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First Communion

Preparation for Holy Communion at Sunday Mass

As a parish community, we gather as God’s family of families to pray together and to live the joy of the gospel by reaching out in loving service in our communities. By welcoming children and their families who are preparing for the first of many communions, and integrating this journey in the Sunday Mass, the parish community actively expresses the reality of being companions on the journey.

  •  It highlights the importance of the Saturday evening/Sunday Mass as a celebration where we gather, are nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of Life, and are sent out to live the Gospel.
  • It offers the children the opportunity to engage in a special way in the Mass on these designated Sundays.
  •  It is a resource to parish communities to assist them in the preparation of children for Holy Communion. It complements the school-based work in the context of the parish at worship together.
  •  It emphasises that the preparation of the children is the responsibility of the home. “The home should be the first church which children know, and in which they are reminded of God and helped to pray by what they see around them. Parents are the first religion teachers and the most important of all teachers of religion.” {Handing on the Faith in the Home 1980, number 4)

Templates for Enrolment Ceremonies in Preparation for Holy Communion

Preparation for Holy Communion at Sunday Mass Booklet 2023/24