Pop-Up Catechesis: First Eucharist Retreat at Home

Joe Paprocki Liturgy and Sacraments

Pop-Up Catechesis with Joe Paprocki

With the ongoing pandemic and shelter-in-place restrictions, almost every aspect of our lives has changed, including major events such as graduations, showers, birthday parties, Confirmations, weddings, and First Holy Communions. For many children, a First Eucharist retreat is part of their preparation at the parish. Since the present crisis precludes such gatherings, I offer some suggestions for doing a First Eucharist retreat at home, in today’s episode of Pop-Up Catechesis. 

Here are some resources to help you with your at-home First Eucharist retreat. The key is not to make it too formal or rigid as far as structure; just make it a day focused on a handful of activities you select to create anticipation for and understanding of the Eucharist.

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About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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4 Comments

  1. Hi there! I love the First Communion Novena and am planning on sharing it with my families. Do you by chance already have this in Spanish? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Sefanit and thanks for your email. I’m glad you like the First Communion Novena. Unfortunately, I do not have this available in Spanish. Wish I could be of more help!

      Reply

  2. Thanks for these great resources. We have many students who have come to us (k-8 school) in the past couple of years that are deficient with their Sacraments (Baptism, Reconciliation and First Eucharist)- these children are often past the ages that they would normally receive the Sacraments. And we also have found that our Faith Formation basically took two years off with the pandemic so many students in our community are also lacking preparation/formation. With an increasing trend of students leaving public schools and joining Catholic Schools, please consider creating more resources to target these students/families. I realize much of the ‘home school’ type of resources are appropriate, but our families don’t think of themselves as homeschoolers. Thanks for all of your work. Blessings

    Reply

    • Thanks for sharing, Bob, and for your encouragement for us to continue creating new and innovative resources to meet the changing needs of the People of God!

      Reply

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