Things that happened at First Communions

[docmattc]

Just occasionally there are children we do see again, and who are we to deny anyone?
L

You're right of course we are making sweeping generalisations here, some will be there every week ever after, others will not arrive in a stretch limo wearing seveal hundred pounds worth of dress. There may even be some families who were planning to not come back again after first communions but who we engage sufficiently to derail that plan.

its this last category which is so small, but which we should be doing our utmost to make larger

[organist]

We had first communions at the Anglicans today. The church wardens introduce the candidates who then answer 2 questions and are admitted to first communion by authority of the bishop. The children chose the hymns which was OK but we rather lost sight of SS Peter and Paul apart from the readings and the anthem "The eternal gifts of Christ the King".
Jesus Christ is waiting, One more step and Shine Jesus shine I can tolerate but I'm not so keen on Colours of day. I think the original choice of "Will you come and follow me?" would have been better. We also had the Anderson clapping Gloria. Interesting that some Anglicna parishes are using the Peter Jones Gloria and Inwood Gathering Mass.

[dunstan]

Our turn yesterday - four candidates, at least two from regularly attending families (though not in our parish). One relative started taking flash photographs, and was kindly but firmly stopped. But the one girl was in a sensible white dress, two of the boys were in traditional white shirt and red tie, and the third (an asian boy) was striking in a kind of punjabi jacket in near white. OK, so the singing was mostly from the back of the church, but we certainly avoided the excesses described above - indeed, it was a lovely occasion.

Unlike a few years ago, when one of the candidates was so overwhelmed by being in church that he wouldn't leave the pew to go for communion, and never made it.

[SOP]

Were First Holy Communion celebrations approached so glibly before the misinterpretation of the Vat II Council documents thinned everything down? As a convert I have no pre Vat II recollections.

My recollections of my First Holy Communion in 1957 are that everyone was involved, school, parishioners, family, neighbourhood - everyone. Our religious instruction was at school and we also attended Sunday School which consisted of a jolly priest explaining things to us and then we had Benediction but not stuffy but one for us children. We got dressed up in white dresses and veils, white shoes, etc and most of us had Rosary Beads either round our necks or looped over our hands. We had Whit Walks and a walk around the parish boundaries on Trinity Sunday. The First Communion lot walked in the latter as the former was too far for 7 year olds. We also had processions round church, seemed like at least one a month and in May we had the Crowning of Mary and extra Benedictions so we got lots and lots and lots of wear out of our outfits. After receiving our First Communion the parish always put on a breakfast for us but it consisted of cakes and tea! That tradition carried on after V2 and I remember being an older teen and helping out in the kitchen for the little ones celebrating their First Holy Communion. I still have the certificate we all got and quite a few of the prayer cards I received as present from my grandma and granddad, aunts, uncles, cousins, even brothers.

There again, I now know I was brought up in an Irish Catholic ghetto so being a Catholic and going through First Communion, Confirmation, all going to the same schools was just life as I knew it.

It was tradition rather than glibness. A right of passage, what you did at a certain age.

[gwyn]

Sounds a delightful memory SOP.

[organist]

Well as organist's wife I can agree with sop's post. I was only just seven, and then we recycled the dresses the following year as far as I can remember for Confirmation!! How we quite understood all that I still don't know. Yes we also had "breakfast" in the school hall with the nuns hovering around, and paraded around in our dresses at the May procession all round the streets. I had been to Sunday morning catechism classes as I didn't go to an RC school.This was West London. Alas musically I have no recollection at all of anything. Nowadays I fail to see how preparatiion can still be fitted in at school as it is in a few parishes.

[oopsorganist]

On away on a sideways slant

I was today with my school choir (not Catholic) touring as part of a big probably temporary Gospel choir in our area.

When we got to the participating Catholic School, there was a display of the First Holy C. children dressed in white with prayer hands in the entrance with a huge label "Pray for us".

My children, some of them Christian and some not, were very alarmed and asked "What has happened to them?" It took a while to explain. They were silent for while. This does not often happen.

(And then, they were also puzzled by the statue of the patron saint outside the door and yet another a few feet away immediately in the hall and could not take on board that is was the same saint in different form. More questions. )

They returned to the entrance display and studied the Peruvian Cross which enchanted them and they asked more questions of anyone they could find, fascinated by it.

(But great joyful singing of "Oh Happy Day!" across schools in this community on this significant date. (Mysterious ways.))

[SOP]

Sounds a delightful memory SOP.

It does mean I almost got kicked out of the cinema when I went on my own to see Angela's Ashes! I found parts of it, particularly the First Commuion, hilarious and kept either snorting or laughing out loud. I think it was supposed to be sad and poor and awful but I had tears of laughter running down my cheeks - it brought back so many memories!!