Going Forth Mass
May 2007
We see before us today all these parents who are here to celebrate you, their child, having made his/her first Holy Communion. They all look very pleasant, and proud of you. But you -their children -know well that they are not always like that. You also know that there must be discipline and correction in your life, much as you dislike it, but you wonder if it could be fairer and take into account your feelings to a greater extent.
I would ask you today to consider that your parents have never brought up children before so they too are on a learning curve -learning how to bring up children while actually having to do it. They need a lot of help and encouragement and the best person to give them this help and encouragement is you, their beloved child.
You can make them very happy by saying thank you from time to time. You know how painful it is to be criticised. So tell your parents how well they are doing and how you like them very much. If you get angry or nasty with your parents, you hurt them and cause them to get angry with you. If you forgive your parents when they annoy you, then you make it easy for them to forgive you when you are nasty. Your parents give you a lot of presents and this makes you happy. You can make your parents very happy also by giving them presents.
To look after you properly your parents need a lot of help from God. Always remind them to bring you to church every weekend so that they may get this help.