Review This! Celebrations of Holy Communion and Confirmation

Introduction:

Have you ever been invited to a celebration of Faith?  I'd like to take you on a journey to Review two of the most important sacraments in a Catholic child's faith journey.  You may be invited to share in this celebration and this "Review This" is to help you recognize the celebration as well as appropriate gifts to mark this important occasion.

Holy Communion and Confirmation, What are they?

Late March, April, and May are traditional months for Catholics to Celebrate the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation.  

For many families,  it will be a time of fellowship not only with their church community but also with parents and grandparents, who will be pleased to see their children growing in their spiritual formation.

Catholic children around the age of eight or nine will begin to learn about the sacrament of  Holy Communion.  They will learn about the meaning behind the sacrament and all the symbolism that is contained within the celebration of Mass every week.

They will learn about Jesus, his life,  his death and his Ressurrection, and the promise to return again.  They will also learn that Jesus loves them in a way that is beyond comprehension. For Adult Catholics it's a time to remember and relive the beauty of receiving Communion for the first time ever.  It's also a great time to help our youngsters learn to live the Gospels, to live the way we were taught by the actions and the life of Jesus.  It is also a time to explain to our children that living as Christians is not an easy task.  That they will work at being good Christians every day of their lives, and that it should be a life lived in Joy!

The Grandparent Gift Boxed Wall Hanging, First Communion AngelFirst Holy Communion Silver Chalice Resin Stone Keepsake Rosary Jewlery BoxPrecious Moments, Holy Communion Music Box, Plays: The Lord's Prayer, Resin, For Girl, #153502Precious Moments, Communion Gifts,

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What is the purpose of the Sacraments?

Jesus loves each one of us, just the way we are!  We need to learn how to love everyone in the same way. That is what we are called to do if we want to live truly Christian lives.  We will fail many times, and that's when Communion becomes especially important.  We come back to God, asking for His strength and His courage to become more and more like Him.  We need that courage and strength so that we can look at all of our brothers and sisters with the same loving eyes that our God sees them.  It's not easy to do, but with the sacraments that continue to nourish our souls, we will gain that strength that we need.

Children are such wonderful examples for us! As we get older, we tend to become more jaded. Our many disappointments in life sometimes take their toll on our spirits.  That is why it's important for us to help our children.  In helping them to celebrate these milestones, we are reminded of God's love for us too.  Even though we are grown up in mind and body, we are still children of the Almighty and he loves us as a Perfect Father would.  Sharing the sacraments with our children helps us to remember what we are called to do as followers of Christ!

Confirmation, Growth in the Spirit of God

The Sacrament of Confirmation is done when the children are a little older.  Children are usually about 12 or 13 years of age. This sacrament mirrors the Jewish Bar/Bat/Mitzvah (when the young people are seen as old enough to read the Scriptures). After all, Christianity has its roots in the Jewish Faith, so this is the Catholic sacrament of a "coming of age".  Our children are now seen as old enough to accept the faith that we have kindled in them through their younger years. It is time for them to decide for themselves, that this is the faith that they will accept for their lives.   Parents accepted the duty to teach their children the faith when they were Baptized. Now, at this time in their lives,  they stand on their own two feet and accept the faith for themselves.  Many people wonder about the taking on of a saint's name as part of this celebration.  Let me explain, children who are on their way to making their Confirmation are encouraged to look to the Saints who have lived a good Christian life.  They take on the name of a Saint that they admire for the way they lived their lives and hopefully will follow in that saint's example on their own journey of faith.


As with any faith celebration,  gifts are usually given to mark this day as a special time in their lives. Appropriate gifts would include a Bible, Prayer Book, Books on the Lives of Saints or Leaders in the Church.  Books that make the young person think about their lives and direction.   There are many really good books that are not "religious" but make the young mind expand in ways that will benefit them. Philosophy books that are great for the soul and make young minds question their lives and their beliefs will hopefully make them grow in their faith journey.  After all, it is a journey that will last for the rest of their lives. We shouldn't stop growing in our faith life, just because we are out of school.  It should be a journey that lasts a long, long time.

