Page 9 - First Eucharist

I Belong to the Catholic Church
First Eucharist 1, pages 2-3, 20 minutes
The children will recognize that Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are Sacraments of Initiation.
Objectives
The children will appreciate their own Baptisms.
1. Introduce the three Sacraments of Initiation. Have the children bring their booklets and gather around you in the open area. Read aloud the title and the sentences at the top of page 2. Elaborate on the first sentence. Use the photos to introduce the three sacraments. Explain in a simple introductory way that Jesus welcomes and gives us new life in Baptism; Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit in Confirmation; Jesus nourishes us in Eucharist.
2. Focus on Baptism using the photo on page 2. To personalize the experience of journeying through the Sacraments of Initiation, use one of the children in your group as an example.
Baptism
a. Imagine (Joseph) comes home from First Eucharist preparation and says to his mother or his dad, “Do you know I belong to another family besides ours?” What family do you think your friend might be talking about? If one of his parents says, “Yes, you belong to the whole big family of God,” is this answer right?
parish. Ask who has seen a Baptism. Ask about details he or she noticed.
e. Have the children find the shell and water sticker to place on page 2. Ask them to explain the symbols. Water stands for baptism and new life. The shell is used to pour water on a baby’s head. Have them write their full names in the blanks of My Baptism. Direct the children to have their parents at home fill in information they do not know.
b. Imagine (Joseph) says, “Did you know that everyone went to church to welcome me, but I was so little I can’t remember?” What will his parents say? Perhaps something like “Yes, I remember. It was a special day for us. Your grandparents were all there, and so were...”
c. Give the children time to examine the Baptism photo closely and tell you about everything they see —the special dress, the font and water, the parents, the priest.
Ask who might be at a Baptism.
d. Review what happens in Baptism by reading aloud the sentences next to the photo. Pantomime the action of pouring water on the child’s head.
f. Take your group to see the baptismal font in church if it is near your class site. Demonstrate how the priest or deacon pours water on a child’s head.
Family, godparents, people of the
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I Belong to the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is a community of people who follows Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s Son, who became one of us to show us God’s love.
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah for whom the people of Israel waited.
We become members of our Church by receiving three Sacraments of Initiation. These sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.
We receive grace in these sacraments. Grace means gift.
We receive the gift of sharing God’s life and love in these sacraments.
Baptism
My Baptism
I, ________________________
became a child of God and member of the Catholic Church
when I was baptized on __________________________, __________,
at the church named _____________________________ in ____________________________.
The Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found the doctrinal content, copyright 2011, to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Nihil Obstat: J. Michael Byron Imprimatur: +Harry J. Flynn, Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis, April 30, 2004
Copyright ©2011, 2015 by Pflaum Publishing Group, a division of Bayard, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher.
At Baptism parents ask members of the Church to welcome their child. They want their child to grow up as a follower of Jesus.
A priest or deacon pours water over the baby’s head and says, “____________________, I baptize you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Parents promise to teach their children all that Christians believe.
In Baptism we become children of God. We share the life of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Find the sticker showing a shell and
water. Put it here.
_____________________ ____________________________,