PARISH LEADERS

Eucharist

As children come forward with their parents to prepare for First Eucharist (Communion) we have a golden opportunity to coach the parents to become the first teachers of their own kids. Parents WANT to do this. All the research shows they are willing. But they do not know how.

GROWING UP CATHOLIC to the rescue! Here are resources designed to build that bridge between parent and child.

First Eucharist Preparation

Growing Up Catholic Sacramental Preparation Sessions

Kit for Leading Parent-Child Sessions
This eResource product includes six sessions of immediate preparation for First Eucharist, as well as a parent retreat and parent-child final retreat/rehearsal.  It is designed to coach parents alongside their children, utilizes effective handouts, explicitly brings the faith home, and helps children and parents enter into deeper relationship with Christ.

Get Ready! Get Set!

Retreat and Rehearsal for First Eucharist
This is a flexible-schedule retreat and plan for the final rehearsal for parents and their children as they prepare to receive Holy Communion for the first time. 

Parents and children live together most of the time. They encounter one another daily. Even if the family is split between more than one home, they’re in touch with each other frequently.

But in this final retreat and rehearsal for First Holy Communion, we want to give them a unique experience of being together, one in which we coach the parents to talk with their child about faith. This final lesson before Holy Communion will be formation that lasts a lifetime, for both the parents and their kids.
This product includes
  • Schedules and outlines for both smaller parishes or larger ones
  • All the handouts you'll need
  • Step-by-step instructions for the whole retreat, no guessing or need to make it up as you go along!
  • A wonderful "tour of a Catholic Church" resource, including a handout for participants
  • A top notch demo outline of the Mass for the rehearsal, updated for the revised Roman Missal

Details
  • This is a fully-reproducible PDF/Word eResource
  • Price includes license to reproduce (or email) within your own parish community.

Learning Centers for First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and the Whole Community (print book)

Outlines and Activities for Multiple Centers Per Session
  • 37 creative and formative centers for children preparing for these sacraments. Children and their families share church teaching, Scripture, prayers, conversation, and a fun activity reinforcing the teaching.
  • Plus 8 "gatherings" for the whole community: 4 for First Reconciliation and 4 for First Eucharist. 
Details
  • 96 pages, 8.5 x 11", most pages reproducible

The Gift of Reconciliation

For Parents of Children Celebrating First Eucharist
What moment of childhood is more appropriate than this one for bringing parents and their children together in faith? The Gift of Holy Communion enables parents to help their children understand, celebrate and remember the spiritual significance of their First Communion. This book will become a keepsake in the home.

We’d like to put this marvelous book in the hands of every parent with a child making his or her First Communion in the Church today.
Details
  • 80-page paperback book.
  • Follow the link to view the table of contents, introduction, and a sample chapter.
  • Bulk pricing available.

My First Holy Communion

Sunday Mass and Daily Prayers
This is the perfect book to prepare children for their First Holy Communion or as a gift in celebration. Children can carry the book to Sunday Mass and use it over and over at home to learn about the Mass and learn by heart the prayers and acclamations of the Mass.

This book is an invitation to learn and to love the words that we all say and sing at Mass. It is an invitation to receive Holy Communion, the first and every time, as the sacred banquet of those who have listened to God’s Word, prayed together, and given God thanks over the gifts of bread and wine.
In a separate section, My First Holy Communion: Sunday Mass and Daily Prayers, Revised Edition contains the daily and Sunday prayers that a child can learn by heart with help from a parent or another adult. This book is ideal for holiday gift-giving and is the uniquely wonderful First Communion gift you have always wanted to give to the special children in your life.

Details
  • 64-page hardcover book.

Eucharist on the Run

A Flyer for Busy Parents
This accessible reproducible flyer is a great way to learn about the sacrament. Use it when encouraging parents to register their children, as handouts at sacrament prep sessions, in classes, or even as a take-home item during other meetings.

This is a great way to help young parents learn to speak with confidence about the sacraments.
Details
  • 8 1/2" x 11" one-fold, two-sided flyer.
  • Price includes license to reproduce (or email) within your own parish community.
  • Follow the link to view a sample from this series.