My First Holy Communion Keepsake Journal
created by Avril O’Reilly (Lulu, available through Amazon, ISBN 978-1326480103 (girls), 978-1326542863 (boys), €20.00)
With a “Special Record of first Holy Communion” Avril O’Reilly has had a delightful notion. She has prepared a keepsake of first Communion for girls.
“This book,” she explains, “is designed to keep all the Communion memories and facts in one place but it is also a record of a girl at a special, innocent time of her life. The book improves with age. I can imagine girls looking back on their Confirmation or even wedding day. The first Communion is where the spiritual journey starts.”
The first book was prepared with her nieces in mind. She has now created a version for boys, rightly thinking that they would prefer a workbook which involves drawing in the objects, such the carpentry tools Jesus would have used in Joseph’s workshop, rather than dresses.
But both help the children record forever the ceremonies and the happy moments of the day.
All too often you gain the impression that for many children the day is all about a pretty dress and smart grown-up looking suit, and the money gifts one gets from relatives and friends.
Avril O’Reilly reminds children there is far more to the day than all that. An excellent idea, delicately and amusingly carried out, a notion with a very serious purpose, to focus small imaginations on the inner meaning of their first Communion.
