Hearth & Altar

God asked Ezekiel a question in the valley of dry bones: can these bones come to life? And Ezekiel gave the most honest answer possible: Lord God, you alone know.

God said: good. Prophesy over them.

So Ezekiel prophesied, and there was a rattling as the bones came together, and sinews and flesh grew over them, and skin covered them. But there was no spirit yet. A second command: prophesy to the spirit, call the four winds. Ezekiel prophesied and they came to life. A vast army.

God explained: these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are cut off. And he promised: I will open your graves. I will put my spirit in you. You will live.

Today is the feast of Saint Pius X, the pope who gave children First Communion at age seven. He believed the Eucharist should come before the child was finished being formed, not after. He believed the bread would do what preparation alone cannot.

What bones in your family have you decided are too dry to live?

• For our family, that we would prophesy over the dry bones in our household - speak what God has promised over situations we have given up on - before we know the outcome, we pray to the Lord.
• On this feast of Saint Pius X, for the children preparing for First Communion in our parish, that the Eucharist would come to them as early and as often as Pius X believed it should, we pray to the Lord.
• For those in our family whose hope has dried up - who have been saying our bones are dried up, we are cut off - that the spirit from the four winds would find them, we pray to the Lord.
• Under the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the redeemed of the Lord to say so - to tell the story of being led from the desert to the city - in our household, we pray to the Lord.

Today is Friday - meatless dinner. Name it at the table: we don't eat meat on Fridays to remember that faith sometimes costs something small.

Tell your children about Saint Pius X, whose memorial is today. He changed Catholic childhood everywhere: he said that children as young as seven should receive First Communion. Before him, children often waited until they were teenagers. He thought the Eucharist should come as early as possible. Ask your children: when did you receive your First Communion? What do you remember?

Pius X believed the Lord's body could do in a seven-year-old what years of preparation could not. What the Eucharist does is not contingent on how ready the recipient is. It is contingent on whether the recipient comes. Bring your children to the table as early as the Church allows, and as often.