Receiving Holy Communion is a next step in Christian Initiation

In the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, adapted for Children, when an child who can be catechized, that is the child can understand what is being taught to them, they are asked,"What do you want to become?" One response is "A Christian."

The response is one that speaks of identity, of becoming something, a Christian. An alternative response is "I want to become a friend of Jesus Christ." 

Children know what friends are, they also know that not everyone is their friend. They even understand that we can choose our friends, but we can not choose our family. In the above response they are acknowledging that this is a choice they are making. They are also acknowledging they want to enter into relationship with Jesus Christ.

In baptism we all enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. In baptism this relationship develops into something more - Jesus becomes our brother, and his Father becomes our Father.

Since baptism, your child has been growing in this relationship with Jesus Christ and his Father, becoming more a child of God - a Christian. From baptism they have been nourished by the the Sacred Scriptures, the Word of God who is Jesus Christ himself. In the celebration of Mass, in particular the Sunday celebration of Mass, they have been fed from the table of the Word in the Liturgy of the Word.

Being fed by the Word and through prayer, their relationship with God grew through the person of Jesus Christ, they responded to his invitation to be reconciled. They came to understand that their words and actions towards others did not reflect their relationship with Jesus.

In celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, being reconciled with God and others, their relationship has continued to grow. Through this growing relationship they have reflected more the life of Jesus in their own life. They have become like Christ being an image of him in the world.

Your child is now being invited to be fed not only by the Word of God but by the Eucharist, Jesus Christ himself, in Holy Communion. Their participation in Holy Communion not only expresses how this relationship has grown in intimacy with Jesus Christ, but also will nourish them to become more intimate with God through him. Having been been initiated into the Body of Christ in baptism, through the Eucharist your child is called to become more the Body of Christ.