First Communion Connection #8 Soon we will be celebrating First Communion Together!

Until then… Keep connected, Keep preparing, Keep faith!

Start with PrayerandScripture Gather your family for prayer around a Bible. Invite everyone to settle themselves and become aware of God’s presence. After a moment of quiet, begin: Leader: Let us begin by praying the Sign of the Cross, which reminds us of our Baptism. This special prayer reminds us that God loves us very much, that we are part of God’s family, that we are followers of Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is always with us to help us live as friends of God and followers of Jesus. All: Making the Sign of the Cross, pray, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Leader: God, our loving Father, you give us the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Guide. Send us the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to listen to your Word. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son. All: Amen.

Reader: Read Acts of the Apostles 1:12,2:1-42. Before proclaiming the Scripture, begin by saying: A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Proclaim the Scripture. Conclude the reading by saying: The word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God.

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Hey Kids! We listen to the Word of God during the part of Mass called the Liturgy of the Word. There are a lot of words in the Liturgy of the Word! You may not be able to understand all of them. But don’t worry. That is okay. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you listen. Before Mass, ask someone to help you read the readings. Find words and phrases you understand. You can say these words quietly to yourself. That is a good way to pray. Here are some words from the Word of God that you could say quietly to yourself in prayer:

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Alleluia! (Praise God!) “The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23) When Jesus was born the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest.” (Luke 2:14) Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” (Matthew 19:14) Jesus said, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12) Can you add more?

Kids! It’s your turn to become the teachers! Use simple household objects (and a tiny little bit of help from Mom or Dad) to wow Gram and Gramps with your knowledge about the Holy Spirit! Or teach your sisters or brothers! Or send a video of your spectacular teaching to Joy and Fr. Chris! If you would like us to share it with our Generations of Faith Family, just let us know! Ready, set, go!

Prepare:

1. Find three boxes. Hide the following items in each box. You will reveal the items in each box as part of your amazing lesson! If you don’t have boxes, don’t worry! You could use a sheet or blanket to cover your items.

Box 1: Fan

Box 2: Hot Water bottle, Cold water bottle (get parents to help you filling the bottle with hot water!) 2 big hearts made out of construction paper (or whatever paper you have in the house.)

Box 3: Bottle of Water, little teapot, tiny teacups (if you do not have a tea set, improvise!)

2. Read through your plan below.

3. OK, now you are ready to begin!

Your plan:

r Welcome everyone present!

r Bring out Box #1, but don’t open it yet!

o SAY: today we are thinking about the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised us. The Holy Spirit is part of God. There is God the Father, God the Son, who is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. I have some boxes with surprises in them to tell you about what the Holy Spirit is like. Let’s start with our first box. Shall we see what’s inside? YES! Drumroll...

o OPEN BOX 1. Hold up the fan and swish it.

o SAY: The Holy Spirit is like the WIND. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel the Holy Spirit.

o Swish the fan on each person so they can feel the wind.

o SAY: Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be a friend to us, to help us understand God and know the right thing to do. Just like the wind, we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel the Holy Spirit and listen to the Holy Spirit.

r Bring out Box #2, but don’t open it yet!

o SAY: I have another thing the Holy Spirit is like in my second box. Shall we see? YES! Drumroll...

o OPEN BOX 2. Hold up the two bottles.

o ASK: what are these? Can you see by looking which one is hot? No! We can’t see heat, but we can feel it.

o Let everyone feel each water bottle. Ask them to tell you which one has the hot water in it.

