First Eucharist
Note to Parents
You are now preparing with your child for his or her first reception of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is a wonderful gift to your child, to you, and to all God’s people. Through the Eucharist, Jesus renews us and makes us even more like Himself. Because Jesus is God among us, he wants us to partake of his Body and Blood when we receive Communion. In this way, we become ever more His Body on earth and His Body on earth is a community of people called the Church. In order for this to happen, we must receive the sacraments of Initiation; Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. To assist you in making this preparation more meaningful for you and your family members, we offer you this booklet. It contains some ideas, reflections and suggestions for activities which you could do at home.
You have accepted the invitation to attend a meeting of the parents at which the process of preparation has been outlined. This program is not meant to be the only preparation you child will receive, nor is it even meant to be the main element of your child’s preparation for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The programs offered here at the parish and those offered at the school, if your child is enrolled at a Catholic School, are merely supplements to the ongoing catechesis that happens in your family home. Please be assured that, in this effort, you have the full support of the parish, and we hope that you will feel free to contact us at any time with your comments, questions and concerns.
The program offered at the Catholic Schools is the remote preparation for this sacrament. Here at the parish, we offer an immediate preparation for the children and their parents. Both of these are aids to assist you, the parents in the proximate preparation of your child. The celebrations of First Eucharist will take place on several Sundays after Easter at the 11am Mass. This is the same Mass at which Children’s Liturgy of the Word takes place each Sunday. You may choose one of the three, ( to the total of 25 families per Sunday). If these are not convenient to your family for special reasons, please contact the parish for alternate arrangements.
At the 11am Mass each Sunday, St Andrew the Apostle parish offers a program for Children, especially those who are preparing for sacraments. This program is called Children’s Liturgy of the Word. With this program, children are invited to go to the Parish Hall with some adult leaders. There the scripture, the Word of God, is related to your child in an age-appropriate manner. Our adult leaders will explain the Word of God and offer them an opportunity to make something which relates to the readings and can be taken home as a reminder of how they have encountered Jesus with the other children. We invite you to consider this as a means of helping your child to grow in the love of Jesus as we meet him in the Gospels and reflect on His Word.
This is a very special time, not only for your child but also for your whole family and for the parish community as well. May we all enter into the spirit of joy and anticipation as we share the preparation of your child for the Sacrament of Eucharist.
Introduction:
When you brought your child to be Baptized, the Church prayed with you:
You... are the first teachers of your child in the ways of faith. May you also be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith in all that you say and do.
Life is a journey. Your child has had many opportunities to walk with Jesus and to discover his presence in their life. The first was Baptism. On that day, your child became a member of the Christian Community of Faith. They have also met Jesus on those occasions when you taught them to pray. Prayer is quite simply, talking to Jesus as one would talk to a friend. Prayer can also be done with prayers that are part of Catholic culture.
There are three sacraments of Initiation. Baptism is the first. Now that your child is mature enough to approach the second sacrament of Initiation, we will help you to prepare your child to receive the Eucharist. When Jesus gave us the Eucharist, he did so in the context of a family meal at the time of Passover. There is nothing that brings a family together like a good meal. It is still one of the best ways to help children understand the special nature of Christ’s Sacrifice and to appreciate all that he continues to do for us in the celebration of God’s Family at Mass.
The third sacrament of Initiation is Confirmation. For most parishes, this third sacrament is offered to children at a later date when they are becoming more adult. In Confirmation, the Holy Spirit, the divine love of God is share with us in a special way. The more we know about love in our families, the more deeply will we appreciate what God wants to do for us in Confirmation. For now, it is sufficient to focus our attention on the Eucharist but we can also keep our eyes on the future sacraments since Life is a journey that is appreciated one step at a time.
Becoming a member of the Church (the people or the family of God), is only the beginning of our journey. There are many things to be learned and may gifts to be developed. From the moment of our anointing during Baptism we share in the great mission or task of Christ. In Him, we are invited to be priestly in our prayer life, even as He was made to be the one true priest. In Him, we are invited to be prophetic and to speak for God in our modern world as we seek peace, justice, truth and virtue, even as Jesus was a Prophet. But more than that, we share in the Kingdom of God by being open to God’s will in our life. When God establishes his rule in our life, Jesus the Christ becomes our king, and we share with the other members of the Church the invitation to work for unity and love in the midst of our broken world. The Eucharist is food for our journey and sustenance to strengthen our resolve to work with Jesus in everything.
