Celebrations of children’s first communions take place all over the country during the arrival of spring and the Easter season, reliving this sacramental mystery of the Church.
Newsroom (16/05/2022 1:00 PM, Gaudium Press) Father Karam Shamasha, a Chaldean priest from Mosul, Iraq, expressed his joy for the 126 children from the Iraqi towns of Alqosh and Telskuf who received their first Communion recently in Iraq. “The land that a few years ago was attacked by the Islamic State militants, who wanted to eliminate Christians, today rejoices loudly. Our Faith and our Cross have won,” he commented.
Celebrations of children’s first communions take place all over the country during the arrival of spring and Easter time, reliving this sacramental mystery of the Church. This is a powerful sign of how grace has preserved the Faith in communities during this period of conflict and social upheaval in Iraq and Syria, and the constraints imposed by the pandemic.
The Eucharist is the Nourishment of Hearts for Eternal Life
Last month, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, presided over the First Communion ceremony of 16 boys and girls at St. Elijah Church. “The gift of the sacraments and the opportunity to participate in the divine mysteries represent the source of Christian life: Baptism makes the new birth in Christ, and the Eucharist is the nourishment of hearts for eternal life,” the Cardinal said on the occasion.
Another 45 young people received Holy Communion for the first time at the Qamishli church dedicated to Our Lady. “These boys and girls are for us the hope of the future, they are the new life force of the Church,” commented Bishop Maurice Amsih, Syrian Bishop of Jazirah and the Euphrates, who was responsible for presiding over the ceremony. (EPC)
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
