Thomas Receives Jesus for the First Time

This past Saturday was a big day in our home. Our fifth child, Thomas, received his First Holy Communion. Having been homeschooled for all of his 71/2 years, I especially enjoyed the time leading up to this day. It has been so special for me to be teaching him about Jesus in the Eucharist, about Reconciliation, the Mass, the Saints, and all the treasures of our Catholic faith that make me so glad I am Catholic! And he is so receptive to hearing about the faith and can grasp the concepts with the child-like faith we are all called to believe with. Teaching him has energized my own faith and I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow in the faith right beside him. Here are a few pictures of our beautiful day!

Sweet, innocent praying hands.

                                                                                                                                               Hands in pockets, always!

Thomas and me awaiting the big moment

                                                                                                                                              A big, beautiful grin after receiving!

Our tradition in this family is to have a big Communion party for each of the children and this year was no different! All of our friends tend to have large families, so just inviting the friends alone would make the guest list close to fifty.  Then add on immediate family and some extended family and our guest list usually comes close to eight or ninety. We always have our parties at home. This allows a more relaxed environment for all the little ones to run around and for family and friends who don't see each other often to have plenty of time to visit and catch up. This time around I had some food brought in from a local caterer (it was delicious!) and some homemade dishes. The menu consisted of eggplant rollatini, chicken francaise, penne ala vodka, chicken cutlet hero, roast beef, meatballs, brocolli in olive oil and garlic, rice pilaf, and ceasar salad.  As an after thought, for the kids I added a tray of chicken tenders and a taco station. Believe it or not, even with snacks, most of the food went! There was enough leftover to feed my family several meals this week, but I usually plan for that because I am so exhausted after these events!  For dessert, Thomas had to have a chocolate fountain.  It is a huge mess, but it was the only thing he specfically requested, so I really couldn't say no to the guest of honor. I also made "dirt cake" which is a layered chocolate dessert made with a pudding/cream cheese/cool whip mixture which is folded together. It gets layered with crushed oreos which resemble dirt. I made them in (new) plastic flower pots. The top layer is crushed oreos with gummie worms poking out. And the finishing touch is a small bunch of artificial flowers! I made two small pots and they actually made the dessert table look rather pretty!  I also made small favors to give out to the guests. These were done rather inexpensively by buying the boxes in the dollar store party section. I also bought some pretty organza ribbon there and printed out labels for the front of the boxes.  Each box is filled with a handful of chocolate kisses. The day ended with an outdoor fire and a few close friends chatting and enjoying a much-deserved glass of wine!

The next day was Sunday, and as is the tradition in our parish, the First Communicants are asked to wear their Communion outfits to Sunday Mass all throughout the month of May. This is such a lovely tradition and it is so special to see all the children dressed up for Jesus! Thomas, however was over wearing the suit. He says "But mom, this isn't my First Holy Communion... it's my Second Holy Communion. I don't have to wear the suit!

But mom won... for Mother's Day, he wore the suit!

Comments

[BrooklynQ]

Congratulations Thomas! I'm sorry we couldn't be there to share your day.

[Eileen]

Oh, I love the tradition of wearing the First Communion outfits to Mass each Sunday for the month! What a great idea -- my daughter would have been thrilled to have the occasion to wear her dress over and over again.

Your party looks wonderful, and your little boy so joyful. Congratulations to him -- and to you, for bringing him to this day!

Warmly,
Eileen

[JennGM]

What wonderful memories you are making for your family! And the food...wow! Can you come over and cater our FHC party in a few years?

[Meredith]

So beautiful, I love the Party favors, what a sweet idea!! He is adorable :)) Congratulations Thomas!!!

[MaryM]

Thank you for participating in the First Communion fair. The post is spectacular - what a memorable day.