First Holy Communion Mass

Lower I celebrate

One of the highlights of every year at St Augustine’s Priory is the celebration of the First Holy Communion Mass.  After receiving their First Holy Communion in their parishes, the girls in Lower I join together to receive communion at a commemorative Mass near to the feast of Corpus Christi.  Their classmates and families attend, together with the rest of the Junior School and Prep III.  Receiving one’s First Holy Communion is a very special occasion, treasured by us all.  Having the opportunity to mark it with one’s friends and families is prized and reminds us all of the occasion of our own First Holy Communion.

We welcomed Fr Thomas from Ealing Abbey, who celebrated Mass for us with joy and kindness.  The liturgy had been beautifully prepared by Lower I with the help of their Form Teacher, Mrs Van Der Merwe.

Also at the Mass were our candidates for Confirmation this year, who had accompanied our Lower I First Holy Communicants on their journey of faith.

Before Mass commenced the girls who had made their First Holy Communion processed into the Chapel where they joined their classmates in the pews.  Entrance music was played by Ivy Lo and Mahika Sohdi and then the first hymn, ‘Be Still for the Presence of the Lord’, was sung.

Primrose Phang and Niamh McDermott gave a welcome address and then Evie Ward and Emily Price read from St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  The responsorial psalm was delivered by Claudia Edison, Hannah Story and Olivia Hardey which was followed by Lucy Kerr saying the Gospel Acclamation.

Bidding prayers had been composed and were said by Primrose Phang, Evie Ward, Lucy Kerr, Niamh McDermott, Olivia Hardey, Emily Price and Ivy Lo.  Hannah Story, Olivia Hardey and Ivy Lo then brought up the Offertory gifts.  Also brought up by the girls of Lower I were some beautiful roses which were laid on the altar.

‘God’s Spirit is in my heart’ was sung to accompany the Offertory Procession and at Communion Leeyana Vamathevan sang a solo, ‘Think of a world without any flowers’.  This was followed by the congregation singing ‘From Heaven you came’.

In this Year of Mercy and in tribute to the papal encyclical Laudato Si’ (On Care for our Common Home) our recessional hymn was ‘Laudato Sii’ which was followed by the beautiful anthem ‘Remember and Believe’ which was sung by the Lower I pupils.

Afterwards, the pupils of Lower I and their families, together with teachers made their way to the Chapel Terrace where everyone celebrated this joyous occasion with cakes!

This was a wonderful celebration of the First Holy Communion made recently by the pupils of Lower I and, as Primrose and Niamh McDermott said at the beginning of the Mass:

‘Good morning and Welcome to this our very special First Holy Communion Mass.  We are very happy to have you with us for this special occasion.

This time is special for us as we build on the gift of our Baptism and receive our second and third sacraments.  We hope that as you see us here it can remind you of your promises and how much we are all loved by God.’

Thank you to the pupils of Lower I and Mrs Van Der Merwe for providing us with such a special occasion, one of the many ways we celebrate our faith at St Augustine’s Priory.