Raegan's First Holy Communion

Finally, Raegan will be walking down the aisle....no, not to get married (she's only 8!!! hehehe), but she is walking down the aisle to receive Jesus for the first time. Holy Communion. The kids have been preparing for this for a month or so. Mrs. Canon from school has drilled in them the desire to learn about Jesus, what sins are, what confession is, and most importantly, how to receive Jesus with all your heart and all your mind.

Communion rites were at Pentecost at 8 in the morning!!! Normally, I wouldn't be complaining about the time since I'm a morning person; however, with this back and leg, it takes me FOREVER to get ready!!! Which meant the alarm clock was set for 630 am. Oh well.

The great thing about M.I. is that there were only a few kids who were going to be receiving Communion for the very first time. Ony 49 of them. Compared to 120 in Assumption (morning session) and 80 (afternoon session).

However, the only weakness about M.I. for this particular occasion, was that there were NO sisters running the show. Hehehe. It wasn't as organized as Rielle's First Holy Communion rites, definitely. Although I'll give Mrs. C the benefit of the doubt since this year was the first time she held the Rites at Pentecost (it used to be at della Strada).

Not that it was totally disorganized. The kids were fantastic in everything! They knew when and where they were going to go. They were coaching parents right and left as to what to expect next. Hehehe. Too funny. Some parents were totally lost, I think. Those who were just "going with the flow". Probably didn't attend ANY orientation meeting for the parents. Sigh.

Another different thing between M.I. and Assumption: the parents at AA were TOLD to be dressed nice. And everyone was. At M.I., it was a different story. There were parents in jeans, for pete's sake!!! In jeans AND walking their child down the aisle! Que horror!!! LOL :) But seriously, it would have been soooo much nicer and a more solemn atmosphere would've been attained if everyone had used common sense and dressed properly. Oh well -- chalk it up to another lesson to be learned for next year.

One thing the parents could NOT take away from the kids: the look of joy and radiance when they were walking down the aisle: both when entering the Church and when they were walking to receive Jesus. Even though we were right behind Raegan, with our hands on her shoulders, she had on a very serious expression on her face. Okay, maybe a small smile for the cameras, who knows. :)

Before mass started, Mrs. C announced that the host would be dipped in the wine. A murmur of shock went through the kids, with various expressions like "ewwww" and "what? wine?" sort of things. hehehe. I told Raegan to NOT make a face when the blessed host was put in her mouth. She said "why should I?"

So when we were lining up to enter the Church at the beginning of mass, I remarked to the parent behind me that I had reminded Raegan to avoid making any weird expression if she didn't like the taste of the wine. Next thing I knew, the same reminder was being passed down to all the kids by their parents! Hahahahaha!

When I was printing out Raegan's stampitas for the occasion, I asked her if she wanted something specific to be printed on the back of the card. After thinking for a little bit, she said, "Mama, please put there: This will be the first time that I will be receiving Jesus into my heart."

Isn't that sweet? Those are her words and not mine. Goes to show that children DO know Jesus. And that they're so much closer to Jesus than adults will ever be.

Oh another major difference between Rielle's and Raegan's First Communion Rites: At AA, cameras were highly discouraged all throughout the ceremony. Of course, that didn't stop some parents (us included!) from brining their cameras and taking photos. Luckily, Japa and I were near the side exits, so it was easy for us to stand and take a photo of Rielle.

At M.I., holy cow!!! Flash here, flash there. Again, some parents didn't even bother REMOVING the flash to avoid distraction!!! Aaargh! Oh well. At least they weren't blocking the way of the kids at all! Again, common sense and all I think. *roll eyes here*

The good thing at M.I., when the kids were posing at the end to have a group picture, the school was very accommodating for the parents. There were no announcements of "only the official school photographer is allowed to take pictures, etc, etc". So the parents were standing with the school photographers, happily clicking away with their digital cameras. Thank goodness for digi, eh?

Mrs. C had made a huge effort to try and get more kids to participate in the actual ceremony. Raegan was "child 2" reading the Prayers of the Faithful. As such, she was seated in the second row. Which was perfect for us, as we were also in the second row on the other side :)

After the ceremony, there was a rush of congratulations amongst parents and kids, and the kids excitedly exchanged stampitas with their classmates. Oh, a new thing to note: not only were stampitas being exchanged, but there were token gifts as well being distributed, such as small rosaries, small prayer books, crosses, etc. At least for next year, I'll be better prepared :)

TTFN!