Eucharist Parent Material

INTRODUCTORY RI TES THE ENTRANCE RI TE PROCESS ION The hymn that is sung or the Entrance Antiphon that is recited sets the tone or theme and reflects the central idea of the prayers and the Liturgy of the Word for the particular Feast (every Sunday is a feast as we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection). THE S IGN OF THE CROSS We begin all common prayers with these words and the action of making the sign of the cross on our body. The Sign of the Cross reminds us of our Baptism. We pray in the name of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. THE GREET ING When we meet a friend we say a greeting; perhaps ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ or ‘it’s good to see you.’ So too when we begin our Mass we use a variety of greetings. The most common is, “The Lord be with you”. These greetings have a special tone, reminding us of our common bond through Baptism. This too is a special reminder for us of our life as a Baptised Child of God and the CALL given to us to live as Children of God. S H A R E W I T H Y O U R C H I L D We gather with other people on Sunday to pray as the Family of God. We celebrate the gift of Jesus in Holy Communion and commemorate (remember) Jesus’ death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. DISCUSS with your child this first page in their resource booklet: WE GATHER ON SUNDAYS Every Sunday we gather with other people in our Parish Family to celebrate Mass. Here we remember Jesus’ Last Supper, His Death on the Cross and His Resurrection. As we praise, thank, adore and ask God – we should sing and pray as well as we can. As mass begins we sing and pray an Entrance Hymn. HELP your child realise that whenever possible we should join in praying the Entrance Song. This is the action of the community gathered together as the baptised people of God. We should always make it our intention to be present for the Entrance Song. This is the beginning of Mass. SHARE the printed text of the Sign of the Cross with your child. This is usually printed in the Mass Book. Read it through with your child. CHECK the manner in which your child uses their right hand when making the cross on the body. ENCOURAGE frequent use of this prayer (the Sign of the Cross) at home: when rising, before sleeping and before meals. THE ORDER OF THE MASS 8