My First Encounter: First Communion

my son had his first communion last saturday.

and boy, was it different! different from the first communions that i know of in the philippines.

in the philippines, the school takes care of the first communion. it is a big school event where everything is practiced - how to walk, what songs to sing, how to take communion, and if i remember it right, even the actual mass is practiced.

there are pictorials before the big day. solo pictures of the child kneeling down and holding a rosary are taken. on the day itself, an official photographer and videographer is on site to make sure that this special day is properly documented. children also exchange giveaways or souvenirs with classmates to mark their special day.

here in canada, despite the fact that my kids go to a catholic school, the first communion is not a school affair. it is a parish affair. and the responsibility of registering your child for first communion lies with the parent and not the school.

different parishes have different ways of going about the first communion. but some things are constant. there are no rehearsals. no pictorials prior to the first communion. no exchanging of souvenirs with classmates. and definitely no pictures taken during the ceremony. yes, no pictures of my son taking his first ever communion!

instead, we were required to attend retreats to help us prepare our child for the sacrament of reconciliation and the sacrament of the holy eucharist. workbooks were given for us to do with our child.

in our parish, the first communion is held during regular sunday masses including the anticipated saturday mass. a maximum of 10 participants take their first communion per mass schedule and they are lent a white robe to wear during the ceremony.

before everyone else lines up for communion, the lector calls the child one by one. and the child and his immediate family all go to the front and partake of the holy communion. the participants are also in charge of the offertory and they join our parish priest in the recession march.

it was special day for us and i can't help but wish that i had pictures and videos of the whole ceremony. oops.. don't get me wrong. it's not like i don't have any pictures at all. we do. we took pictures after the ceremony.

but it's not the same. the pictures i want are those of my son taking his first communion. and of him marching down the aisle during offertory. and of him being called in front to get his certificate and pin. and of him marching during the recession. i want those pictures!

truth be known, after the ceremony was over, i actually contemplated on asking the priest to pretend to give my son his first communion while i take his picture.