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o SAY: The Holy Spirit is like heat. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit warms our heart with the love of Jesus. Jesus said that if we do what He told us to do then we love Him. What did Jesus tell us to do?

o Take out the two hearts and hold them up for everyone to see.

o SAY: Jesus told us to love God and love other people. When we do this we show that we love Jesus and we share God’s love!

r Bring out Box #3, but don’t open it yet.

o SAY: I have one more box to show us what the Holy Spirit is like. Shall we see? YES! Drumroll...

o OPEN BOX 3. Hold up the bottle of water. Leave the other things hidden in the box.

o SAY: the Holy Spirit is like water.

o Now pull out the teapot and say: We are like a teapot!

o Pour some water out of the bottle into the teapot.

o SAY: The Holy Spirit fills us up with love. But that is not the end. Does water stay in a teapot? No! It needs to be poured out into cups.

o Get out the cups and start pouring out the water into the cups.

o SAY: This is the same with us and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into us, and then we need to share that love with others. If we keep pouring out water – what is going to happen? Will the water run out? Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would never leave us. So here is the amazing thing. When we pour out our love to others, we will never run out! The Holy Spirit keeps filling us up again!

o Use the water bottle to pour more water into the teapot.

o SAY: we will never run out of God’s love! The more we give, the more the Holy Spirit fills us up.

r Finish up with a review! It would be super cool if you had a chalkboard, or a whiteboard, or a big piece of poster board that you could write these words on:

o Pick up the fan. SAY: the Holy Spirit is like the wind. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us understand God. The Holy Spirit helps us know the right thing to do.

o Pick up the hot water bottle. SAY: the Holy Spirit is like heat. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit warms our heart with love. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus loves us.

o Pick up the water bottle. SAY: the Holy Spirit is like water. The Holy Spirit pours love into us so that we can share God’s love with others.

r Take a bow! And take your show on the road, because that’s what Jesus’ disciples do! We spread the Good News of God’s love!

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The Holy Spirit is like: W ind, Heat, and W ater!

Make the Connection We come to Church to know and feel God’s love. At Mass, we know and feel God’s love in a special way when we receive the gift of Jesus in Holy Communion. Jesus is the Bread of Life. In the sacrament of Eucharist, Jesus strengthens us so we can go out and share God’s love with everyone we meet. This is why we are so excited to celebrate First Communion with you!

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit was always with Jesus. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus when he did his work on Earth. Jesus told everyone how much God loved and cared for them. He healed people who were sick. Jesus forgave people’s sins. He cared about people who were poor and told them how special they were to God. Everything Jesus said and did helps us to know how much God loves us.

At Mass we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit to live as Jesus taught us to live by what he said and did. At the end of Mass the priest asks God to bless us. We hear the words, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” We respond, “Thanks be to God!” We thank God for making us disciples of Jesus. We share the gift of peace that God has given us. Jesus told us that when we help people we are helping him. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we bring the Good News of God’s love to people. We tell others about Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us to live as lights in the world.

Talk about it

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

What difference does this make in my life? The first disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit is with us too. The Holy Spirit is always with us as our helper and teacher, wherever we are – whether we are at church, at home, anywhere! We know and feel God’s love whenever we remember that we are never alone. We can take a deep breath and pray these three simple words to remember and call upon the Holy Spirit anytime, anywhere: Come Holy Spirit!

Talk about it … Live it: What is one thing you can do this week to

show that the Holy Spirit is with you? Compose a prayer to the Holy Spirit to help

you prepare for First Communion. Pray the prayer with your family every day for a week.

This weekend is Pentecost Sunday – we celebrate the birthday of the Church! Choose one activity from the Seasons of Faith newsletter to learn about and celebrate Pentecost with your family.

Keep your “Mass” muscles strong! Review the Concluding Rites in “Celebrating the Mass: The Order of the Mass Explained for Kids.” (You will find a PDF of this on the First Communion Connection website, under First Communion Connection #6.) Mass Memory Verse of the Week:

Prayers to Know by Heart: The Lord’s Prayer & The Sign of the Cross: Keep practicing! You can do it!

Don’t forget about your “Eucharist is About...” family activity pack. If you can’t find it, no worries! Joy uploaded another copy to the First Communion Connection webpage, under First Communion Connection #4. Try choosing one activity a week.

*** This week’s “First Communion Connection” was adapted from

Eucharist: Do This in Memory of Me, from RCL Benziger, Celebrate and Remember Eucharist, from St. Mary’s Press

& “Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit Lesson Plan,” from Lucy Davey

At the end of Mass the priest asks God to bless us. “We hear the words, “Go in peace…”

We respond:

Thanks be to God!