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 with the home and the classroom, a parish based programme ‘Do this in Memory’. The current programme began last October and runs until next June. The parents are invited to participate in this programme with their child—by praying with their child at home, setting up a sacred space in their home, helping their child to complete the monthly work sheets called kid’s stuff, and bringing their child to the monthly parish Sunday Mass. Each child is provided with a ‘Do This in Memory’ candle to be used at prayer in the home and also at the Mass.