Sacramental Preparation

This year Jelly Bean made her First Confession and First Holy Communion.  We are in the blessed position of being able to prepare our children ourselves.  The majority of the resources we used I have used before to prepare her older siblings, although I added a few new titles this time around..

The New St Joseph First Communion Catechism - Fr Lovasik
I have used this little book with all my children, a great little gem to make certain I have covered all bases.  






Ten Eager Hearts - Sister of Notre Dame
An OOP gem; each story contains incredibly inspiring stories of children preparing for their FHC and their prayers to Jesus after their first reception.
The author also wrote 'True Stories for First Communicants’ and ‘First Communion Days’ republished by Neumann Press.

Patron Saint of First Communicants: The Story of Blessed Imelda Lambertini - Mary Fabyan Windeatt
Only a slim volume, but so inspiring.  Imelda's love of Our Blessed Lord and her desire to receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament shines throughout. This is a must read for us, I have read it to each of our children as they prepare for their First Holy Communion.




First Holy Communion for Little Catholics - Fr Demetrius Manousos
A beautiful little book published by Guild Press in the 1950s.  Solid teaching, written for a child to easily understand.   





My Jesus and I - Aloysius Heeg
I only began using this book with Princess after Margaret alerted me to this gem, previously it had been gathering dust on my shelf. The text is thorough but easily understood, each chapter has three sets of questions. The first corresponds to the chapter, 2nd to the Baltimore Catechism and the third are review questions.  Very solid

Eucharistic Adoration Coloring Book - Katherine 
Beautiful illustrations; symbols of the Eucharist, vessels of the liturgy, images of saints with Eucharistic devotion. Only a new find.

The Weight of the Mass - Josephine Nobisso
A shabby, penniless old woman enters the baker's shop as he is preparing luscious creations for the king's wedding, which is about to take place in the city cathedral. Few are expected to attend, as the populace has grown cold and neglectful about their faith. When the baker refuses to give the old woman even a crust of stale bread, she offers to say a Mass for him, in exchange for food. Scoffing, he writes "One Mass" on a tiny piece of paper, places it on his scale, and tries to overbalance it with heaps of his finest pastries, but to no avail. The Mass outweighs them all. Inspired by a real story, lovely watercolours. Picture book.  A true treasure.

The Most Beautiful Thing in the World - Susan Brindle
The youngest angel in Heaven is sent on a quest to find the most beautiful thing on earth. A red rose? Birds and butterflies? Puppies and kittens? A beautiful baby? No, each time the other angels send him back to earth to keep looking. Finally the angel visits the church and finds a surprising answer. The Sacrament of Confession.  To be honest I'm not really a fan of Brindle's books, they are too wordy but we'll use it until I find something better.

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