One of the things I like best about this time of year is the fact that milestones are reached in the lives of our children. I don’t mean spring sports or graduations; I’m talking about sacramental milestones such as First Holy Communions and Confirmations.

I enjoy seeing the girls with their white dresses and veils, excited until they realize just how uncomfortable getting dressed up can be, and the boys, many of them wearing a suit for the first time, and tugging at their neckties as if they can’t breathe.

Even with such challenges, it is a very special day. 

What I like best is not the “costume” side of the celebration, but rather the innocent enthusiasm with which they greet their First Holy Communion. Rehearsed usually to perfection, they come up one-by-one, they bow and extend their hands to receive our Blessed Lord. They make the Sign of the Cross, perhaps backward, and then they return to their seats, beaming with joy.

I like it because they get it. They may grow older and learn to take Holy Communion for granted, or they may stop regularly receiving their “Little White Guest,” mostly because their parents do not model the fact that Mass is more important even than eating your vegetables. On that glorious day, if those who have lost their need for Holy Communion could see their faces from where I see them, they couldn’t help but be inspired.

Confirmations, too, are exciting as long as we let the children know that even though they are wearing robes, they are not graduating from anything, especially from the Church! As they enter church with folded hands, dressed in red, they are proud because they know they have accomplished something. They really do intend to be on fire for the faith, and leave that ceremony hoping to make the world a better and more Christian place. They, too, may experience some loss of that fire as their other activities overshadow the regular practice of their faith.  That’s often because their parents model and teach them the wrong priorities. “We go when we can fit it in,” they reply, even to me, when asked about going to Mass.

Think of how that statement must sound to Jesus. Shades of when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before he was put to death. In his agony and prayer, even then he could not rely on his disciples to stay awake and pray with him – not even for one hour.

Parents, can we make an Eastertide resolution? We set good habits and our children learn.  Blessed John Paul II said that parents are the first and most important teachers of the faith. You teach most clearly and effectively by what you do. Show your children that your faith matters and tell them why it matters.  And if you have a child receiving First Holy Communion or Confirmation, please don’t forget to thank those who have taught them, their teachers and catechists. And, hopefully, we will see you and your children at Mass.

Father Freer is diocesan vicar for Catholic education.