The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-04-20
COMMUNION PURELY A LOVE AZ
FAIR.

Some time ago." writes Rev. l.. F.
Schlathoeler in the Catholic Fort
nightly Review. II was requested by
several priests to write small cate
chism in baby talk for the use of
parents to prepare their little tots for
first Communion. | was vain enough
to take the suggestion and tried to
make myself familiar with the
thoughts of a few of my little daily
communicates. But I soon dropped
the whole matter. Communion with
all Of us, and especially with the chill
dren, is purely love affair. There is
very little of the intellect in it. When
the child in a confused way is made
aware that it is Jesus, his God, whom
he receives, then he knows enough.
The rest is a matter of love. And
it should be thus. When he receives
his little Jesus in the shape of bread
his heart swells. Talk to him about
Jesus, and he will not answer you
at all. A sigh of happiness and love
is all you can get out Of him, and
often look of wonder that grown
person can talk about and pretend to
understand such sublime and lovable
things. There has to be some kind
of confused knowledge, of course, else
the child could not have acquired in
tention. In this affair of love, as in
all love affairs, there must be two
persons. In most if not all cases per-
haps this love is predominantly one
sided, like most human loves are.
Jesus is there with His infinite love,
and the child with his little love. But
Jesus teaches his child how to love,
and how to be His friend.
"By the way, the best preparation for
Communion, intended as such by holy
mother Church, is the Sacrament of
Confirmation. Some time ago an
firmation in Mexico, wrote to the St.
Louis Amerika, and pretended to be
highly scandalized because little
babies were confirmed. The MUSE and
confusion seemed alarming. I thought
of the scene of Jesus with the little
children, whom the Apostles wanted
to drive away, and wondered why 1t
never struck the correspondent that
in the enumeration of the sacraments
in all catechisms, confirmation comes
before the holy Eucharist There is
a rumor that the Holy Father will
soon issue a decree about the age of
confirmation. However that may be,
we know that Pope Leo XIII. lauded
a French Bishop because he did not
defer confirmation until after first
Communion, and we know that our
present Pope wants first Communion
to be made at the earliest dawn of
reason. Put these two facts together,
and you will know beforehand what
the Pope will say about the time for
confirmation, if he does issue decree
concerning that matter.
when the gifts of the Holy Ghost
are put into the soul of the child, then
it is surely prepared for this love-
feast of Holy Communion, and the
few things which it needs to be told
will be grasped by it's intellect at once,
although perhaps first in confused
way. We should not forget that the
Church has for many centuries, until
now, tolerated the custom of giving
Communion to stockings. Of course
there can be strictly speaking, no
communion in the soul of sucking,
Just as there is no communion be-
tween Jesus and the chalice wherein
he reposes. Communion means a TAX
ing and giving. And the taking can
be done only when the soul is able
to reason, even if but vaguely.
'Nor should we forget that the in
fallible teacher on earth says that the
child must by divine law receive Holy
Communion as soon as possible after
he begins to reason. This excludes
at once a serious and detailed prepar
alton. Furthermore, since the parents
are to impart what little knowledge
the child requires, this necessary
teaching cannot be sort of theo
logical compendium"
-@p-<&@