First Communion Traditions

[Tim Killmeyer]

While I try to put my love for the Eucharist at the center of my life, I have great difficulty maintaining a sense of joy at my parish when we celebrate First Communion because the chaos and disruptions and talking and chewing gum by the children's extended families who (it seems) rarely if ever go to Mass, make it seem like anything but a Holy Sacrament.

I have been pushing for years for us to do what a number of other parishes do, and that is to have 8 or 10 children at a time come with their families to a series of regular Sunday (and Vigil) Masses. We are having two "special" Masses for our First Communicants and their families this Saturday, but I think we might be making the switch next year. I've been told that breaking with tradition the first year of the switch is the hardest, but after that it's "just the way it's done."

The first two questions above represent those two choices. I was limited to a certain number of words for each question, but I think you'll figure it out from my description here.

As usual, your responses to the POLL are anonymous, your replies to this message are not. The POLL will end in 30 days.

Tim

I included a third option in case there are other ways of "doing" First Communion that I'm not aware of. If your parish does one of those other ways you can check that box, submit, then click reply and describe it for us if you like.

[billw]

We do two Masses on a Saturday morning as well. With over 220 children receiving each year I do not see any other practical way to do it. I do agree that the "guests" and extended family members that show up are not very respectful of the Sacrament but at least we get the oppertunity to teach them as well.

[cookydeacon]

Exactly Deacon Bill. Take whatever homiletic opportunities we can.

We are doing 2 Masses this weekend, but we also allow some whop cannot make it to come to regular Sunday Mass. I do not know what the parameters are for that (were they sick, etc)

[dcnvincem]

So long as I have been at my parish First Communion has always been celebrated during Mass on Sunday or the Vigil Mass. Some years when we have had a large class that meant maybe 20 for First Communion at more than one Mass. This year we designated several Easter season weekends as for First Communion. The families love the flexibility and the option to celebrate with their normal Mass 'community' and it makes it much more manageable from a logistics view and much more intimate as the whole family can stand and receive with each first communicant. We still have the family members who are not necessarily connected closely to everything going on but not in concentrated numbers and they also seem to benefit from closer participation.
As for special First Communion liturgies, let me just say that has always seemed to me to be more for the convenience of others than the first communion families. As in, get it done and over.

[devitopl]

In the various parishes that I have been in, I've seen it both ways. The class either celebrated at one mass or the class was broken up into several masses depending on the service they normally came to.

As for my preference, I like the one mass and that mass could be at a special time to allow for all of the relatives that will travel.

[Russ O'Neill]

We are a small parish, and first communion is always celebrated at the regular weekend Masses (one weekend). I believe that, like Baptism, this is where the sacrament should be celebrated.