First Holy Communion
An introduction for Parents
“Parents and Godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He/she is to walk always as a child of the light. May he/she keep the flame of faith alive in their heart. When the Lord comes, may he/she go out to meet Him with all the Saints in the heavenly kingdom.”
You have come to prepare for the First Communion of your child as a consequence of what you promised on the day of their Baptism. On that occasion the priest said:
Like Christ Our Saviour, we are anointed and set aside at Baptism to be like Christ who is Priest, Prophet and King.
Initiation into the Church brings with it may privileges and rights, but also duties and obligations. We are Priestly so as to make holy our lives and the lives of our families; Prophets, to teach the Faith; and Kingly, to guide and govern the families God has given us.
We learn our Faith and our relationship with God by the interaction of Home, Parish and School. Each of these should act in harmony with the other so as to being about the Catholic formation of our young people.
“The administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.”
This is what the Church says about the requirements for First Holy Communion in the Code of Canon Law:
“It is primarily the duty of parents and those who take the place of parents, as well as the duty of pastors, to take care that children who have reached the use of reason are prepared properly and, after they have made sacramental confession, are refreshed with this divine food as soon as possible. It is for the pastor to exercise vigilance so that children who have not attained the use of reason or whom he judges are not sufficiently disposed do not approach holy communion.”
“The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”
The obvious and most important way of living the Catholic way of life and preparing for First Holy Communion, is prayer and the Sacraments, most especially weekly Sunday Mass as a minimum. This is what we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. the faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God’s holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Over the coming months children will be prepared for First Holy Communion and First Confession with the help of our Parish Catechists and the literature provided. We expect children to participate in all the preparation sessions. Parents can help children in their preparation by not only going through the exercises in their books, but especially by family prayer, Mass, and making visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in our church. There are several excellent and inexpensive books—on the Mass, Sacraments, prayers and so on–which parents may find helpful. These are available from the Catechists.
The cost of preparing each child for First Holy Communion is about £25; this includes all the materials they use or will be given. The Parish asks each family to make a donation of £10 towards these costs.
I am grateful to all of the parents for the encouragement and help they give in the Catholic formation of their children. In particular, I thank our non-Catholic parents for your support and interest.