The main teaching of this First Holy Communion preparation session was that Jesus turned the offering into something amazing. At Mass, we offer bread, wine, money and our little sacrifices adn triumphs of the week, and they are transformed into something wonderful.
The session started with a prayer, as Father Anthony invited some of the children to say the Hail Mary together.
Once that happened, the children in their groups started to work their way through chapter seven of their ‘I belong’ books, where this week we read and reviewed the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’, learning about trusting in God even when times seem at their worst. We learned about the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the things that are brought to the priest at the offertory procession.
Just before snack time, the children in their groups had simple lessons on how to receive the Eucharist, with small paper replacements, for when it comes to their time to do so they will be confident enough to do it correctly.
After a short snack time, the children got to doing some crafting, where they made clovers with messages about each of the embodiments of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which helped them understand the Trinity to a further extent, and St Patrick whose feast we celebrate on March 17.
To conclude the session, Anne closed us off with some meditation to calm the children down, and so they can reflect on the lessons they had learnt. Following that the children went home to wrap up another session of preparation.
