Preparation for First Holy Communion
Not only is it an important year in the life of your child, it is also an important year for their class, their teachers, and also for you the parents/guardians. It is also a special time too for the parish community.
Your child’s faith journey began the day you brought your child to the Church to be baptised. And what a special day that was for you and the family. Now, that child has grown, they are about to take another step in their faith journey, as they prepare for First Holy Communion. And we all have a part to play.
While the Home is the primary learning place, each parent/guardian will be asked to take on a special role over the next few months, to journey with your child as they prepare to receive the sacraments, as there is only so much that can be taught in school. Our teachers do a wonderful job in preparing the children for their special day, but ‘home is where the heart is’. And the home is the domestic Church, where our children are influenced by what they see and learn.
As part of our preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion, we run in tandem a parish based programme, ‘Do this in Memory’.
This programme was developed to meet a need for parish-based pre-sacramental resources which would give parents, children and the parish community the opportunity to prepare for First Confession and First Eucharist. It also complements the schools preparation for these Sacraments.
The Programme provides children with the good Sunday habit of going to Mass, which will provide a solid foundation for the celebration First Eucharist. The programme starts in September and continues throughout the year, with 10 monthly Masses. The First communicants are involved and participate in these Masses. A procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi concludes the programme.Parents of First Communicants are invited to become members of the Programme Planning Group who meet once a month to prepare and plan the Masses.
This Programme gives children a wonderful experience as they continue their faith journey as members of the Christian Community.