1st Communion Preparation

Dear Families,

I want to make expressly clear ahead of time that none of this is strictly required. I would love to have you delve into these resources on a regular basis with your 1st Communicant, and I think it will help them to develop hope, joy and love for the Lord during this difficult time, but I recognize that this will not always be possible. We will make sure that the most essential things necessary are covered in person once we are permitted to proceed with 1st Holy Communion.

That said, I think these are resources that your children may likely enjoy as long as they are given some room to enjoy them and not required to do too much at one time.

I am continually adding new resources for 1st Communion. Please see our 1st Communion posts page for the most recent updates.

Blessings and Prayers!

Alicia Van Hecke

Mass Videos:

Many thanks to our Associate Pastor, Fr. Nick Baumgardner, for making these great little videos (most are 1-2 minutes long) for the children and families of our parish about parts of the Mass and the beautiful things used at Mass!

Introduction

Entering the Church

Holy Water

Genuflection

Sanctuary

Altar

Crucifix 

Tabernacle 

Articles of the Mass

Washing of the Hands 

Epiclesis  

Consecration 

Doxology 

Paschal Candle 

Colors of the Vestments

Putting on Vestments 

Mass Vocabulary Cards:

 

 

Please click here to download vocabulary cards for parts of the Mass and objects used at Mass. We would love it if your children are familiar with them and could at least match up the name with the picture when given the description. (We don't expect them to memorize the descriptions.) I recommend Montessori's "3 Period Lesson" for working with vocabulary cards. 1. You give them the name of the objects on the cards. 2. You spend plenty of time allowing them to familiarize themselves with the cards without expecting them to give you the name. A classic example would be to lay out a small set of cards with objects greatly varying from each other (such as chalice, altar and candle) and ask them to point to one of them when you give them the name or the description. This step can also include matching names of objects (when given a small set) to the appropriate pictures. 3. Once they are ready, you can ask them to name of the object. Note: The children have used these cards in class already, so they will probably already be pretty far along in this process.

Prayer Memorization:

We hope to have the children know the most basic Catholic prayers by heart (and they should have a good start on this as they were working on it in class): The Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Please click here for a list of these prayers to practice from. Additionally, here are worksheets on each of the prayers that the children can use to help with memorization:

Our Father Sheet

Hail Mary Sheet

Glory Be Sheet

Receiving Holy Communion:

Fr. Nick and my son Dominic made a video for you which explains step-by-step how to receive Holy Communion, either in the hand or on the tongue:

Other Resources:

Great Picture Books for First Communion