Holy Communion

1st Holy Communion

Preparation at Home:

1. Please take some time to talk with your child about the Eucharist:
   • Ask what s/he is learning in the classroom.
   • Ask what s/he thinks about it.
   • Share your own memories of your First Communion.
2. We will be providing a booklet to your child about the sacrament of Reconciliation and about the Mass from Loyola Press. Please review the chapters at a pace that is comfortable for you and your child. It is helpful to prepare for Mass by talking about the gospel coming up on Sunday (you can find the mass readings on Google: ex mass readings for December 16,2020) and you can connect the message from Jesus into a family event to make the gospel story come alive. It will mean so much more to your child when they hear it again at mass.
3. Take your family to Mass every Saturday or Sunday and talk about it afterwards. You can ask: Did you tell Jesus how much you love Him and want to be close to Him always?
4. If you are unable to attend mass in person, please visit the Holy Name of Mary Parish Facebook page. We will be live streaming weekend masses. You can also watch the mass from the Diocese of Rockville Center at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=339154657255170&ref=watch_permalink

First Communion Mass:
First Communion Mass will be celebrated on Saturday May 4th at 10:00 am, 12:30pm. The Children will come in together and sit in their family pews. The children will receive the Eucharist before the congregation.

Arrival: All Children should arrive to HNM school gym for line up a ½ hour before communion time. They should fast at least 1 hour before receiving the Eucharist.

Photographs:
A professional photographer has been hired to take a picture of each child receiving the Eucharist for the first time. An email to access the digital photo gallery will be sent a week after communion (this service is included in the fee you paid upon registering your child for First Eucharist).

In addition, there will a professional videographer recording the ceremony. A CD will be available 2 weeks after communion.

No one, other than the professional photographer, is to take photographs during Mass at any time.

Seating:
The First Communicants will be seated with their families in the pew reserved and marked with the child banner. The seating is done in alphabetical order.

Dress Code:
I have put together a list of guidelines for the communion attire. Please see attached.

The Symbolism of First Communion Attire
The traditional color of First Communion attire (gowns and shirts) is white. For girls, First Communion is one of the three major events that call for a white gown. All three are sacraments in the Catholic Church: her baptismal day, her First Communion day, and, if she is called to marriage, her wedding day. So why do they all involve a white gown?

The baptismal gown that is given to boys and girls symbolizes purity, joy, and new life. The white color symbolizes that the newly baptized has put on Christ, and it also recalls John’s vision in the Book of Revelation: “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13). The white also symbolizes one of the effects of Baptism, the washing away of all sins, including original sin. As God says through the Prophet Isaiah, ‘Though you sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). So the color of the gown reminds us of God’s incredible mercy and of the purity of the soul that result from Baptism.

First Communion gowns and shirts are white on purpose; they are meant to recall all the symbolism of the baptismal gown. First Communion is the second of three Sacraments of Initiation, and so the links with Baptism are very important. White wedding gowns also are intended to recall the symbolism of both Baptism and First Communion. It is often pointed out that white First Communion attire also reminds us of the whiteness of the Eucharistic host that the children will receive.

In Catholic Liturgy, white is a color of celebration and triumph worn during the Christmas and Easter Seasons as well as during other special feast days. So the white attire finally symbolizes the excitement and celebration that should rightfully accompany a child’s First Communion.

With all these elements in mind, you can see how deeply symbolic First Communion attire is. You are not just dressing up your child for a major life event; you are wrapping them up in deep symbolism to present them to their Creator for a union with Him and for further initiation into His Church. The gown and shirt are holy symbolic objects and should modestly reflect their lofty purpose.

Other Notes:
Please take your child to Mass every Sunday, pray every day, (before meals, when you hear an ambulance or fire truck pass, when you are riding or walking past a Catholic church, when visiting the Adoration Chapel, at night before going to bed, etc.) and take him/her to Reconciliation as often as possible.

Please make sure your child has a good night’s sleep the evening before First Communion and has a healthy meal no later than one hour prior to Mass. No gum chewing or candy are allowed in the church.

Communion Certificate: Each Communion Certificate will be placed at the end of the pew, please make sure to take it home together with your child’s banner.

May Crowning:
We welcome our First Communion class to wear their First Communion attire to the Holy Name of Mary May Crowning. We crown our Blessed Mother queen of heaven and earth at the Sunday mass after First Communion. This year’s crowning will be on Sunday, May 8th at the 11:00 am mass.

The children will process out and crown the statue of the blessed mother in front of the church.