Crafty's Son Makes His First Communion

I was raised Catholic. Two months after I was born, I was baptized. In the Catholic Church, baptism is the first sacrament of seven that individuals celebrate. Since both my husband and I were raised Catholic, we made the decision to raise our children Catholic as well; this meant they, too, were baptized months after birth. We also made the choice to send them to Catholic school, but eventually decided to give them an option.

When our middle son was given the choice between public and parochial school, he asked one question: “If we go to public school, can we still learn about God?” The answer was “No,” so off they went to parochial school.

Two years ago, our daughter, who was in second grade at the time, received two more sacraments: First Penance and First Holy Communion. About a month ago, our middle child, our eight-year-old son, made his First Penance as well. Now it is time for him to receive his First Holy Communion. In the coming weeks, we will begin preparing him, as well as our home, for this exciting event in his life.

When our daughter made her communion, my mother and I hand made the beautiful white dress she wore for the occasion. Unfortunately, I cannot make a dark suit and white tie for my son. However, I wanted him to feel special so one weekend evening, our whole family went shopping to find the perfect suit for this special little boy. Sadly our success on the shopping trip was limited; we were able to find black shoes, a white button-down shirt, and a very cool blue tie, which he can use for Easter but not Communion.

I am sure some parents will understand the dilemma we ran into; he is very short and skinny. Suit sets with a jacket that fits him perfectly have pants that are gigantic on him; separates don't have a suit coat and pants in the same shade. Surprisingly, my son was okay with leaving the store without a suit to wear and I ended up ordering one online. When it arrived, he was extremely excited to see it. I do have to make small hems in the pant legs, but overall, it fits great. With this step out of the way, I could move on to the rest of our planning.

In our families, First Holy Communion calls for a day full of Mass, family, food, and fun. We had to choose invitations and gather the addresses of friends and family members with whom our little boy would like to share his day. This past week, the invitations arrived and he loved the picture of himself on the back. He asked me if he could be a part of making the invite list and I had no problem with him helping; after all, it is his day.

My son has always been a very considerate little boy; it warmed my heart to see that his list included Boxy and her husband, along with my co-worker and a former student of mine. He also included all of his aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents. He was a little iffy about inviting his brother and sister, but what else do you expect from an eight-year-old boy?

I am hoping to get the invitations out this week and the next and final step will be planning the food for the reception following Mass. I am sure we will have many Crock pots set up with meatballs, shredded chicken, and mac and cheese. Of course, who could forget the desserts? I would love to know some of your favorite desserts, so please feel free to share in the comments!

Despite the fun of searching for the perfect suit and tie to sending out invitations and planning a reception, the most important part in all of this is the sacrament. My son is ready to take this step in his faith and to reach one more milestone within the church. We are extremely excited for him, as well as proud of the boy is he becoming.