St. Paul s Sacrament of First Communion Preparation

Transcription

1 St. Paul s Sacrament of First Communion Preparation First Communion Dates Saturday May 13, pm Mass Sunday May 14, am, 11am & 7pm Dear Parents, Welcome to the Sacrament of First Communion preparation program. The purpose of this handout is to provide information about the process used for the sacramental preparation. It also details the specific dates and requirements families need to know. Parent Workshops: (Parents only) If your child s last name begins with the letter A-K you are asked to attend the Monday workshop, if your child s last name begins with letter L-Z you are asked to attend the Thursday workshop. If you plan to attend a workshop other than the one you are scheduled for or you have any questions or concerns please contact Suzanne Regnier@ (403) or stpaulssacraments@shaw.ca. Child s Last Name A K: Thursday February 23, 2017 (7pm- 9pm) Child s Last Name L Z: Monday February 27, 2017 (7pm- 9pm) Attendance at the both Parent/Child Sessions and the Children s Retreat is expected. First Communion Session 1(Parent and Child, Choose One) Thursday March 9, pm 8:30pm Sunday March 12, pm 3:30pm First Communion Session 2(Parent and Child, Choose One) Thursday April 27, pm 8:30pm Sunday April 30, pm 3:30pm Children s Retreat (Parent Volunteers Needed) Saturday May 6, 2017 (9:30am Noon & 1pm- 3:30pm) First Communion Masses Saturday May 13, pm Mass Sunday May 14, am, 11am & 7pm *Mass time selection will take place at the 2 nd Parent/Child Session

2 Home project Banner- Please bring banner to the Children s Retreat Each participant will be asked to complete a banner as a home project. Participants are asked to look for important symbols and ideas as they complete the workbook. Together with their name these symbols will be incorporated into a banner to be displayed at St. Paul s. The banners will be hung in the nave. They should be made of fabric not paper and no smaller than 8.5x11 inches. If you are looking for more ideas than presented to you, google First Communion Banners for all kinds of inspiration. (Please put the child s full name, school, grade and classroom on the back of the banner) The Role of Parents At St. Paul s we use a home study program for First Communion preparation. For parents whose own sacramental preparation was done through the school or in classes at the church, the home study program raises some questions. There are several reasons why we adopted this method: Parents are crucial people in their child s life and faith journey. You are now, and have always been, your child s first and best teacher. It is your example they follow. A few hours of instruction by a volunteer teacher cannot replace the ongoing relationship between parents and children. A home study program allows parents to renew and relearn elements of their own faith and strengthen their participation in church life. Preparation for the sacraments is a unique opportunity for parents and children to talk about their faith. It provides teachable moments at home and in church when book knowledge can be connected to what children see and live. It enriches the whole family. In addition to helping build a bond of faith between parents and the child undertaking the preparation, it provides opportunities for younger children to be introduced to elements of our faith and for older children to deepen their understanding of the sacraments. The workbook exercises and workshops are not optional parts of sacramental preparation. Working at home allows greater flexibility than scheduled class times. You are best able to judge your child s readiness. As you work through the home study program you need to gauge your child s response. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Work within your child s attention span. Twenty to thirty minute sessions are usually enough. The workbook is mindful of your child s age and abilities and is arranged appropriately. The needs of your child are more important than that of the group or a schedule. As you work through the material and concepts you may discover your child is not ready to receive the sacrament of First Communion. Each year we have families that decide to wait simply because their child is not ready yet. If you decide, after registering, that your child needs to postpone their receipt of the sacrament, please call Michele. Despite your best efforts, things sometimes happen which limit the preparation time available to families. You may not be able to finish the workbook or attend mass and the workshops. In this case, you need to delay your child s receipt of the sacrament. It is better to finish the program and delay the sacrament than to send a child unprepared.

3 Use the Family Guide in the middle of the workbook to assist you. The Role of the Parish Along with parents, the parish has a role to play in your child s sacramental preparation. To assist you and your child, we have the parent workshop, two support sessions and the children s retreat. Father Domingo and Suzanne Regnier are also available to answer any questions or concerns you may have. What to wear? Regarding appropriate dress, we ask that your child wear their Sunday best for this very special celebration. We do not request or emphasise the need for girls to wear white dresses and veils or boys to wear suits. If these garments are part of your family tradition you are welcome to include them in the celebration but they are not essential. Young ladies wearing white gloves are reminded to remove them prior to receiving the Eucharist. Final Comments The parish prays for your children and your family during this time of preparation. It is our heartfelt desire that the presence of Jesus will touch your lives in a special way. We are always available to answer your questions and concerns. Please feel free to contact us whenever you need assistance. Fr. Domingo (403) Suzanne Regnier (403) stpaulssacraments@shaw.ca Helping with First Communion Preparation: Some Thoughts for Parents At the last Supper when Jesus broke the bread and passed it to his friends, He said. "Take this all of you, and eat it: This is my body which will be given up for you." Next, he passed a cup of wine around the table for His friends to share. "Take this, all of you, and drink from it," he said. "This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." Then Jesus said, "Do this in memory of me. Jesus did not mean that the sharing of the wine and the bread would be a simple ceremony of remembering, as we remember a departed friend with toasts and tributes. He promised His very life in this bread and wine. In the Eucharist, Jesus becomes truly and fully present to us under the appearances of bread and wine. He shares all of Himself with us - the life He lived, the life He won by His death and resurrection, and the glorious life He has promised when He comes again. Soon your child will join your family and God's family at the Lord's Table for the very first time. He/she will eat the Bread of Life. Your child in his/her First Communion preparation is learning what a wonderful gift Jesus has given us in the Eucharist. You can support this learning by expressing your own appreciation of the wonder and the mystery of this glorious gift. The best preparation for First Communion Day that you can give your child is regular attendance at Mass. Talk to your child about the Mass before you go and at appropriate moments in the celebration when you are in church together. Link what you have been doing together at home with what is happening at Mass. Emphasize the Mass as God's family's celebration and meal. Start at the beginning of the Mass

