Do This in Memory Overview
Do This In Memory’, is a Parish based programme designed to facilitate the active involvement of parents, parish leaders and the wider parish community in the preparation for First Holy Communion [First Eucharist].
The programme takes place on a monthly basis in the context of the Sunday liturgy. One of the Masses is designated as the Mass where the children, their parents and other family members gather. Dunleer Parish will use the Sunday vigil Mass i.e. Saturday night 7.30pm Mass in St Brigid’s Church. The theme of the Mass focuses on the Eucharist and the children’s involvement is encouraged.
Parents will be notified through the schools regarding an information meeting for this programme i.e. Wednesday 16th of October 2019 at 7.30 p.m. It is essential that all parents attend this meeting. The Enrolment Mass will be held on Saturday 2nd of November 2019 in St. Brigid’s Church Dunleer followed by a further eight monthly Masses leading up to First Holy Communion Day. There will be an additional and final Mass close to the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), this final Mass will take place on Sunday 14th of June 2020 at 11.30am.
The full schedule of DTIM Masses for 2019/2020 is available by pdf by clicking on the following link.
Do This In Memory Schedule 2019-2020
There are also home materials that the parents and children use together. The main resource book for the children is the THUMB book (That’s His/Her Useful Mass Book) which is provided to the parents on the enrolment night for their child.
In this resource the children are introduced to Kath and Qumen, two children’s characters who are also preparing for First Eucharist. Together with Kath, Qumen and their families, the parents and children are helped to gain a deeper understanding of the different elements of the Mass and to explore some of the key questions and issues that surface for many families as they prepare for this important celebration.
THUMB contains the full Rite of the Mass so that children and their parents can participate more fully in the celebration of the Eucharist. It is therefore designed to be taken to Mass every week by the child to encourage participation. It also includes activity sheets to help the children consolidate their understanding of what they have experienced at Mass.
Parents will receive a copy of the Grapevine Newsletter through their school about one week before the next scheduled Mass. This is a resource for parents to read with their child and contains many different ideas and suggestions for using the programme at home.
Parents will also receive a candle with their child’s name on it during the enrolment night which we hope will be used during family prayer time and during each monthly Mass in St. Brigids Church. The candles will be lit and left on a table beside the altar during Mass and must be collected at the end.
As a way of connecting with the wider parish community a weekly series of short notices will be published on the Parish website entitled ‘Learning about the Mass with Kath and Qumen’, until the programme is finished. It is hoped that this will also inform parishioners on what the children are learning about.
The ‘Do This In Memory’, programme material is published by Veritas and will be sponsored by Dunleer Parish and supplied to parents free of charge for each child enrolled.
