This article is from page 50 of the 2013-04-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 50 JPG
RECEIVING your First Holy Communion used to be a traditional celebration of receiving a holy sacrement for the first time; nowadays parents are spending hundreds of euros on what has become somewhat of a competition.
Many fear that My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has set a trend of vulumtuous dresses and extravagant parties that are costing parents up to € 600, according to a survey conducted by EBS; but is this true for our home town of Ennis and have we lost sight of Catholic practice and fallen into the trap of hypocrisy and mass delusion?
Despite the on-going economic crisis, the amount of money being spent on a child’s First Holy Communion has increased dramatically over the last few years.
It empties the already dwindling pay-packets of parents and, in fact, the earnings of a typical eight year old child making their First Holy Communion could pay for majority of the party.
The survey shows that in 2011 thousands of Irish children received monetary gifts to the value of nearly € 350. The survey further suggests that in 2013 their days makings will add up to nearly € 500 – almost enough to pay off the average party.
Barefield National School Principal, Mr John Burns said “Families are generally sensible and curtail the costs within their budgets. However, there are a minority of people who can be extravagant and can expend a considerable amount of money, which they may not have.
“In my time, we went home. The evening was spent at home with my family and relations. Today, families use hotels or organise caterers for home dining with the all important bouncing castle.
“It is a most exciting day as it involves the whole family being connected together in preparing for this wonderful sacrament. It is not meant to be a one day religious ceremony. It is for life”.
There is however, only so much that can be taught in our schools. Whilst our teachers prepare and educate our children for their big day in every way possible, home is their biggest influence. The home is the “domestic Church”, and also where the heart is.
When the public were asked their opinion on cost control during First Holy Communion time some felt that parents let their children get away with the fancy dress and extravagant parties. However, Emily McGrath believes that “it’s still under the con- trol of the parents and it’s up to the parents to make a stand and say how much they are prepared to say.
“There was much more family involvement when I made my first holy communion”, Ms McGrath continued, “there would have been a big reception, but there still would have been emphasis on the dress.
“I think people tend to forget that the obsession with fancy communion dresses goes back quite a long way, it’s not just today.
What is really important is realising that this is your child’s day to take “centre stage” and for their relationship with God to further grow and flourish.
Fr Ger Fitzgerald of the Killaloe Diocese believes that too much focus can sometimes be put on the aftershow and that some forget what is really important on the big day.
“I think it easy to sensationalise big dresses and hummers whilst missing the kernel of truth that shows us that there is real faith on display here, in the prayer of the children.
“It is I believe also easy to bemoan the fact that there are the presence of hummers and outlandish dresses”, he continued, “but, I think that we, as priests and Church, should try to educate a little more.
Fr Fitzgerald further stated that during “our teaching and preaching we should try to point out that maybe the First Holy Communion is perhaps not the place for these things as it can distract not only the adults but also the children from what has taken place.
“I think that if we highlight the “extras” we, the Church and media, should work together to highlight as well the absolutely necessary components, those being the joy with which the children come to receive and also the faith they display in their prayer and in their wonder and awe in the presence of something that is greater than all of us combined. They are a joy to us and many of us could learn from their example of simplicity, true humility and love of God”.
Ennis National School recieved their First Holy Communion two weeks ago and, according to Fr Fitzgerald, “they sat there, rapt in attention, hands joined, watchin. In their world, they knew something was happening, something special.
“As I looked on”, Fr Fitzgerald continued, “one could effortlessly see that they knew this was a special day and that Jesus, their friend, was coming to them in a new way. In the way they prayed, in the way they behaved, in the way they watched and paid attention and most specifically in the way they received, they demonstrated that they at that moment were close to Jesus and that is what communion is ultimately about, a relationship with the Lord”.