Confirmed in Christ Confirmation Dove Bronze Resin Stone Jewelry Rosary Keepsake BoxPen and Keyring Set - Man of God - Jeremiah 17:7Men's Cross Necklace - DII - Boys Confirmation Gift - Baptism Gift - Handstamped Handmade - 1 x 1/4 Inch, 25.4 6MM Silver Bar - Customized Chain Length - Fast 1 Day ShippingThe Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. 1: Heretics, Orthodoxy, the Blatchford Controversies (Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton)

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Being a Christian is hard work in our everyday world. Encouraging our children to look beyond themselves for guidance is a wonderful way for them to grow in ways that are more than physical. I truly believe that we are spiritual as well as physical. If the religious type of gift suggestions are not to your liking, the books by Chesterton or C.S. Lewis are great books for anyone to read. You don't have to be Christian or Catholic to get something out of them. They are classic reading for everyone.

My hope is that this Review will help you if you should ever find yourself invited to a celebration of faith for someone you care about.  Please bookmark this Review so that when your invitation arrives, you will be prepared to help the child celebrate His/Her growth in the Spirit of Christ.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Summertime Learning Fun

Summertime Learning Fun happens when you spend some time together, exploring our world and answering all those questions that come up.  Like what's that Noise?  

If your children are anything like mine, and I'm sure they are, summertime means adventures.  It means spending a lot of time outdoors.  It means looking for things to do and exploring.  It means turning off the TV or computer games and getting back to nature in the great outdoors.  It could mean swimming every day, or going to the park, or camping.  Where ever you go, there is something to learn about!  

What else can you do?

Summertime opens up a whole new world for our children to learn.  While the kids are looking to 

relax and have fun, they are also looking for something that catches their imaginations or their need to know about their world.  To that end, most families will be spending some very special together time while on holidays. No baseball games, soccer practices, dance classes or other interruptions, just good old family time.     

Learning takes on a whole new meaning when summertime rolls around.  No "textbooks" and no real "agenda" means that learning is done on a whatever crosses my path and intrigues me basis. That can even happen at home too!  As I am writing, I can hear the toads singing in my pond. I need to learn more about them, so when my grandchildren come to visit, I can tell them some things that I'm sure they don't know.

Be Prepared!  

As parents who prepare to take our children on hikes and overnight camping trips, we need to be ready to answer questions that are sure to pop up.  Like "What's that noise?"  Even a trip to the zoo can be filled with questions that need answers.  Be prepared to either answer the questions or make note of the questions and when you are home again, look up the answers  together, so that both you and your child will  have learnt something new and you will have done it together.  This is what makes family memories.  We still laugh at some of the things that happened when we went places with our children. Now they are doing the same thing with their children and telling stories about when they were younger.  It's time to pass on family history as well as having time to enjoy nature.

Playing games with the kids can be so much fun too. We would take ours camping and find that the welcome station had many printouts for educational purposes. We would make the most out of these "handouts". One camping trip, they had a print out of all the birds that nested in the area, with hints for the kids. We would go on hikes and try to spot nesting areas and then spotting the birds too. There were print outs of the different trees and their leaves. We made a collection and even did bark rubbings. Have you ever stopped and looked at all the different types of bark on trees? It is fascinating! When the kids found what they were looking for, they would take a picture to go along with their leaves and bark rubbings, carefully noting the type of tree and all the nuances of it's growth. So much to learn, just from a tree! Birds and reptiles, amphibians and mammals of the area were all duly recorded. If we needed to learn more, a note was made in our notebook to look it up when we got back home. The kids loved their nature hikes, because it wasn't just walking through the woods, it was stopping and seeing what made up those woods. The trees, birds, bugs, flowers and everything that was in our path, was food for our "Discovery Book".


Guide to Free Campgrounds: Includes Campgrounds $12 and Under in the United States (Don Wright's Guide to Free Campgrounds)

So What Can you Do to Prepare for a great Outdoor Adventure?

Well first and foremost, check out the link above, to find some low cost campgrounds. It's a great way to pinpoint where your family will spend some quality time together, without breaking the bank.

