WHY ? - DO THIS IN MEMORY

At the beginning of the 21st century one of the main challenges of religious education in general and sacramental preparation in particular is the meaningful involvement of the home and the wider parish community. There may be a perception that parents and parish leadership are only too happy to abdicate this responsibility to the teacher in the Catholic school or the Director of Religious Education in the parish. This is certainly true in the Irish context and as a response to this situation a parish-based sacramental preparation program for First Eucharist called ‘Do This in Memory’ has been developed. This program has now been in use for three years and experience has shown that when provided with accessible resources and invited to take an active role parents and those involved in parish leadership are only too willing to accept the invitation. Over the last three years we have learned that there is a tremendous amount of goodwill and enthusiasm among parents/guardians, priests and parish teams for such work. There have been positive reactions from teachers who found that it was easier for them to teach Alive-O, the Religious Education Programme in Irish primary schools, because of the children's familiarity with the church and the celebration of the Eucharist. The Sunday community has also benefited from the infusion of life and energy which the children bring.