Pontiff Suggests Sobriety in 1st Communion Celebrations

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 23, 2012 (Zenit.org).- During his address Sunday before praying the midday Regina Caeli, Benedict XVI offered a brief reflection on First Communions, noting that during the Easter season, it is typical for children to receive the Eucharist for the first time.

He exhorted "parish priests, parents and catechists to prepare well for this feast of faith, with great fervor but also with sobriety."

The Holy Father referred to his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis in affirming that the First Communion day "remains rightly impressed on the memory as the first moment in which … the importance of the first encounter with Jesus is perceived."

"May the Mother of God help us to listen attentively to the Word of the Lord and to worthily participate at the Table of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to become witnesses of the new humanity," he said.

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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text of Regina Caeli address: http://www.zenit.org/article-34649?l=english