Jesus day and soccer mania!

Busy, busy, busy, it life in My Domestic Church!

My 8-year-old, homeschooled son had to spend the entire day at our Catholic School yesterday for the annual (and mandatory) Jesus Day. All the second graders in the parish spend the day together in preparation of their upcoming first communion day.

This is my third time going to Jesus Day with one of my children. I definitely think ALL the parents should have an opportunity to participate (which would mean not having it on a weekday). If parents are the primary educators I’m not sure why they do it this way other than tradition.

My favorite parts of Jesus Day include a movie called Communion Bread, (I think). It’s about an old Italian Grandma who shows her grandson how to make this traditional Italian bread for special occasions. She even has the special pans for making the bread that she keeps in her own room under her bed, instead of in the kitchen with the household stuff. They buy all the ingredients, knead the bed, braid it and put colored eggs in the braids to bake with the bread.

The grandmother promises to make this bread the next month for the grandson’s first communion day, but unfortunately she dies before that happens. His mother tries to figure out how to make the bread, but she can’t read her mother-in-law’s recipes which were written all in Italian. Finally the father steps in and reads his mom’s recipes and they are able to have the Grandmother’s Bread and continue the tradition from her for the grandson’s first communion. I like the whole aspect of family traditions and their importance emphasized in the film so I’m glad that’s an annual event at Jesus Day.

The children also had a tour of their church – the parts they don’t usually get to see up close and personal like the sanctuary, the tabernacle, the sacristy. They even got to see our beautiful monstrance up close and personal.

Overall I think it was a good day. I would dump the cheap craft project that was kind of expensive and work intensive and not really important to the first communion preparation. I think I would dump the bread making too -after all if they don’t get the bread symbolism by now they probably shouldn’t be making first communion at all. Plus – it is always the Betty Crocker dinner roll stuff, I say if you’re gonna make bread make REAL bread -but again I’m not sure how much that needs to apply to First Communion prep – more time in the church though would be great!!

But Gabe put it all in perspective for me. When I asked him if he learned anything he said, yea. “I learned that Lunchables are really good and recess is FUN!!”

chuckle…That’s Gabe!

Today I have soccer mania again – games at 10:45 and 11:00 (two different kids, two different fields – sigh) and then away games at 2:30 and 4:00. I’ve got to drive to these away games with ALL the kids by myself. Mr. Pete is gonna OWE Me for this one!

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