Table of Contents
How can parents cooperate with Jesus in preparing children for First Communion
Nourish. Hopefully one of the most important times for your family is when you eat meals together. This can be a wonderful time to share the important things that can occur each day. Around the table, it can often be the case that we learn a lot about what our children’s lives are like.
Events like these help us to develop the bonds that are important to have healthy families. Of course there are other times too. When we go to a sporting event, a school concert, lessons like karate or ballet, we see our children in a different light.
We also often get to know the friends they have chosen. The people we surround ourselves with are important. For good or for ill, the people that we invite into our lives can lead us to be good examples or bad examples.
This is the ideal of the Mass. When we surround ourselves with people who share our values and our priorities, we can feel the support of good people that challenge us to be better persons. At Mass, just as at a family gathering, we learn our family stories (the readings), reach out to others for prayerful support (the intercessions), and worship our God together.
But more than that, we also receive the real presence of Jesus. As those who have been baptized, who have become sons and daughters of God, the real presence reinforces for us that we are not alone. Jesus is always with us. And by regular reception of Jesus in the eucharist, we grow in awareness of his love for us, and for the grace he gives us to live the life of faith.
Make Mass a priority
It use to be the case that Sundays were days reserved for the family. And the culture around us reinforced the importance of setting aside significant time for this. Going to Mass each Sunday can be the way in which Sunday becomes again the important day for our family to be together.
For so many things compete for our attention. Sporting activities, our phones, TV, movies and more can keep us from interacting with each other. Going to Mass each Sunday can be the start of making Sunday an event. Reminded of God’s love, we can then be equipped better to have fun as a family, laugh together, and to realize the tremendous gifts we are to each other.
Make meals important
There can be a temptation in families to eat “whenever.” This can come at the cost of not eating very often at the same time together. Meals are more than just creating opportunities for food. They are more than physical nourishment. They are also nourishment for our spirits and souls.
For the world can be a stressful place. We can feel insecure as we read about the events going on around us. The concerns of life can fill us with anxieties, worries and fears. The family and the Church are antidotes to allowing these things to overcome us. Both in families and in the Church, we are reminded that we have each other.
It is also the case that we are made in God’s image and likeness. That is to say, that when God looks at us, he sees his reflection. We receive the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but as members of the Body of Christ we also encounter God in one another. We can see God in our domestic church and our parish church.
Make time for prayer
In suggesting more time for prayer, it is important to note that prayer is something that supports the regular rhythm of our lives. Grace before meals helps us to remember to be grateful for what we have. Prayers before bed remind us that we are not alone, and that God cares for the same people we care about in our lives.
AT-HOME CONTENT
Nourish is a family based curriculum facilitated by parents in 10 at-home Family Meetings. These Family Meetings focus on different parts of the liturgy, tying them into concrete ways families encounter these same themes in their day to day living. The catechesis is presented in the form of family meetings. Each Family Meeting includes: an opening prayer, gathering ritual, check-in question, experiential activity, teaching, and closing prayer. Each Family Meeting will begin with a gathering ritual, which includes setting up a sacred space, sharing a family handshake, and having the first communicant read the opening prayer. This becomes a ritual as it is shared together each time. Rituals are meaningful moments that, when continually shared, help to unite a family. This blessing ritual will help provide a regular rhythm to begin Family Meetings. The check-in is meant to get the conversation started between family members. The question is loosely based on the session’s theme, and is one that is easy to answer. The activity provided is meant to teach the children through a fun and interactive experience. A teaching is also provided that coincides with the activity. Parents are given the language to teach an essential part of the catechesis related to the theme. Children remember what they “do” and parents remember what they “teach.” To end each family meeting, a prayer is included for families to pray together.
At-Home Sessions
Session 1
The Objective:
The first part of session one requires thinking about creating a space for your family to gather in prayer. This can be either something that is permanent, or something that gets set up before the time for the session.
A suggestion: create in a corner of your house a place with a small table, covered with a fabric cloth. Have a candle to light with a cross or a statue. You can use this space for the beginning of each at-home session.
The rest of the plan is listed in the Parent Guide for Nourish, which is a part of your box.
What you need to do: Email a picture of your gathering space.
Session 2
The Objective:
Create / Gather at your sacred space for prayer.
Do the activity suggested for this session in the Family Guide.
Now you can proceed to the
- AT-CHURCH CONTENT
- It is important to have families gather periodically throughout the Nourish process. The goal of gathering is to:
- Find out what is going well and to help parents get the most out of the Nourish Box Family Meetings.
- To encourage, deepen, and support their experience of the Family Meetings with any tips, inspiration, or information.
- To meet and hear from other parents on a similar journey. There is wisdom in any room of adults, especially parents!
- To give children a positive and meaningful experience at-church.
- To pray together – for each other and for their families.
The Objectives for each At Church Session
The Objectives for the At Home Sessions
Objectives are simply what we hope to accomplish. Each at-home session has an objective. to help make each at-home session more fruitful, the objectives for each at-home session are listed below.
Family Meeting 1
Email a picture of your gathering space.
Family Meeting 2
Email a list of the qualities that were brought up as you affirmed each other as a family. Try to commit to noticing these and calling out these characteristics in each other more.
Family Meeting 3
Now that you have completed the first three family meetings, how has this experience been for your family? Email a short response.
Family Meeting 4
Send or drop off the postcard for your priest to the church office.
Family Meeting 5
Email a picture of your family table as it is set for this week’s family meeting.
Family Meeting 6
Email a picture of your freshly baked bread after you have removed it from the oven.
Family Meeting 7
Email a picture of the puzzle your family made together.
Family Meeting 8
Email a picture of the door hanger after it is decorated and hanging on your first communicant’s door.
Family Meeting 9
How was the experience of washing and blessing each other’s feet for your family? Email a short response.
On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update. You can subscribe to our podcasts on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
