The Sacrament of Eucharist is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharista, which means "thankfulness."   Eucharist is the sacrament in which the true Body and Blood of Christ, who is truly and substantially present under the appearance of bread and wine is received in holy Communion.

"Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."  - Luke 22:19

Preparing Children for the Celebration of First Eucharist (aka First Holy Comm;union)

We welcome Families to an exciting  year of Sacramental Preparation that involves formation, engagement, prayer and celebration.  These “first" Sacraments are milestones in your child’s ongoing Catholic formation. The Celebration of the Sacrament of first Holy Eucharist at St. Bernard is a parish event held for all our Catholic parish children in the 2nd  grade in the spring of the school year..   Children must be enrolled in the parish school or our Family Faith Formation program.  

Oftentimes in our minds, these sacraments are filled with images of parties, fancy dresses or suits and lots of gifts. Not to diminish those images, we would like to offer a new image as well to you. The image is your child’s face filled with the wonder and awe of receiving God’s mercy and love in our precious sacramental moments. The best part of these images is that these sacramental moments are ours for life; not just in that one moment.

Our program is a family based model where children and parent(s) will come together to learn about and share the faith.  Much of the preparation takes place outside of the school classroom.  In person sessions will be offered at multiple times to allow you to fit them in your schedule.  Famililes/children will prepare for and celebrate the Sacrament of Reconcilation before moving on to prepare for and celebrate First Eucharist. There will be workshops for each Sacrament as well as some family friendly at-home assignments. 

 So in order to prepare our children and ourselves, you will are invited to do two things to begin this journey:

1.  For the 2022-23 School Year Please complete this online pre-registration form here   If you have more than one child, please complete a separate form for each child.

2.  Attend the parent only  information session that will be held at the start of the school year.  The dates for this meeting will be emailed to all registered families by August.  A calendar with all dates will also be provided at this  parent meeting.
 
Older children who have not received the Sacrament of First Eucharist will be ministered to on an individual basis.  Please contact Cyndi in the parish office if your child is  third grade or older and has not received this Sacrament so that necessary arrangements can be made.

Arranging Communion for the Home Bound

Please contact Denise in the parish office to arrange for a volunteer to bring communion to those who are homebound or in nursing homes.