Parents and Catechists together:

WK2 of preparation for our children’s first Communion

The story-line: a boy, a lunch sack filled with 5 loaves and two fish. The boy’s mom packs a lunch, and he goes off to hear Jesus preach. We know the rest of the Gospel story; we’ve heard it many times: exhausted and hungry people turn to Jesus for some relief, and they cry out: “We are hungry!”  His disciples freak out wondering, how are we going to feed all these people? The story continues, the boy with the lunch sack in hand approaches  Jesus with the sincere desire to share his lunch. Jesus accepts the gift of loaves and fishes, gives thanks, blesses, breaks and shares. The people are feed, and there are lots of leftovers. The Gospel Story of the loaves and the fishes can be found in all four Gospels.

They shared their words before writing them on a little lunch sack that they would bring home to share at their tables. In the Gospel story of the Loaves and Fish the mandate was clear: Share your bread with the hungry.

The take-away: boys and girls preparing for Eucharist, lunch sacks with loaves of bread, and prayers from the heart.

In class, we heard the Good News, we listened and told our stories, communicated our values as we blessed the bread to be shared at the family table. The children enthusiastically left SCORE with their lunch sacks charged with the task – take the bread home, pray the blessing and share the bread with the family.  I trust that the special lunch your child brought home from SCORE created an opening to share stories, and share your very selves.   

Preparing your child for this Sunday’s Mass:

• Read together the Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent. Begin with signing the cross on your forehead, on your lips and in your heart asking: “May our words of God be in my mind, on my lips and in my heart.” Sunday’s Gospel, The Prodigal Son,  invites us to hear a father’s love and mercy for his son.  Lk 15:1-3, 11-32. Invite your child to listen for words and phrases, and share the word(s) with each other. When I listen to the Gospel, I hear: Mercy, Compassion.
• The children have a perfect opportunity “to practice” processing for Communion, as well as approaching the Table with reverence. Remind your child, when approaching the Eucharistic Ministers, place his/her arms cross their chest for a blessing.

May Lent 2016, renew within us a deeper awareness of the Risen Christ present in our humble gifts of Bread and Wine, and within us as we gather to give praise and thanks to our God.  As we draw closer to Easter, and to our child’s first experience of Eucharist, may our hearts and minds be opened to experience the abundance of God’s grace.