First Eucharist for children in the Epiphany School

Children who attend the Epiphany School prepare for first Eucharist during through the first and second grade religion curriculum.

First Eucharist is celebrated in May.

First Eucharist for children in Epiphany’s Religious Education Program

Children who attend Epiphany’s Religious Education program prepare for two years. Classes are held once a week in their Religious Education program. First Eucharist is celebrated in May.

First Eucharist for Adults

The Catholic Church invites any baptized Catholic to receive First Holy Communion. Were you baptized in a non-Catholic Church? Were you baptized a Catholic, but missed first Holy Communion?

In baptism we are made God’s children,
- in Confirmation we are drawn even more closely to Christ,
- and in Eucharist we participate in the mystery of Christ’s dying and rising for the salvation of the world.
When we receive Eucharist, we receive Christ’s Body and Blood:
- it is a sacrament of love and a sign of our unity with God and each other.
First Holy Communion completes the Sacraments of Initiation together with Baptism and Confirmation
Adults being baptized as Catholics receive first Holy Communion together with Baptism and Confirmation.
Non-Catholic Christians being received into the Catholic Church receive first Holy Communion after their profession of faith and Confirmation.
Catholic adults completing their initiation receive first Holy Communion after Confirmation.

Adults who haver not made their First Holy Communion may join the OCIA process. For more information contact Tadhg Malone faithformation@epiphanychurch.nyc

Click here for more information about Order of Christian Initiation of Adults

Eucharist comes from the Greek eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving. Ever since Pentecost, when the Church—the People of God—began building a church, they were sustained with spiritual food in times of trials and celebrations. Eucharist is that food, the real presence of the risen Lord. The Second Vatican Council, in its Constitution on the Church, rightly proclaimed that the eucharistic sacrifice is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” By eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ in the Eucharist we become united to the person of Christ through his humanity,” write the bishops. They remind us of the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). Communion means “community”: everyone at Mass shares the one Eucharistic meal as one large family.

The First Eucharist for our Epiphany children also has meaning for the whole community. We smile at the children in their first Communion finery-not just because they look cute, but because they are joining us at our family table: the table of God’s family. A toddler’s move from high chair to the family table is a momentous event. A seat at the table acclaims a new status: big boy or big girl. The move to the table brings new privileges. There, a child can share fully in the family meal, and in the table conversation. The move also brings new responsibilities. The little one must have table manners, get involved in the meal prayer, and perhaps help set or clear the table.

First Communion is just such a momentous experience. A child, baptized as an infant into the family of God we call Church, at last takes a place at the Lord’s table with the grownups. Grandparents, aunts and friends join the youngster’s immediate family in celebrating the event.