The First Communion journey – a parent’s perspective

The First Communion journey for children at the St Benedict’s RC Church, La Romaine ended with an increase of faith and the need for a better relationship with God.

The first inclination that this journey would not be an easy one was when we learnt the duration. I wondered how the logistics would work, but thankfully where there’s a will there’s a way.

The children did beautiful crafts and the message behind each was always so clear. The most memorable was the building of the rosary which allowed us to sit as a family, make errors, but eventually meet the challenge and be successful.

They would be anxious to talk about what they learnt. That honestly piqued my interest, inspiring me to commence the RCIA journey.

The first retreat for parents taught me so much about the importance of delving into yourself to infinitely become a better parent. It also taught me that we import childhood trauma into parenting that could negatively impact our parenting skills.

Bernadette Gopaul-Ramkhalawan provided a refreshing perspective and even inspired our family to engage in more charitable activities.

So much was learnt from the children, from their pointing out that we must make the sign of the cross when we go past a church, cemetery, or ambulance to now choosing a prayer for every occasion from the prayer book to the child’s version of the Ten Commandments permanently placed on our refrigerator.

When my son was hospitalised, it was where I realised that the instillation of the teachings was heartfelt, when he said, “God will help us” and opted to say a prayer. The support our family received during that time from all the catechists surpassed any expectation I had.

Unfortunately, the reviews weren’t always good because the pepper plant given to the children, while it started on a healthy growth journey, died from lack of care. This however turned out to be the biggest lesson.

At the parent-child retreat, the lesson of your feet being planted in the faith from a seed to a plant, with some of the other trees flourishing and, in some instances, bearing was explained. It inspired us to redo the project.

Two lessons were learnt:

1. The fellowship with other like-minded individuals and their faith can help when yours isn’t where it should be.
2. It is our responsibility as parents to aid in the journey of faith in our children’s life.

I am forever grateful for this journey, and I can’t wait to continue to keep the light burning in the lives of our children. —Avion Hoppie, parent