Communion before first eucharist

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During my daughter’s school class Mass (Parish Mass in the church) where they did Communion, received the bread. I thought they had to wait until their First Eucharist before they could participate in Communion?
 
Was it consecrated?? I would think it wasn’t
 
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ccampbell1 said:
During my daughter’s school class Mass (Parish Mass in the church) where they did Communion, received the bread. I thought they had to wait until their First Eucharist before they could participate in Communion?
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Before First Holy Communion, my CCD class had a full Mass and let us know that there were some hosts that were not made into Jesus.

The little snot that I am I would not receive because I felt bad that that host could have been Jesus but was not.

I do not think it is all that uncommon…my friend’s daughter did it just a few years back.

Perhaps your child was not paying attention. I woulld clarify with an adult in charge.
 
The Eucharist is not the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ until after the consecration, which occurs during Mass.
 
Yes it was just bread and not the wine. I was thinking it was to teach them. The adults received both.
 
Yes, it’s a texture and flavor most children are not accoustomed to. Growing up my cousin had a horrible time with the taste of both the bread an the wine. The church actually gave his mom some unconsecrated hosts for him to consume at home to get used to the flavor. As it was after weeks of practice he still gagged a bit, but he did not throw up.
 
I attended Mass with her class and all the kids received the bread but not the wine
 
ccampbell1 said:
It was consecrated.
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Then congrats! Your child received her First Communion.

That said…

I would be immediately pulling her from the school, leaving the parish and speaking with the priest and if he did not have a really, really good reason for this happening, the Bishop.
 
It was a proper Holy Communion and host was consecrated. Although no bells? Perhaps because it was in the education room of the church? I’m not really sure as it all seemed like normal Mass to me.
 
ccampbell1 said:
It was a proper Holy Communion and host was consecrated. Although no bells? Perhaps because it was in the education room of the church? I’m not really sure as it all seemed like normal Mass to me.
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Wait, are you sure it was an actual Mass?
 
Are you 100% sure? Like, it was an actual priest, he said the words of consecration, etc?
 
I’m not 100% sure of the difference to normal Mass services but other Parish members were there and it WAS Mass! I’ll ask Father when I see him next.
 
ccampbell1 said:
I’m not 100% sure of the difference to normal Mass services but other Parish members were there and it WAS Mass! I’ll ask Father when I see him next.
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If it was a Mass, I would be livid. We are supposed to be properly disposed to receive Communion. Your child was not allowed to be. This is so, so wrong.
 
I know that in some parishes, children will receive their first communion before they have a special “First Communion Mass”. So their Girst Communion celebrations is really their second communion. I forget the reasoning behind this but it would have been communicated to parents first.
 
Good to know. Thank you. I’ve emailed the Parish and asked them to explain.
 
Oops I clicked post before finishing my thought. Yes it is a good idea to just contact the parish. 🙂 But I have heard many stories of children accidentally receiving before their First Communion. If this is the case, your child will not be the first. The parish will know how to address it.
 
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When dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I made my first communion(s) there was some encouragement that we could receive at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. There was a distinction made between this “First Communion” and our “First Solemn Communion” on a subsequent Saturday in May.

Ahhh, the heady days of the immediate post-Vatican II Church… :crazy_face:
 
This apparently still happens in some parishes. I posted earlier that there was a distinction made in some parishes between First Communion and First Solemn Communion but I forgot what reason.
Now your post reminds me. It was because the first communicants were encouraged to receive on Holy Thursday or on Easter. And then a special First Communion Mass would occur in May.

Personally, I never actually had a “First Solemn Communion” celebration. I didn’t go to Catholic school, and my family didn’t go to church often; when we did Mass was not in English, so my memory of those days were fuzzy. I just remember at some point my (uninformed) parents taught me to go and receive 😮 and assumed that I must have had my official First Communion for that reason. Eventually I started attending Catholic school so I did go to confession and during school Masses, not knowing better, I would receive Communion. It wasn’t until I sat down with my priest to discuss receiving Confirmation (when I was an adult) that I realized there were no records of my First Communion 😮 I was told by both my priest and RCIA director though that there was no reason to wait until my Confirmation to receive Communion again, since I was baptised, technically had already received my First Communion, went to confession and understood what the Eucharist was.
 
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Back in the late 1940s, my mother had such a celebration. This took place in rural, northwest Wisconsin.

As to the OP, it is a strange set of circumstances. It would be interesting to hear how it could have happened.

Dan
 
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