A quite misleading statement. As many of you know, I am a Roman Catholic practicing my faith in a Maronite Catholic Church. Many of our children attend catholic school AND religious education classes at the parish level. The rel ed classes supplement the catholic school program by introducing these children to their Maronite heritage.
In the Maronite Tradition, children are baptized and chrismated at the same time. Like children in the Latin Church, however, they are prepared for First Penance and First Communion through the religious education program, and receive both mysteries (sacraments) in 2nd grade. It is important to note that parents are strong supporters of the program and often volunteer to teach these classes.
This year, we had only one 2nd grader, a young boy who attends an all boys catholic school. According to his grandmother, in May the school invited a Franciscan brother to celebrate Mass and administer First Communion to the 2nd graders, on a Friday afternoon. The young boy did not want to appear different from his peers and attended the service. The only family member in attendance was his grandmother. There was nothing special about the mass and communion was distributed in the hand.
The grandmother later spoke with the pastor of our Maronite parish. Together with the young boy, they agreed that First Communion is so important that it deserved a worthier celebration. They fixed the date for June 17. Invitations were sent out to distant relatives. The boy's maternal grandmother flew in from Lebanon. A large group came from MA. The boy's uncle, ordained a deacon in March, was invited to assist at the liturgy, read the Gospel, deliver the homily and administer First Communion in the Maronite Tradition - by intinction and on the tongue - to the young boy.
One of the parishioners is a florist and he decorated the church with symbols of grapes and wheat. Missalettes, customized with the child's name, were printed. The Godparents wrote the intentions and one of them served as lector for the Arabic reading; the young boy beautifully delivered the reading (from the 1st Letter of John) in English , two cousins served as peace bearers, and Deacon Norman wore the stole gifted to him by our parish on the occasion of his ordination. Just prior to communion, the young boy delivered a profession of faith. After being reminded that:
On the day you were baptized, your godparents professed the faith on your behalf, today you will now voluntarily repeat those same vows.
After being asked a series of questions by the Director for Religious Education, to which he responded: Yes, I believe., he made the following profession:
My Lord Jesus Christ, I firmly believe that I am about to receive in Holy Communion, Your Body, Your Blood, Your Soul and Your Divinity. I believe it because You have said it and I am ready to give my life to maintain this truty.
At the conclusion of the liturgy, the young boy offered up this Prayer of Thanksgiving:
O Sweet Jesus, with this First Holy Communion, I offer to you my thoughts, my words and all that I do. May your grace help me to be ready to receive you always. Body of Christ, true bread of life, stay always in my heart! Thank you, Lord, for coming, I'm so glad that you are here. Even when I leave this church, I know that you will be near. Help me to speak and act today, that everyone may see: I'm ver special - Jesus lives in me!The beauty of small parishes is that such personalization is integrated into the liturgy. This Sunday, the boy's cousin will be received into the Catholic Church via the Mysteries (Sacraments) of Baptism and Chrismation. Here again, the maternal grandparents have flown in from Lebanon for this joyous event. As a parish community, we ALL feel a part of these milestones and join the family with our prayers and best wishes.
One of the parishioners is a florist and he decorated the church with symbols of grapes and wheat. Missalettes, customized with the child's name, were printed. The Godparents wrote the intentions and one of them served as lector for the Arabic reading; the young boy beautifully delivered the reading (from the 1st Letter of John) in English , two cousins served as peace bearers, and Deacon Norman wore the stole gifted to him by our parish on the occasion of his ordination. Just prior to communion, the young boy delivered a profession of faith.
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Beautiful! A child never forgets his or her First Communion, and this boy's family and religious community made certain that this First Communion was more than memorable. God bless them all.
Hey FATHER.....we ALWAYS had sports, but we USE to have parents thatknew how to raise religious children!!!
Back in the 50’s, we first graders dressed in long light yellow dresses and the boys had outfits like Chistopher Columbus and they were our “escorts”, and when we got to the second grade and received our First Communion, we had the first graders as “escorts”......it was VERY special and VERY religious.....as Holy Communion should be!!!