The Eucharist: God’s Greatest Gift
A grandparent’s desire: Sharing a lasting inheritance across the generations
After Clara Borgert received her first Communion at St. Pius X Church in Indianapolis on May 20, she posed for a photo with her grandmother, Connie Schneider, second from right, and her three godparents, Carol Untrauer, left, Annette Rhine and Mark Borgert. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
While grandparents will gleefully admit that they enjoy spoiling their grandchildren, they have even greater desires for this generation of their family:
They want their grandchildren to know how much they love them. Just as meaningful to them, they hope their grandchildren will embrace the values they have built their lives on—qualities they hope will live in their grandchildren’s hearts forever.
That reality shines through in three notes from grandmothers to The Criterion, grandmothers who shared their joy in witnessing their grandchildren receive their first Communion—the foundation of the Catholic faith.
At 89, Connie Schneider sent a handwritten letter, apologizing that her arthritis might make it difficult to read. But it was crystal clear from her words how blessed and touched she felt to see her youngest grandchild receive the Eucharist for the first time.
She wrote, “On May 20th, Clara Evelyn Rose Borgert with her classmates processed into St. Pius X Church in Indianapolis singing, ‘This Little Light of Mine.’ At St. Pius, each family has a whole pew. Parents and child sit at the end, and grandparents, godparents and other family members sit with them. At Communion time, mom, dad and child go up and receive Communion as a family.
“Each family is the only one receiving. Does it take longer? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Family is the root of faith so making first Communion a family affair is only natural.”
Schneider has the same belief about the power of prayer in a person’s life, a gift she is pleased that her granddaughter Clara has embraced.
It’s easy to imagine Schneider’s smile and joy as she wrote, “Clara would come in every night and say her prayers—‘God bless mommy and daddy, grandma and me, and all my aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and all the children that need help.’ Then she would add, ‘And Fritzy, Goldie, Ruby [pets that had died] and Frances, Izzy and Honey [living pets]’. I think she has a little St. Francis [of Assisi] in her.”
In closing, Schneider wrote, “Clara is my last grandchild to make her first Communion. At 89 years old, I never expected to see this beautiful ceremony. Thank you, God.”
Judy Hagedorn of St. Mark Parish in Perry County in southern Indiana also sent a short note about the first Communion of her great-grandson, Gabriel Foley. It took place on
May 5 at St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Zionsville, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese. Hagedorn also included a photo of her and Gabriel beaming together with three other great-grandchildren.
“It is so wonderful to see how serious and responsible they take the sacrament,” she wrote. “It gives you faith that our Church will survive.”
Janine Schorsch of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Parish in Bright began her note, “I love the Eucharist. I love being a grandmother. I love teaching. On April 14, I was blessed to celebrate all three.”
As a volunteer for the family faith formation class at St. Teresa, Schorsch helps with children in kindergarten through the second grade. She helped the second-grade children prepare for their first reconciliation and their first Communion, a class that included her granddaughter, Brooke.
“I was included in the joy—and sometimes the anxiety—felt as they prepared for these sacraments,” she recalled. “Brooke was so concerned with ‘doing it right’—afraid that she would make a mistake. I remember pointing to Jesus on the crucifix. ‘Brooke, do you see Jesus with his arms stretched out? He loves you so very much and is just waiting for you to come to him for a big hug.’ ”
Focusing on that day of first Communion, Schorsch wrote, “Entering the church that Sunday, I was met by Brooke. She was radiant in her long, white dress, with a white veil draped over her beautifully curled hair. We hugged in joy. I reminded her that when she left church, she would be carrying God within her.
“When it came time for Communion, I witnessed such innocence, such reverence shining forth from them! I was overwhelmed with the love that I felt for these children and the love in which Jesus holds us all.”
In the joy of that day for Brooke, Schorsch also spent some time focusing on Eden, her 12-year-old granddaughter and Brooke’s older sister.
“Eden made her first Communion during the COVID restrictions,” Schorsch wrote. “Only her mother was able to attend. There were no group photos, no congregation in attendance. It was a stark contrast to the experience of her younger sister.
“After Mass, I asked to go to a quiet place with Eden. I shared with her the ways that I have seen her grow spiritually, and, especially, how she has carried God into the world through her actions. I was able to celebrate with her the fruits of her own first Communion.”
Summing up that day, Schorsch noted, “As God’s plan always is, it was beautiful. All praise and glory to God!”
A faith embraced across the generations—that’s the true inheritance that many grandparents long to share with their grandchildren. †
