The body keep you in eternal life.
NATHAN: Holy Communion is a re-enactment of the Last Supper. On the night before he died Jesus shared bread and wine with his closest friends and followers. He told them the bread was his body and the wine was his blood. At Holy Communion we share bread and wine to remember Jesus sacrificed his life for us. Holy Communion is so important we have to go to classes before we're allowed to take it.
And who will then live within us when we receive the bread of life? Jesus.
It will be Jesus.
NATHAN: I'm an Anglican Christian and I went to confirmation classes before I could take Holy Communion. In the Catholic Church children prepare for their first Holy Communion. It's a big day so lots of effort goes into making sure it runs smoothly.
KIERA: We've been practising our first Holy Communion. It's important for us to practise because if we make any mistakes we might be embarrassed or… because we're in the church of God.
NATHAN: Keira and Santos are eight. Their first Holy Communion is just a few days away. The teacher was giving us the body of Christ and it represents when Jesus gave his body out to the disciples and it's like we're the disciples.
SANTOS: It's good for children my age to do things like this cos we are learning more about God and his life.
TEACHER: Kneel down.
NATHAN: It's a very special occasion so Keira and Santos wear new clothes.
Is the morning of my first Holy Communion. I'm about to get ready and here's a sneak peak of my dress my shoes and my veil.
NATHAN: Keira wears a white dress and veil to represent purity and Santos wears a special tie. Holy Communion has different meanings and can be done in different ways depending on your Christian beliefs. At Keira and Santos' first Holy Communion service the bread and wine is blessed by the priest. Catholic Christians believe that when they eat and drink it Jesus Christ will enter each of them. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life.
One of the ways in which we practise with the children is that they have the bread beforehand and they know it's not been blessed. When they come to church the bread will be blessed and at that time it will change from being ordinary bread to being the person of Jesus Christ. I'm a bit worried what the bread will taste like because it represents Jesus' body. It feels like a grown-up thing and it's…exciting. I think it is very important to trust in God on my first Holy Communion day.
FATHER DAVID DORAN: When the children receive their first Holy Communion they've reached the summit of their relationship with God. And also it's the source from which all of their future life will also be lived.
NATHAN: After the service there's lots of celebrations. It's a big day in a young Christian's life.
Video summary
The Christian ritual of Holy Communion is introduced. Communion means, simply, ‘togetherness’ and this is a ritual to show the togetherness of Christians and God.
The Last Supper was Jesus’ last meal before he died and he shared two signs with his followers: bread as a symbol for his body being broken, and wine as a symbol for his blood being spilled when he was crucified.
11 year old Nathan has been to classes to learn about the meaning of the bread and wine before he was considered ready to join in with Holy Communion in his Church of England.
Kiera and Santos, both 8, are Roman Catholic Christians.
We see them getting ready for their first communion – an important step for Catholics. Kiera has a new white dress for her first communion, and a party afterwards.
Blessing the bread, in Catholic belief, turns it into the body of Christ. This is called a ‘sacrament.’
This clip is from the series My Life, My Religion: Christianity.
Teacher Notes
Before showing the clip, the class could have a little tasting session: bring some different kinds of fresh bread to the class (e.g. pitta, a French stick, some croissants, wholemeal bread, a fruity naan or whatever is easy to get from your local store – remember to check for allergies).
Pupils could taste a little bit of each kind of bread and then discuss and make a list of all the people who you could thank for this bread – can they think of 5 ‘thank yous’ for each kind of bread?
What does the bread of Holy Communion mean to these young Christians?
What do they remember when they receive this bread?
Ask children to sum up what they have learned by writing into a line drawing of a loaf of bread and a wine cup what these two symbols mean for Christian children.
This topic will be relevant to teaching Religious Education at KS2 or KS3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 2 or 3 in Scotland.
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