First Holy Communion and Confirmation Gifts at Aquinas and More

” This is the season of First Sacraments “

Smith's “After the First Holy Communion”

The season for celebrating Confirmation and First Holy Communion, two of the three sacraments of Christian initiation, is approaching. These, and all seven sacraments, are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification. While God can give man grace without external signs, without the use of ceremonies and symbols, it has pleased Him to do so. The necessity of the sacraments is the necessitas convenientiae, or the necessity of convenience. The Sacramental system does not exist because God is bound to it- He is not- but because it is the most appropriate when dealing with humans, who are both spiritual and material. The redemption of man was not invisible; the incarnation took place because God dealt with man in the way most suitable to his nature. And following, the Catholic Church was established by Christ to be a visible institution, therefore it should have external ceremonies and symbols of what is sacred. According to St. Thomas, it is the nature of man to be led by things physical and sense-perceivable to things spiritual and intelligible; that Divine Providence provides for everything in accordance with it's nature, and therefore it is fitting that Divine Wisdom should provide means of salvation for man in the form of certain corporeal and sensible signs which are called sacraments.

– adapted from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The holy season of Lent is here – are you spiritually prepared?

Are you looking for resources or devotional items for Lent?

To browse the complete selection of items in our Lenten Specialty Store, please click here

Selected gifts for those receiving or preparing to receive their First Holy Communion:

Boy's First Holy Communion Gift Set Only $27.75	Girl's First Holy Communion Gift Set Only $32.50
Boy's First Holy Communion Pewter Rosary Only $25.25	Girl's First Holy Communion Heart Rosary Only $25.25
First Holy Communion Cross for Boys Made in Italy Only $22.95	First Holy Communion Cross for Girls Made in Italy Only $22.95
Little Child of God – Boy's First Missal Made in Italy Only $10.00	Little Child of God – Girl's First Missal Made in Italy Only $10.00
Marian Children's Mass Book – Remembrance of My First Holy Communion Black Pearlized Cover Only $14.75	Marian Children's Mass Book – Remembrance of My First Holy Communion White Pearlized Cover Only $14.75

Are you looking for a special gift for a First Holy Communion? Do you need some ideas to find the right, unique item?

We carry a wonderful selection of First Holy Communion missals, Bibles, rosaries, crucifixes, gift sets and First Holy Communion dresses.

To browse the complete selection in our First Holy Communion specialty store please click here.

We carry a large and wonderful selection of art, like the painting “After the First Holy Communion” which is shown at the beginning of our newsletter today.To browse our complete selection of beautiful Catholic paintings, prints, Florentine plaques and icons, please click here

“Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him “without measure.”

This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim “the mighty works of God,” and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.”

– from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1285-1287

Selected gift items for those receiving the sacrament of Confirmation or for those going through the RCIA program:

Gifts of the Holy Spirit Cross Cherry cross with pewter overlay Only $26.95	RCIA Gift Cross Cherry cross with pewter overlay Only $30.00
The Seven Sacraments – A Young Catholic's Sacrament Book Only $12.95	The Essential Catholic Handbook – A Summary of Beliefs, Practices and Prayers Only $11.95

Are you looking for a special gift for a Confirmation or for someone going through RCIA? Do you need some ideas to find the right, unique item?

We carry a wonderful gift selection in our Confirmation department.

A Prayer to the Holy Spirit –

“I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Everyday for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the things of sense and your ears to all the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then in the sanctity of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:”

Oh Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul,…I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do…give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will.

“If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the gates of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.”

– words of Joseph Cardinal Mercier

We hope your Lenten season is an especially blessed and faith-filled one.

– the staff at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods

Shop online at www.catholicchurchsupply.com for all your parish's church supply needs – including clergy shirts, vestments, altar linens, censers and boats, incense, candles, chalices, sanctuary lamps, altar breads, official liturgical books, lavabo sets, altar bells, and so much more!

An assortment of beautiful Paschal candles and Easter Vigil candles for your parish is available now at Catholic Church Supply.

3 comments

Rachel
February 7, 2008 at 8:25 am

Ouch.

Kristin
February 7, 2008 at 7:56 pm

Juan McLame has basically been a Democrat for quite some time. And being a pro-life candidate encompasses a lot more than promising to appoint judges like Roberts & Alito. (By the way, didn’t he vote to confirm Justice Ginsberg??) Consider this sign, too: he was endorsed by The New York Times. Enough said.