First Communion Retreat

I teach second grade at a Catholic School.  During second grade, the students go through First Reconciliation and First Communion.  Before they complete their First Communion, we hold a retreat where the students come together to help prepare their hearts and minds for the big day.

We have the retreat on a school night.  The students come back to school and meet at the church first. We gather at the church and meet with the priest where he then answers questions my students have.  We discussed in class the order of mass and the different things we do at mass.  So, the students came up with questions they had for the priest.

Here are some questions they asked:

1.  Why does the priest raise the body and blood to the sky during mass?

2.  Why do people read the readings and not the priest?

3.  Why do the altar boys carry candles?

4.  Why do we genuflect? 

5.  Why do we hear a chime during communion?

They had great questions and many more.  There were some I was even curious about.  The kids were also able to see all the mass materials up close, as well as all of his vestments (robes the priest wears).

They loved this, and the priest really enjoyed sharing with the kids.  He even told us to come back if we had any more questions!

Once we finished at the church, the students and their families walked over to the school library where the kids put on a skit for the families.  The skit was about a family like yours or mine that is too busy and realizes that they are forgetting things.  They even forget to sit down for a meal together!  They gather as a family and enjoy a meal where they realize that their meal is just like receiving communion.  It is important to receive communion every week and to take time to place Jesus in our hearts.  

You can see the family sitting together and the narrators above.  The family got really into their costumes and the dad even wore a mustache and hat!

They did an awesome job performing especially with only one microphone.  They also shared the story of Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand and the Last Supper.  This was a very powerful show for the kids and their families. 

After the skit, the families gathered together to decorate a goblet for the students to remember this special event.  They painted the goblets, and then I took them back to the shop where they glazed the goblets.  The students will get their goblet at their First Communion.  This is a keepsake to remember this special sacrament, and they may also use it as a prayer cup!

Do you do anything exciting for First Communion?  I would love to hear about it!