First communicants show their faith by sharing with needy

"I really wanted this to be child-to-child. I wanted our children to be as actively involved as possible," said Rev. Neil Draves-Arpaia, director of whole community catechesis at St. Clement's parish in Saratoga Springs.

He was referring to a program for the First Communion class this year, which totaled 140 children.

The children were encouraged to think about donating their First Communion dresses, veils, shirts, ties and jackets to children they don't even know.

Reaching out

The other children are from Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Calle Real, El Salvador. The pastor became associated with the parish while in the seminary.

"It's a rural parish where the families have very little," he said. "I thought that the children here might become directly involved in helping the children there by sending their gently used clothing to them. We did not require them to do this. It was completely up to the child and his or her family."

For those that did not wish to do so, he and the parish staff devised another means for the children to participate in the project. The alternative, said Denise Salage, coordinator of sacramental preparation for young children at the parish, was Simply Smiles, a not-for-profit group dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished children (www.simplysmiles.org).

Giving it away

Ms. Salage noted that "we had a number of children who required one-on-one preparation for the sacrament of Eucharist, some for health reasons, like food allergies. They were among the first to donate both their Communion clothing and money."

In addition, several catechists organized a bake sale so the children could raise money for Simply Smiles, and the kids also signed up to do special chores at home to earn money.

From the bake sale, the children earned $308. Personal donations from the youngsters totaled $230. They also donated 16 girls' Communion dresses, eight veils, six boys' outfits, three pairs of girls' shoes and two pairs of boys' shoes.

Goals of program

Father Draves-Arpaia had several goals for the program.

"Part of the vision is the need to educate people to what social justice actually means," he explained. "There is a link between the Eucharist and justice in our world. When we receive communion, we are empowered to go out and serve the world. I believe in introducing children early to these issues to help others."

In addition, he wanted to find ways to act on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

"This includes clothing the naked," he said. "Many in the Latin American countries, such as Mexico, are economically the poorest of the poor. The Eucharist is a very big event for them. If [parents] don't have the right attire for reception of this sacrament, they will keep their children from receiving it. This is what gave me the idea of donating clothing."

'Wonderful idea'

"I think this was a wonderful idea that Father had," Ms. Salage said. "At the Eucharist, we come to the table of the Lord, and are commissioned to go out and do good works.

"By doing these good works of mercy, the children learn to be socially aware of the suffering and poverty of others. They are also learning to help those less fortunate than they are."

(8/10/06) [[In-content Ad]]