SUSPENDED
If you would like to receive the Eucharist but are unable to join us for Mass due to health conditions, please contact the parish office.

Director of Ministry for Older Adults
Judy Stasenko
(440) 235-2222 ext. 122
judy@stmaryofthefalls.com

What a wonderful privilege it is for a child to be able to receive Jesus in a special way in the Sacrament of Eucharist!  In order for Jesus to find receptive hearts in which to enter, children much be prepared to celebrate this sacrament.  They do this by having one full year of formation in which they learn about God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the Church Community.  This is accomplished in Grade One at St. Mary of the Falls School or in Level One of our PSR program.

In the second year, children are prepared for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  And then in the second part of the year, they are prepared for First Communion.  Preparation consists of classroom lessons, as well as parent participation in the home.  A second meeting for parents is scheduled in February.  First Communion is celebrated on a Saturday in May either at 10:00 am or 1:00 pm.

The children participate in Jesus Day the Saturday prior to First Communion.  This is a preparation day when day school and PSR come together to practice in Church, sing Mass songs, and have classroom activities.  All students must be present.

Eucharist is a sacrament that we have been blessed to receive over and over again.  The worst spiritual abuse that parents can inflict on their children is to deprive them of the opportunity to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion.  The Eucharist is our spiritual nourishment.  Just as parents would never think to starve a child physically, we hope that they will always provide the Eucharist for the spiritual nourishment of their children.  The Eucharist is also the "glue" that holds a family together.  A family that attends Mass will always have their faith even in times of trouble and struggle.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Sister Jane Reisinger in the Religious Education Office at (440) 235-2808 .

Really partaking of the body of the Lord in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion with Him and with one another. "Because the bread is one, we though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread." In this way all of us are made members of His Body, "but severally members one of another."

Lumen Gentium