Pace Melanie McDonagh (Parish Practice, 15 August), there is a fundamental difference between the Eucharist and Benediction, between adoration and the action of the Mass. Almost all the traditional hymns that she would like to see taught to First Communion children, while quite suitable for processions of the Blessed Sacrament, are not appropriate for use at Mass, let alone a First Communion Mass, because they were written in the context of static devotion rather than an active, participatory liturgy. Gazing at Jesus concealed behind the tabernacle veil or in the monstrance is very different from eating and drinking him in the act of Holy Communion. That is why there is a whole new generation of hymns that reflect a postconciliar understanding of what we do at Mass.Paul Inwood, Havant, Ha