How can I prepare my child for the Eucharist?
It is very important to remind ourselves that the preparation process for receiving the Eucharist is not only for the purpose of "making a First Communion. It is, in fact, a preparation for making the Eucharist a central aspect of living the Catholic Christian Faith throughout all of our life. This great sacramental gift is not meant to be given only once. It is given again and again and each time we receive Communion, we receive Jesus himself. This is possible because Jesus is God. He tells us things that are true. He once said, "If you love me and do all that I ask you to do, the Father and I will come and dwell in you." Imagine that; God himself wants to share his life by sharing ours. When we eat the Body of Christ and drink the Blood of Christ, God works with us and in us. He helps us to become more like Jesus in all that we are and in all that we do. When we share communion, we become so much like Jesus that with others we become the community of God’s family. This family is called the Church. Another name for the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ.
Parents often ask, "How will I know that my child is ready to receive the Eucharist?" As a parent, you are the best judge of your child’s readiness. A good sign of this readiness is an eagerness on the part of your child. If they also show an awareness that this is not just an ordinary piece of bread that they will receive but so much more. They should know that Jesus is giving himself to them whenever they receive communion. Remember, this is not a one-time event. This is a step on the journey to living with Jesus every day and for the rest of their life.
How can we help your child realize that this is something that we do often?
1. Bring your child to Sunday Mass with you.
Your child belongs to you by birth, adoption or some other agreement and to the Catholic Community by Baptism. Just as it is important to have a feeling of belonging in the family, it is also important to feel secure and at home in one’s family of faith. The best way for this to happen is by frequent participation. Let your child ask questions about what they see and what they experience in the Mass. If you are not sure of the answer, let them ask the priest or the deacon at the end of Mass. You may also want to experience the Children’s Liturgy of the Word which happens at the 11:00am Mass each Sunday. On the way home in the car, or at home after Mass, compare notes. What did the children learn at their Liturgy of the Word, and what did the adults hear in their service of the Word?
2. Teach your child the prayers of the Mass.
There are some prayers that the child will learn at school, some that you will have to teach them. Mostly these are learned by repetition at Mass. If your child hears you saying the prayer, then they will want to be just like you. The best way to teach is by example. If you are unsure, get a Missalette or a prayer book.
3. Encourage your child to ask questions about God.
Listen carefully to the question the child asks. It is very rare that they will want a fully theological answer. Listen to the "feelings" part of their question. Are they happy, anxious, fearful, impatient, lonely, joyful? Maybe they are relieved that a test is past or they are aware of someone else’s pain. Perhaps they have a need to know that you as a parent have the same needs, feelings, desires, as they do. Sharing, is letting others meet you were you are. Sharing is not always problem solving. They might want to know that you are with them and that this sense of presence gives them comfort. They trust you as their parents, and God would not want it to be any other way.
Read stories about Jesus from the New Testament. Tell them stories of your own childhood. Above all, let them know that deep down inside, for you, this is not just any story, but one that you believe with all your heart.
Use Family Meals as times for sharing and discussing the Eucharist.
Point out the similarities to the Mass: the use of candles, the use of a white table cloth, the use of special dishes and cups, the invitation of friends who are near and dear to us. Bring a couple of pictures to the table of those who we want to remember in a special way: people who are sick, or people who have died, or people who are away on a journey or a holiday. Make note of the way we greet each other when we come to eat a meal at someone’s house, how we say the "Grace before Meals", how we listen attentively to those who are talking or telling a story, how we all share the same food, and how we all have different jobs like setting the table and doing the dishes. It takes a lot of sacrifice to get the family together for a proper meal, and it cost Jesus his life to bring us to the table of the Eucharist. Don’t forget to give your child a hug and use the words, "I love you, Peace be with you."
Pray with your child.
After you have taught some of the prayers that are used at Mass, encourage your child to make up their own prayer. Help your child to imagine Jesus sitting beside them. Encourage them to speak to Jesus in their heart. Prayers do not have to be spoken out loud all the time. Sometimes, the best prayers are secrets, like love letters between friends.
Help your child to realize that they quiet moments in the Mass are times for quiet prayers and personal conversations with Jesus.
Make a list of those who will be invited to the first communion family celebration. Then encourage your child to write a short prayer for that person, to pray for something that they might need. After they have prayed the prayer, they can give it to the person as a thank-you card on the day of their first Communion. Praying together and praying for others is a great way to get the feeling that we belong to God’s family.
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