{Bryanna's First Holy Communion}

Before I begin, I will warn you that there are A LOT of pictures! It was hard to pick and choose. Bryanna was beaming in every single picture. I will admit that I was a little camera happy. I think part of me felt like I had to capture every single moment for daddy.

Holy Thursday

April 21, 2011

Over the past several weeks Bryanna has been attending religious education classes in order to prepare for her First Holy Communion. First Communion is considered to be one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic's life. It means that a person has received the Sacrament of the Eucharist which represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

It has been truly amazing to watch Bryanna grow spiritually. I have been able to be by her side every step of the way. She has been completely dedicated to her classes and to herself. Being even a minute late for class was completely unacceptable =) Travin and Kalyssa didn't agree with our Sunday morning routine but, Monsignor made it a little easier with donuts for two siblings and coffee for one mommy (of course Bryanna always had a donut waiting for her after class too).

As a Catholic, I believe that one of the most amazing rituals during mass is being able to receive the body and blood of Christ. It is a mystery in itself but it is a very powerful one. I think most kids want to experience that for the first time simply because all of the “grownups” get to do it and because they are just curious as to what it’s all about. I will mention that Bryanna has been extremely excited to be able to participate in this portion of the mass because up until Holy Thursday, she patiently walked through the communion line and received her blessing along with her sister and her brother.

She took a big step as a practicing Catholic. By completing this sacrament, she now gets to receive the body and blood and Christ every week. Although, she did mention that she probably won't be drinking the wine again, she wasn't too keen on the taste =) 

The church held a traditional mass. I have to admit, I have never attended mass on Holy Thursday. The service was dedicated to all of the children who were making their First Holy Communion. Along with that, they got to be a part of a beautiful ceremony. The kids got to watch as 12 parishioner’s stepped in representing the 12 Apostles. The priest blessed them and washed their feet. They also got to participate as Monsignor led the procession to the tomb. The Alter was stripped and Jesus was placed in the tomb in preparation for his rising. It was absolutely beautiful. I have never witnessed anything like that in my life. I think this is something that Bryanna will always treasure. She will always be able to look back on her First Holy Communion and say that she got to be a part of something that many will never get to experience.

If you were able to log onto the church website, you probably saw our little family sitting towards the end of the first communion pews. At the very last minute, they decided to move us so that on the off chance that Jason did have a good internet connection, he would have a perfect view of his little girl in her white dress.

 Bryanna dedicated her prayer to her daddy. She wanted to make him a part of her day.

 "Keep my dad safe who is deployed and also my whole family

We pray to the Lord" 

We celebrated by having dinner and eating...

What's her favorite dish again???

Spaghetti!

Congratulations Bryanna!!!