Finally, after 101 years, she received the body of Christ.
On Sept. 28, centenarian Dona Penha experienced something new: She received her First Communion during Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel nursing home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Catholic News Agency reports.
"It was a very beautiful moment that showed us that it is never too late to receive the Eucharist, which for someone seeking God, neither time nor shame can prevent," said Josiane Ribeiro, the administrative assistant of the nursing home.
Penha has been at the nursing home for about a year. Last month, she decided to join other women in a confession.
During her confession, Father Domingos Savio Silva Ferreira found out that she had never received communion before in her life.
Ferreira then asked the other women to prepare her for the sacrament.
The people in the nursing home said receiving communion was something Penha had long wished for. "She is very lucid, and she prepared to receive her first communion from the heart," one of the caretakers said.
According to Newspring Church, communion is a very important sacrament in the life of a Christian. "It's a command to remember," the church says on its website. "Jesus wants us to remember every time we taste bread and wine, and even when we sit at the tables in our own homes, that He is the one who provides all we need. He gives us the physical food that we need to survive and the spiritual nourishment we need to keep taking next steps with Him."
Jesus Christ started the tradition of communion when He instructed His followers to use bread and wine to remember the sacrifice He was about to make. He made the instruction during what is known as the Last Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 describes the first communion:
"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.'
"In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'
"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lordʼs death until he comes."