This guide will help you look for a place that has some great outdoor adventures, be it hiking in the mountains, camping by a lake, or visiting a beach somewhere new. Go with the eye of an adventurer. Take along a "Discovery Book" a journal where you can make notes, tuck in leaves or flowers, keep a daily diary of what you saw, whether it was birds, bugs, beetles or trees. Answer the questions that you know the answers to and make a note to find the answers to those questions that you don't know the answers to. When you are finished your holiday, you will have a great little diary on what everyone saw and learnt about during your time in the great outdoors.



My Travel Journal

Above all, be ready to have some fun, make some memories and enjoy each others company in the great, beautiful and special outdoors.  Happy Summer Everyone!

Pictures courtesy of Pixaby, free stock photos. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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My Computer Bible

I'm sure you are asking yourself if you read that title correctly and the answer is yes!  It says MY COMPUTER BIBLE!  The next question you are asking is " I've never heard of it!" or  "Is it on the Best Sellers List?"

The resounding answer to both of these questions is a big bold  NO!

Now comes the important part, why you should make sure that there is a Computer Bible in your house!  How do I get one and just what the heck is it? And do I really need one?

Please read on and I will explain it all, and I bet it will make a whole bunch of sense to you once you open your eyes and see why you should have this neat tool at your home or work space.

Since the boom of the internet and all the ways in which we use modern technology, one thing has become increasingly difficult for me personally, and I am sure I am not alone.  As a matter of fact, I know that I am not alone, because I have asked many people what their one (most prevalent) peeve is about modern day life......

Inevitably, it will have something to do with computers, social media and the need for passwords to prevent or at least slow down the opportunities to Hack into your space on the World Wide Web. Whether you use social media to converse with friends and family, or whether you use social media to broaden your horizons or work and play together, Your ability to keep yourself safe and your information safe on social media is to have strong passwords to protect your property.  Just as we have locks on our doors to keep out strangers, so we need locks on our 'CYBERSPACE" to keep it safe and secure too.  We don't want to find that our BLOGS, FACEBOOK PAGE, WEBSITE, OR any other place where we work and play can be easily taken over by HACKERS!

This is where the Computer Bible comes in!  My Computer Bible is a beautiful hand bound leather covered blank book where I keep a list of all my passwords.

What is in there?  All of my logins, my accounts and every password to every social media site I use. My Twitter name and password, Facebook names and passwords, my passwords to courses I take on other peoples sites, my cpanel log in and User names.  Anything that I do that requires a Username and Password is recorded in my Computer Bible!  When a password changes, the date and new password are logged in as well.

You may ask, why do this?  Well from experience, I know that as I get older, I don't remember things as well as I used to.  One of my websites was lost, because I could not remember the password and has lost the page where the information was located.  I was not very organized at that time, because I didn't have the need.  I could remember these things and a whole lot more.  Then came that inevitable day, when I could NOT remember and I wasn't organized enough.

Now I know and have been taught by several of my "computer guru friends", that keeping a Computer Bible is a necessity.  And just like a Family Bible that has a special place in your home, so your Computer Bible should have a place that is safe, secure, and accessible should you need it.


You see for me this is very important, because I also use this book to keep all my Affiliate Logins and Passwords, my blogging Passwords, and anything that I do on the web for pleasure or for profit. Because I do a lot of blogging for pleasure, I donate whatever monies I make, to charities that mean something to me. If ever the day should come and I can no longer do this myself, there will be all the information there for someone else to take over should they want to continue doing what I do now. My Computer Bible is not only my #1 reference guide, but it is also all the information anyone could need or want should I no longer be able to continue. Like the family Bible, it has a special place and only a few people know where that is. You don't want all your hard work falling into the hands of someone who really doesn't care as much as you do.

Working in Cyberspace, has it's benefits and it's pitfalls, don't let forgetting passwords and logins be one of yours.  Life is so much easier, with so many less things to remember.  A quick flip through my Computer Bible, lands me in the place that I need to be, and gives me the information that I seek, without sweating bullets or trying hundreds of different passwords to unlock what you remembered you put there yesterday.....or was that last week or last month?????

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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