PREPARATION OF THE CHILDREN FOR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2023
All sessions will be in the Church Hall at 4.15pm for the children.
On the Saturdays when we have Parent meeting, there will be no children’s sessions.
3 December – Advent The Story of Christmas: what is the best gift you can give.
10 December – Advent What do you do on Christmas Day. Who is Father Christmas (St. Nicholas and why is an important part of Christmas?)
14 January – Jesus’ Baptism, your baptism – why, when, where, who
21 January 4.30pm – Parent Meeting in the Church Hall.
28 January Why do you need God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What does Reconciliation mean. Sorrow (what are you sorry for)? and Restitution. (repairing the damage to your relationship with God, other people and yourself and to others and to yourself). How do people hurt God, others and themselves?
4 February – Immediate preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and what are you going to do for God during Lent. Your ideas? The children will need to know the Act of Contrition (Sorrow)
25 February 4.30pm – Lent Parent Meeting in the Church Hall.
4 March – Lent Palm Sunday, and what happened to Jesus. Why do you make the sign of the cross?
11 March – Lent, Holy Week and accompanying Jesus on his “Way of the Cross”. What happened during Jesus’ last days with his friends?
18 March – Lent Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation
25 March 4.30pm – Lent (Annunciation of the Lord) Parent Meeting in the Church Hall.
22 April – Easter time The Chain of Grace: The Seven Sacraments
29 April – 4.30pm Easter time Parent Meeting in the Church Hall.
6 May – Easter time What are the 7 Gifts of the Spirits and what do they do to you?
13 May – Easter time The Rosary – How do you pray it? The Mysteries of the Rosary.
20 May – Easter time The story of the Mass – How is Jesus present in the mass?
– The community gathered in prayer, listening to the Word of God (Scripture readings), the Eucharist (Communion with Jesus)
– “Go you are sent.3 June – Accepting the invitation of Jesus to come to his feast.
First Holy Communion day will be on Saturday the 17th of June 2023 at 10.00am.
Dear Parents,
On parent evening days there will be no children’s catechism.
Every child will be required to attend catechism sessions on Saturday afternoons from 4.15pm to 5.30pm.
If your child is unable to attend a session because of illness or another reason let me know so that I can arrange to meet you on another day to help you and your child to catch up with the preparation.
The children will be prepared for two great Sacraments:
Firstly, The Sacrament of God’s Love in his Forgiveness of Sins.
Then, The Sacrament of Holy Communion – the gift of his Body and Blood.
They will also need to know the Creed, “I Believe”
Before you register your child, please read the following instructions and consider it carefully.
HOLY COMMUNION – CELEBRATION
“The blessing cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.” 1 Cor 10:15-18
- The celebration of First Holy Communion should take place within the community where the children and their family’s worship.
- The celebration of this sacrament should focus on the person of Christ and his loving gift. This requires careful liturgical preparation with the families to enhance their appreciation of this great mystery.
- It is good to encourage the First Communicants and their families to be actively involved in the liturgy, e.g., Preparation of the Gifts, Readers, Bidding Prayers.
- The celebration should be well prepared, accessible to the children, prayerful and joyful, expressing a noble simplicity.
- Many members of the extended family, and friends, who join the celebration may not be entirely familiar with the liturgy. This celebration offers an opportunity for welcome, evangelisation and an experience of the praying and celebrating Christian community.
- Celebration of First Communion should not be seen as a one-off event. Every Sunday is a celebration of this wonderful gift.
- Parishes might celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving some weeks after the First Communion with the children and their families thereby reinforcing the importance of the sacrament.
- Where there is a Catholic primary school, they may also celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for children from local parishes who have recently made their First Communion.
- A teacher or representative from the local schools could attend the celebration of First Communion in order to provide a link between the school and parish for the communicants and their families.
HOLY COMMUNION – FOLLOW UP
“These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” Acts 2:42
- The Church is the sacrament of God’s love for the world. By its life and witness the Church points towards, by its sharing and worship it anticipates, and through its mission it is an instrument of the ultimate reality of the Kingdom of God actualised in Jesus Christ.
- The Eucharist gives us the strength we need both as individuals and as a community to witness to God’s love in the world.
- The parish provides on-going support by balancing the ministries of Word, Worship, Welfare and Witness.
- The Prayer after Communion is often an invitation and a reminder to all people that the Eucharist is to have its effect in their lives as they are strengthened in working towards making God’s Kingdom come more fully. We are then sent out to go and witness to the Kingdom through our good works, service to each other and the community, and our praise of the Lord.
Let us remember the children in our prayers as we help them to see and know Jesus clearly and to love Him dearly.
FIRST COMMUNION SEPTEMBER 2021
Dear children,
You have received the Sacrament of God’s Mercy when you came to confession recently. That was a special moment for you and me because I knew that you wanted to be honest with God. Please try to go often to confession because it is wonderful to meet God it that sacrament.
Now you can look forward to meeting God again in the Sacrament of Communion and I look forward to welcoming you.
May Jesus whom you love draw you to the Feast of Communion.
Joshua
Emilia
Mia Aurelia
Olivier
Nicholas
Patrick
Beatrice
Lara
Maya
Sara
Thomas C
Wiktoria
Frankie S
Nathan
Dawid
Kamil
Zurich
Fabian
Sara M
Nicolas C
From the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus makes friends with the fishermen by the shores of the Lake
Now he was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch”. “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets”. And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.
When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, “Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man”. For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch”. Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.
“The Fisher of Men”
Verse 1
You, came to the shore
You have not sought the wise or rich;
you just want me to follow you.
Refrain:
Lord, you looked into my eyes,
smiling, you said my name:
In the sand I left my boat,
With you I will find another sea.
Verse 2 – 4
2. You know well what I have;
in my boat, no gold or swords,
Only nets and my work.
3. You, need my hands,
My fatigue when others rest,
love that wants to continue loving.
4. You, fished other oceans,
with Eternal thirst for souls waiting,
Good friend, so I call.
In Spanish: “Pescado de Hombres”
Estrofa 1
1. Tú, has venido a la orilla,
no has buscado ni a sabios ni a ricos;
tan sólo quieres que yo te siga.
Estribillo
Señor, me has mirado a los ojos,
sonriendo has dicho mi nombre,
en la arena he dejado mi barca,
junto a ti buscaré otro mar.
Estrofas 2-4
2. Tú, sabes bien lo que tengo;
en mi barca, no hay oro ni espadas,
Tan sólo redes y mi trabajo.
3. Tú, necesitas mis manos,
mi cansancio que a otros descanse,
Amor que quiera seguir amando.
4. Tú, pescador de otros lagos,
ansia eterna de almas que esperan,
amigo bueno, que así me llamas.