a mature 8 year old

Coming to church and attending class in order to prepare for his first communion doesn't sound much of a hard work, but it is. Big M's hard work this year has paid off and now he can take part of the Eucharist. Apparently, it is not required for a 2nd grader anymore to go through reconciliation before taking their first communion. But the parents were given the choice, and we chose for him go  through it. 

What I saw in Big M was amazing. Right after he had his reconciliation, he came down the isle with a big smile in his face and bouncing. He came to me and said, "I feel happy!" "Why?," I asked. "There were things that had bothered me, and now they don't. How often do we go to confession?"

I explained to him that there isn't a set time, but it could be whenever something is bothering him. He said he will do it every few months.

Then on April 14th, he had his First Communion. Big M was pretty proud of himself having received another sacrament. As parents, we are very proud of him too. As a child growing up in the Philippines, I didn't go through any such preparatory classes for any sacraments, so while I appreciate my faith (because of my grandmother) I admit that I didn't know as much. This year long class for Big M was as much a learning process for me as it was for him. Our church has made this process very family-centered. Every week, Big M meets with his class, and once a month, the parents meet with our priest to be taught ahead so that that we can then help teach the kids. It has been a wonderful experience for me and I am happy to have gone through it.