living in her heart. She had been walking around all day long lifting up her shirt, asking her mom if she wanted to see Jesus.

During this time of year, we prepare the second graders for First Holy Communion. They sometimes struggle with the idea that the host (once Consecrated) is actually Jesus. As one student emphatically exclaimed to me recently, “It (re)presents Jesus.”

“No, Sweetie,” I responded. “It is Jesus.” When my own son, Nick, was three he asked me, “If you love Jesus so much, Mommy, why do you bite him?”

Transubstantiation is a difficult thing for adults to understand, let alone little children. There are a few things we can do to make it a little easier.

1. Teach them young. If you think about the story with my son, he never doubted that Jesus was present in the Eucharist. He accepted it as fact, because we said so. Helping children to be excited about the Consecration is key to understanding the Eucharist. I always say to my young ones, “Don’t miss the miracle. Here comes Jesus!”
2. Explain the story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus following the resurrection. Jesus did not reveal who he was to his friends, even as they were sad and stressed about the current events. If Jesus could hide his identity from his friends when He was right next to them, then it wouldn’t be difficult at all for Him to hide His appearance from us when He is present in the Eucharist. 
3. Demonstrate excitement for the Consecration and in receiving Communion ourselves. Children pay more attention to what we do than what we say. If we are not paying attention during the Consecration or we chat with friends while going to receive Jesus, we will give the impression that Mass is just a social event. We have a duty to encourage reverence during Mass and if we remember the miracle that is occurring, we should have no trouble in doing so.
4. Review what happened when Jesus said, 
   "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55,56.
   "Then many of his disciples who were listening said, 'This saying is hard. Who can accept it?'" John 6:60
   "As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him." John 6:66

Jesus did not tell them it was just an explanation or example, the Church teaches that He meant it literally. When we meditate on the gravity of this teaching, we begin to realize the miracle that is the Eucharist. It is then we can inspire our own children and students to do the same. God bless.