The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. During each Mass, priest consecrates bread and wine to become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. Children have to be around second grade or older to understand this crucial part of our faith. To prepare for this Sacrament, children must sign up for second grade religious education. Fill out a registration form for religious education for your child to sign them up for Sacramental Preparation. Contact the parish if your child is older or has any special considerations needed.
“Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children…Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents.”
Excerpts from CCC 2221-2226
“Children’s preparation for first reception of the Eucharist begins in the home. The family has the most important role in communicating the Christian and human values that form the foundation for a child’s understanding of the Eucharist. Children who participate with their family in the Mass experience the Eucharistic mystery in an initial way and gradually learn to join with the liturgical assembly in prayer. Parents and the parish catechetical leader [DRE] or catechist, together with the pastor, are responsible for determining when children have attained the age of reason and are ready to receive First Communion.”
Excerpt from the National Directory for Catechesis, pp. 126-127
In the Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and wine, Jesus Christ is contained, offered, and received. The whole Christ is really, truly, and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. We use the words “really, truly, and substantially” to describe Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist. This distinguishes Our Lord’s teaching from that of men who falsely teach the Holy Eucharist is only a sign or figure of Christ, or that He is present only by His power. Even in the very beginning, the Apostles knew Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity are truly present in the Eucharist.
On the night before His death, Jesus celebrated the first Eucharist. The Apostles were present at this first Eucharist.
In the Bible, Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist in this way: He took bread, blessed and broke it, and giving it to His apostles, said: “Take and eat; this is My body;” then He took a cup of wine, blessed it, and giving it to them, said: “All of you drink of this; for this is My blood of the new covenant which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins;” finally, He gave His apostles the commission: “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
