By: Bernadette Parrott
Welcome to our Faith Renewal Series that is exploring The ABCs of Being Catholic. We are invited on a journey through the alphabet to explore Catholic terms, beliefs, and traditions. In this post we focus on the letter “Q”.
If you missed our Introduction to this series <click here>. To go back to the letter “P” post <click here>. To go to the letter “R” post <click here>.
Quam Singulari
July 1, 2021
Quam Singulari is a decree issued August 8, 1910, by the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, under the authority of Pope St. Pius X, that stated: “The age of discretion, both for Confession and for Holy Communion, is the time when a child begins to reason, that is about the seventh year, more or less. From that time on begins the obligation of fulfilling the precept of both Confession and Communion.”
That sounds like a decree, doesn’t it? How does that reflect on God’s people and His Holy Church on earth?
Do you remember your first Confession? That could be a tough one and in youth and baptized adults alike, this Sacrament always precedes First Holy Communion. Through this Sacrament our hearts, mind and soul are united in peace and reconciliation to Jesus. Our ‘confession’ of our human weaknesses brings to the Healer our need to be one with Him. We come to Him broken before our Confession and leave healed. As parents, we can be pretty hard on our kids when they ‘do something wrong’. It is our responsibility to form their conscience to be united with the teaching of Jesus to be able to discern not only wrong from right, but to discern what is a sin that needs to be brought to the Sacrament of Confession. This formation that we are responsible for guides our children through adulthood, and it can be challenging to begin that formation before “the seventh year, more or less.” It is a ‘big deal’ to come before God in humility and seek reconciliation with Him. This age of discretion, our children’s formation of conscience and their desire to be a forgiven child of God should not only be encouraged but celebrated. Through this Sacrament we are made new again. How wonderful is that experience to share with our children, our grandchildren, and those others whom we love?
Do you remember your First Holy Communion? Or perhaps you child’s or grandchild’s or perhaps a dear friend. Perhaps you yourself are a Godparent and were invited to be present at someone’s First Holy Communion. This one is perhaps more forefront in mind, you may even have pictures. We dress in white, renewed by our Sacrament of Confession and come before the Lord to receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Our acclamation of “Amen” states, “Yes, I believe it is so”.
The Body of Christ. Wow – what powerful words. The Body of Christ.
Easy to learn about, easy to say and for some, for sure, difficult to comprehend and maybe even accept. There’s A LOT of information on this very topic. It truly is a matter of faith, for all we see with our human eyes is a small piece of flat, somewhat tasteless, wafer.
We find in John 6:22-79 the Bread of Life Discourse and the continuation into the Words of Eternal Life. In Chapter 53-56 Jesus tells said to them and to us “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
We begin, at the age of discretion, to come into a relationship with Jesus. He becomes for us, our Saviour and our friend. Children see God with an open heart and accept Him unconditionally. Sometimes we can learn a lot from those children.
With continued prayer, Adoration, attendance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Scripture, and the Sacraments, our gaze upon that wafer burns into our hearts that it truly is Jesus present there. Discretion changes to faith and we hunger to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist to strengthen and nourish us for our earthly journey.
So here comes the part about “obligation”. We covered that in the “Precepts of the Catholic Church”. This is our invitation and binding obligation to seek reconciliation through the sacrament of Confession and then to seek Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
As parents, grandparents, guardians and friends, we are obliged to bring our children, who cannot bring themselves, to the Holy Church of God, to his Sacraments and into His presence.
We are to bring alive in joy and excitement our own desires, for our children really are watching us and learning from us.
Here comes the challenge – we have to be examples of faith to our children as they come to “about the seventh year, more or less”. It can’t just be about the white dress or pants and shirt, it can’t be just about the family party and the presents. Those all pass away into yesterday. But Jesus, is present yesterday, today and tomorrow and our obligation is for yesterday, today and tomorrow until we see him face to face in our Heavenly home.
If you missed our Introduction to this series <click here>. To go back to the letter “P” post <click here>. To go to the letter “R” post <click here>.