4 and explain that as we enter the church, we make the family sign, the Sign of the Cross. Ask your child if he/she knows or can guess why the cross is our family sign. Remind the child that Jesus by His death on the cross won the life that he/she will share in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, life that goes on forever, even after we die. Encourage the child when he/she dips into the holy water and signs himself/herself with a cross to think of the holy water of Baptism that makes us members of God's family. Point out that just as we wash our hands before eating a family meal, blessing ourselves with holy water helps us to remember that before receiving Jesus, our spiritual food, our souls should be cleansed of sin. Talk about the fact that, at family meals, people talk to one another. Then explain that during Mass, we have a family conversation too. We talk to God, for example, in the opening greeting, the penitential rite, the Gloria and the alleluia, when we praise Him. Encourage your child to join in these prayer responses as much as possible, to talk and sing to God. Focus on increasing participation gradually; linking it to what you are doing at home so that it becomes familiar and comfortable to your child. The Memorial Acclamation is another important Mass prayer that you should invite your child to pray along with you: "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. This prayer expresses the very heart of our faith: the sacred mystery that makes it possible for Christ to be with us in the Eucharist. Stress the importance of what happens at the penitential rite of the Mass. We are sorry for our sins and we forgive one another. Draw on your child's experience of meals at home to help him/her understand what is happening and to join in. Talk about a time when a meal was spoiled because people were crabby or angry with each other and how happy a meal was when everybody was getting along well. Then explain that the same thing happens in God's family and that is why we have this time in the Mass for asking and giving forgiveness. It is a special time for getting our hearts ready to eat at the Lord's Table. Because Jesus came to share Himself with us, we especially want to have love and peace in our hearts for one another. When you are at Mass with your child, you might call his/her attention to the penitential rite and encourage him/her to join in the responses. Ask if your child knows the special time when we hear God's words at Mass. Then discuss the fact that God speaks to us in the words that the priest and the lector read to us from the Bible. Prepare your child for the Sign of Peace by pointing out that not only do we talk to God and listen for God to talk to us, but that there is a special time when we share greetings with the other members of God's family who have gathered with us to share the Eucharist. Explain that in exchanging the sign of peace, we show Jesus that we want to love one another as He loved people. At special meals you decorate your family table with flowers and candles and a nice tablecloth and dishes. Tell your child that God's family does the same for this very special meal in which Jesus comes to share all of Himself with us. There is a fresh, clean altar cloth on the family table, flowers, and candles and special dishes and cups, and food that will become the most wonderful food that we can share - food that will make it possible for us to meet God someday face to face. Use the term "Liturgy of the Eucharist" once you have covered this at home. What an awesome gift Christ gives us in the Eucharist! Receiving Christ for the first time should have a lasting effect on the direction of your child's life. You can help that happen not only by receiving Communion with your child (or as a non-catholic by coming forward to receive a blessing) at the First Communion Mass, but by continuing to attend Mass and receive the sacrament or blessing afterwards. Just as importantly, express openly your appreciation and joy in this gift with your family. At the closing

5 of Mass, we are commissioned to go in peace - Christ's peace. We take Christ with us and the Eucharist is the food that nourishes our spirits enabling us to do Christ's work every day in our lives. Make this time of sacramental preparation a time when you participate more actively in our parish community. Consider participation in a ministry such as being an Offertory family or Greeters. Have your child observe the altar servers and point out their special role in the Mass. Once your child has received the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion, he/she is eligible to become an altar server too. Help your child to understand by your words, prayer, and example that we are never more truly the Body of Christ than when we are His hands reaching out to others, His feet coming to another's aid, His mouth speaking words of comfort and encouragement. Then your child will know how truly wonderful the Eucharist is, because he or she will experience Jesus' giving His love to others through you. You could not hope to give your child a better lesson on the Eucharist than that. Our prayer and our desire is that your child's first Holy Communion will be the beginning of a lifetime of Holy Communion with you and the others in God's family. Who Can Doubt The Real Presence? On the evening of the last day of his October 1995 visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II was scheduled to greet the seminarians at St. Mary s Seminary in Baltimore. It had been a very full day beginning with Mass followed by a parade through downtown streets, a visit to the Basilica of the Assumption; lunch at a local soup kitchen run by Catholic Charities; a prayer service at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and finally a quick stop at St. Mary s Seminary. The schedule was tight so the plan was to simply greet the seminarians while they stood outside on the steps. But, Pope John Paul made his way through their ranks and into the building. His plan was to first make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. The security personnel quickly flew into action ahead of the Pope. Their activities included a sweep of the building, paying closest attention to the chapel where he would be praying. For this purpose highly trained dogs were used to detect any persons who might be present. The dogs were trained to locate living people in collapsed buildings after earthquakes and other disasters. These sensitive and eager canines went through their rounds in the halls, offices and classrooms quickly and were then sent into the chapel. They went up and down the aisles, past the pews, and finally into the side chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. Upon reaching the tabernacle, the dogs sniffed and whined and pointed, refusing to leave. They were convinced that they had discovered Someone there and firmly remained, until called out by their handlers. Yes, we Catholics know they were right; they found a real, living Person in the tabernacle!

6 Adapted from Catechist, January, 1987, Vol. 20., No. 5 Sr. Lucille Durocher, Dec. 18, 1998 St. Joseph s Workers for Life and Family