The Eucharist: God’s Greatest Gift
Joy marks a Cinderella moment and ‘the greatest love ever’
Elle Dalesandro of St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis receives the Eucharist from Deacon James Wood as part of her first Communion at the parish church this spring. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Driscoll Photography)
By John Shaughnessy
It was a touching moment of communion—on a day when children were about to receive their first Communion.
In the hours before the Mass a few years ago, a group of mothers held a brunch for their daughters, a time of bonding before this life-changing moment.
As all the first-arriving girls glowed like visions of angels in their white dresses, tights, shoes and veils, one of their second-grade classmates came in and immediately noticed how she didn’t fit in with the way her friends looked.
“She was coming into the Church on her own,” recalls Kerry Schlimgen, parish catechetical leader for St. Simon the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis. “Her dad is a single dad, and he’s not Catholic. And he did not understand that the girls wear white dresses. He had his daughter in a beautiful dress, but it wasn’t white. When she walked in, she recognized that she didn’t have a white dress on. And while it’s not about the dress, it is important for a little second grader to fit in.
“All the moms noticed that, and within—it seemed like 10 minutes—these moms came in with white dresses, tights, shoes and headpieces. We had a Cinderella moment with her. She picked the dress she wanted. She found the shoes that fit and the tights that fit. She found the perfect thing she wanted for her hair. Her dad got her dressed. All the girls were waiting outside the door, and when she came out, they all just clapped and hugged her.
“It was such a sweet little moment of unity, of how our community is just one.”
‘There’s nothing more beautiful we can give these kids’
Even as she shares that touching story, Schlimgen knows in her heart that there was a greater moment of unity and beauty awaiting the girls and the boys in the sacrament of the Eucharist that day. It came later when the children received the body and blood of Christ for the first time.
And that moment of unity and beauty occurred again at St. Simon Parish on the weekend of April 27-28 when 99 children received their first Communion in three Masses at the parish church.
“The theme we really concentrate on is living through Christ, with Christ and in Christ,” says Schlimgen, who prepares the children for the sacrament with the help of her assistant, Ashley Hyre. “I want them to know who they are receiving. I tell them, ‘You are receiving Jesus Christ, the greatest love ever. Let Jesus dwell in you all the days of your life.’ ”
The impact of receiving Communion for the first time left its mark on the second-grade students.
“Receiving the Eucharist felt like I was hugged by Jesus,” said Olivia Perry. “To receive the Eucharist, you feel like you are brave, and it is amazing.”
Rhys Braun noted, “I had Jesus in my body and heart, and it was wonderful.”
The joy for Skylar Parsons was overwhelming: “Receiving the Eucharist made me feel loved, so so so loved.”
Simon Hull said, “It was really like a miracle to receive Jesus.”
Witnessing the children receive the Eucharist still touches Schlimgen, even after 10 years of preparing them and their families for the sacrament.
“I am weeping the whole time, the Holy Spirit is inside of me, and I’m trembling because I am just overjoyed,” she says. “It’s overwhelming and unbelievable that we have a Savior who has done what he has done for us, and he remains in this holy, catholic Church.
“I want them to hold on to Jesus Christ all the days of their life. Christ is the pre-requisite to a successful life. I mean, you could go on and do whatever you want, but if you do it without Christ, you haven’t completed your mission. Because we were created for Jesus. It’s the greatest love that will ever enter you and dwell inside of you. There’s nothing more beautiful we can give these kids.”
Her love of the Eucharist—and the children receiving that sacrament for the first time—also shows in the special way she helps prepare the second graders and their families for the sacrament of reconciliation.
‘We see emotions. We see joy’
“We used to do one or two reconciliation nights when all the families would come, but it would be more social than a holy experience,” Schlimgen notes. “We wanted to make it to be realistic, of what it was meant to be—very sacred.”
Now, each family has their own dedicated time in church for the sacrament of reconciliation. The lights are turned down low, creating a sense of calm. In that atmosphere, the child preparing for his or her first Communion lights a candle, drawing the flame from a larger candle that’s called “the Christ candle.”
“We tell them that Jesus is the light of the world. And we remember that we are a part of Jesus Christ, and we are called to be his disciples and be the light of the world,” Schlimgen says. “So, the flame burns within us because Jesus lives within us, and the more we receive the sacraments and the more we stay close to God, the brighter that light will shine.”
As life-changing as the sacrament of the Eucharist can be, so is the impact of the sacrament of reconciliation in this moment for the children and their families.
“I could write a book about the stories that have happened during this moment of reconciliation,” Schlimgen says. “We work just as much with the families as we do with the children. We see emotions. We see joy.
“It’s tender to see a mom and dad who have had some issues in their relationship come together for their child and see them say the family prayer together and how it impacts them. They will reach out and talk about Christ and forgiveness for themselves and their marriage and their relationship. We’ve seen reconciliation happen in families because of the way we do this. It’s so beautiful to be there and watch God moving the wind as he does.”
That thought leads Schlimgen back to a focus on the Eucharist and the impact she wants it to have on people’s lives. She talks about how she stresses to families the need to make their child’s first Communion a continuing presence in their lives, to keep them coming back for Mass to deepen their relationship with Christ.
“I believe in Jesus Christ,” she says. “I believe in family, and I believe in each soul. And I believe in the holy, catholic Church and the sacraments. And I see Jesus reaching down, presenting himself to us in every sacrament, every minute.
“I just wish every soul would come to know their Creator and live for the greatest love ever, and that is Jesus Christ.” †
