Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

For Inspiration in Time of Tribulation

April 26th, 2020, Promulgated by Diane Harris

First Communion in India

(Thank you to The Narrow Gate for bringing this picture to our attention.)

 

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8 Responses to “For Inspiration in Time of Tribulation”

  1. christian says:

    When was that photo taken?

  2. Diane Harris says:

    A very good question, Christian. I received it undated from a friend, and we’ve been trying to learn more about it. Whatever the date, I found the picture itself so elevating that it begged to be shared. Peace!

  3. christian says:

    I would like to add to this inspiration by posting some comments about my First Holy Communion and the hymns I sang on my First Communion Day.

    I made my First Holy Communion prior to Vatican II. We made out First Holy Communion in a very large class at a special Mass in May. Boys wore white shirts with white ties, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. Girls wore white dresses, white veils, and white dress shoes. We looked like brides and grooms.

    Boys and Girls were paired up to walk down the aisle in a procession and after reaching the front pews, paired off; boys on one side and girls on the other side. We had no print-out of words to use for the hymns we were to sing, we had to use our memory.

    When it was time to receive our First Holy Communion, the boy and girl which had been paired up came from either side of their pew and met at the Communion Rail and knelt together to receive their First Holy Communion. One by one, each paired up boy and girl went up to the Communion Rail to receive their First Holy Communion when it was their turn.

    I still remember coming to the Communion Rail and kneeling to receive my First Holy Communion.

    We sang the First Communion hymns from our pew.

    At the end of Mass, each boy and girl that had been paired up came from their side in the front pews and met in the aisle to process out together. Our procession in and out was very orderly as we had practice sessions with the nuns.

    My First Holy Communion was a very blessed event which evokes deep feelings of gratitude, joy, and nostalgia.

    A priest stated in a homily one time, that we every time we approach Holy Communion, we should approach it as Our First Time and Our last Time.

    I will share hymns from my First Holy Communion. I will post each hymn separately so as to be able to share the You Tube link to the hymn. I will first post the words before sharing the link. It would be wonderful if others could share hymns and some details of their First Holy Communion.

  4. christian says:

    The first hymn I am sharing is “O Lord. I Am Not Worthy”

    O Lord I Am Not Worthy

    O Lord, I am not worthy
    That Thou should’st come to me,
    But speak thy words of comfort,
    And healed my soul shall be.

    And humbly I receive Thee,
    The bridegroom of my soul,
    With no more sin to grieve Thee,
    Or fly Thy sweet control.

    Increase my faith, dear Jesus,
    In Thy Real Presence here;
    And make me feel most deeply
    That Thou to me art near.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irDA9dICIow

    (I posted a few of the verses. I changed the words a little from what I saw posted, to what I was taught when 7 years old).

  5. christian says:

    The second hymn I am is sharing is “Jesus, Jesus Come To Me”

    Jesus, Jesus Come To Me

    Jesus, Jesus, come to me,
    All my longing is for Thee,
    Of all friends the best Thou art,
    Make of me Thy counterpart.

    Jesus, I live for Thee,
    Jesus, I die for Thee,
    I belong to Thee,
    Fore’er in life and death.

    Comfort my poor soul distressed,
    Come and dwell within my breast,
    Oh how oft I long for Thee,
    Jesus, Jesus, come to me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nyopjtxi1s

    (I think we only sang verse 1 and 2, but I am sharing all 3 verses).

  6. christian says:

    The second hymn I am sharing is “Sweet Sacrament” also known as “My Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All”

    Sweet Sacrament

    Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All,
    How can I love thee as I ought?
    And how revere this wondrous gift,
    So far surpassing hope or thought?
    Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.

    Had I but Mary’s sinless heart
    To love thee with, my dearest King,
    Oh, with what bursts of fervant praise
    Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing.
    Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.

    Thy Body, Soul, and Godhead, all,
    O mystery of love divine.
    I cannot compass all I have,
    For all thou hast and art are mine.
    Sweet Sacrament, we thee adore;
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.
    Oh, make us love thee more and more.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwmC2J1nxNU

    (I was touched by a First Communion Class singing this hymn, so I shared this version. One thing i noted was parents or relatives weren’t allowed to wander around with cameras to take photos during the Mass of receiving our First Holy Communion or during our singing of hymns. The emphasis was on reverence).

  7. christian says:

    Correction: The post above should have read- The third hymn I am sharing is “Sweet Sacrament” also known as “My Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All”

    I hope the photo you posted Diane, and the comments and hymns I’ve shared, bring about joyful memories among readers!

  8. Diane Harris says:

    Thank you, Christian. All beautiful hymns! You reminded me of what an important role “memorization” had among my Dominican teachers. It is almost a lost art today. One of the hymns we had to memorize for First Communion can be found here: https://anastpaul.tumblr.com/post/71951389319/mother-upon-my-lips-today-christs-precious/amp and even today I still use part of it in Thanksgiving after Mass.

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