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Teresa Vinitha Francis is wife of Anthony Valantra and mom to Rohan and Rhea. Teresa lives with her family in Natick.
Rhea’s first communion was a very unique experience.
When I saw the group of 1 girl and 6 boys standing together, I thought they appeared like 7 angels who came together to receive Jesus and accept the Holy Spirit. All the first communicants were masked up in white with a golden cross imprinted on the mask.
Personally, there were so many emotional moments in the run up to the final rite of Rhea receiving the communion. With the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the families were prepared for this First Communion celebration. All of us had serious doubts if there was even a possibility to conduct the communion this year. Way back in January, the first communicants' parents were meeting every week not realizing that all our plans were soon to be upended. In March, Massachusetts went into state imposed lock-down. Then, when the lock-down was eased in a few months, you could sense the collective urge by the parents to fast track the communion celebrations to make up for lost time.
I was operating in panic mode! This was in complete contrast to my son’s communion preparation and planning which took place last year - meticulous execution with spreadsheets, agendas and deadlines. This time, I felt like I was on a super fast roller coaster ride going at 100 miles per sec! With the COVID-19 protocols in place, I had planned for an outdoor tent with designated seating, for the social gathering after the formal ceremony. I had gone overboard in buying décor for the church basement and many other things. As is always true, God has His own plans for our lives and that is exactly what He made happen in His own best way. Throughout all this, I just had one prayer always and said to the Lord - Not Mine, but let everything happen per Your Will and Plan.
God does not miss anything. He had prepared fellow parishioners to help out and take care of even the little things!
Achan instructing communicants on confirmation procedure.
With Tresa, Fr. Pinto Paul, Achan, Fr. Jilson & Sr. Lincy
A Big Thank you to…
Achan - He provided us with clear guidance and was not only our spiritual director but also an excellent director with lights, camera and action. He made sure that all of us appeared as gracefully as possible both on and off camera.
Rev Fr.Pinto and Rev Fr. Jilson - They graced the celebration of the Holy Mass with their esteemed presence.
Fr. Pinto was so thoughtful to deliver a beautiful message about the Joy, Peace and Protection that everyone should enjoy when we make room for Jesus in our heart and lives. He spoke about the divinity of our Lord, consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord, spiritual food and responsibilities of our children as they become one with Jesus Christ.
Sisters from St.Martha's Convent, Connecticut - Our beloved Sisters, led by Mother superior Sr. Reema came all the way from Connecticut. Accompanying them were Sr. Lincy and Sr. Angela who made the Holy Altar appear so majestic with the theme of angels. Each child's name was written on an angel, dedicating each child to the Lord. The Sisters had adorned the altar most beautifully with the lovely gerberas, baby breaths, mini calla lilies and orange and white roses .
Sr. Lincy & Tresa - The CCD teachers who took the initiative of keeping our kids well informed and well prepared ahead of the big day. They conducted CCD sessions via Zoom to get the children ready to receive their holy sacraments.
Sr.Lincy & Don came up with this brilliant idea of gathering the wheat and grapes, wrapping them in golden ribbons and setting a flying angel right in the middle. It was the most beautiful piece of decor on the church pews. In the original plan, this piece of decor was going to be the centerpiece of each table in the basement. With the First Communion party not being an option anymore, this arrangement got a beautiful place in the church. This fit in very nicely with the central theme of angels on the altar.
Our choir members - Vilbheena and Jordy, who added their unmistakable touch to the songs and background music.
Joseph Kunnel worked tirelessly with the kids for several hours on the day of the rehearsal - August 8th to help them practice and coordinate the group song "In Christ Alone".
Don and Tresa added a personal touch to the prayer cube gifts for kids with appropriate prayers that they could carry with them and remember in the years to come. The prayer cubes were covered with their wedding gift paper that they had received when they were newlyweds. That was so special.
Don helped us moms with selecting an appropriate color combination for the flowers for the altar. We were a lucky batch to be able to choose flowers that were available during summer. The communion has always been held during spring, in May. During this time, many varieties are not readily available and the choices are limited to red and white roses. This time, we had a variety of choices - roses of every other color, carnations, gerberas, baby breaths, yesenias, daisies, lilies, hydrangeas etc. It was really surprising to me to comprehend the fact that we needed over 300 flowers to arrange the altar. Of course the magic of flower arranging by our Sisters made them look absolutely stunning.
Figuring out, where to stand for communion
Biya brought her personal touch to the video compilations of the children.
Paul was a huge help in coordinating pick up and drop off.
Biju Chettan, who put us on camera, did an incredible job.
Rexy and Anthony who juggled roles as first communicants' parents as well as church trustees, ensured that we followed all the guidelines as stipulated by the state Governor.
Anu was my biggest partner who shared every single moment in all this. I admire her patience and love for all minute details that she really paid attention to. She played a significant role in making this ceremony as beautiful as it came out to be.
Last but not the least, a big Thank you to the fellow parents and first communicants who made it a big success.
All this simply summarized one fact - It really takes a village to raise a child!
I thank God for His abundant blessings on this special day.
Everything went well as we had lots of prayer support from all our parishioners, families and friends.
We could not have asked for more!
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