Jesus loves the little children

In my understanding, the Eucharist is real, Christ is Present, and He infuses our lives with His Presence during the Sacrament.  It is the most profoundly holy time in my week, when I am touched by the Sacred.

I believe that Christ is Present in the Sacrament, I believe that we are invited by Christ Himself to touch and be touched by the Holy. We take Christ Himself into our bodies, and our lives, leaving and being sent into the world, carrying Christ within us.

That being said, this week we had a little 'event' during the Eucharist.  In my tradition, there is a point during the Eucharistic prayer (called the Epiclesis),  during which the Celebrant invokes the Holy Spirit to bless the bread and wine so that it may be to us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then the Priest elevates the Host, showing Christ to the faithful for veneration.  At that most sacred, profound moment a little girl of almost two years old looked up and with her innocent, shrill voice yelled "cookie"!!

There were audible gasps, mine being among them.

Fr. Scott looked down, smiled, and told the little girl, that she certainly would have a cookie!

In that moment Christ touched another child....

Comments

[Rachel]

After my kids got baptized two years ago, they took communion for the first time. My then 9 year old said as we walked back to the pew,

'Mom, that cracker is really delicious.'

I replied,

'Yes, Noah. It is the most delicious thing in the world...'

Who, but Christ himself, could make a host taste delicious, I ask you?

[Anglican]

Amen! When I have the honor of serving the chalice, it always wounds me when I see an overzealous (and often too "high church") parent visibly prevent a child from receiving. This is where the tradition of "confirmation class" meddles with the theology that we claim to believe in, namely that the table is open "to all baptized persons." Indeed, that one bit of theology is something I question. The table should be open, like Christ himself, to all who approach it.

[Wayward Episcopalian]

At our church, it's a little boy. When he was just learning to talk, about two years ago, his mother would carry him on her hip to the communion rail. The rector went down the rail, distributing the Sacrament to each palm. He gave it to the mother, the father, and moved along, and the one-year old audibly and alarmingly said, "Forgot baby!" Every head turned, Father Pat smiled, and has not since skipped the child. Now, a year or so later, we have a new family service, in which children bring forth the (plastic) elements. This same child usually gets the leftover sacrament, and strolls around the back of the room happily munching half a loaf (it's leavened, homebaked). For him, church is all about "Bread! Bread!"

I think his joy, and the togetherness of the children charging forth with the elements, says more about our Communion than any Eucharistic Prayer ever will. Needless to say, this has all changed my thoughts on First Communion.

[Teresa]

Althought I can't help imagining some dissappointment on the part of the child when she actually tasted the host...
...It doesn't tast ANYTHING like cookie!

:-)

[...paul]

Great story, thanks Terry. The innocence of children is truly wonderful to behold.

[nate]

wow...awesome story terry. Gave me goosebumps. I could only picture my little gabs shouting out like that.