Davy Celebrating his Communion and Confirmation

By: Mary Gionas

Davy is a 40 year-old individual who resides in one of our North York Residences, and when he was  younger he enjoyed going to church.

At Davy’s Person-Directed Plan meeting one year his parents asked if it was possible for him to attend church once a week. When asked if that was something that he would like to do, Davy showed  excitement and enthusiasm in going and it was made into a goal.

A church close to his home was chosen and Davy  began attending mass every Friday morning. This was the first time in many years that Davy attended mass. He stared at the rooms, smiling and laughing as he looked around.

When the choir sings, Davy moves to the music and wants to go up to join them. After every mass, Davy goes to the alter to look at the statue of Jesus and Mary and signs the cross. He then goes up to the candles and, after one year of staff assistance, he puts the coin in the box slot on his own. This is something he seems very proud of doing. Davy enjoys going to the wall that is filled with pictures while having staff read out loud what they represent. His final stop before heading home is the back of the church, where he faces the pews, makes the sign of the cross and says goodbye to Jesus while dipping his hand into the holy water.

Davy has made friends with the other members of the church and looks forward to parishioners coming to talk to him and shake his hand. When mom asked for Davy to have his first communion, she was thrilled when    Father Joseph replied “yes” as Davy was not able to do so when he was younger. Davy practiced at home with the aid of his support team to take the communion so he would be able to do it on his own. Davy was     beaming on the day of his communion. He was thrilled to have his family there and a party was held to  commemorate his accomplishment.

The next step in Davy’s journey was to get permission to have his confirmation. Father Joseph made the    request and the Bishop granted permission, as Davy had been attending mass regularly. Davy and the    family were ecstatic. They tried to have Davy registered for Catechism to prepare him for his 1st holy  communion in 1984, but were refused by two churches. Davy’s confirmation ceremony took place on August 4th, 2017 with his family present to celebrate and honour this milestone.

Read the full newsletter here: August-September Newsletter