Sacramental Instruction

First Reconciliation

Students begin preparation for Reconciliation (Penance) in the fall of their second grade year. The instructional focus is on God’s mercy: how we forgive our family, friends, and community, and how we celebrate forgiveness. The students receive the sacrament during an evening gathering later that same winter. Family members are encouraged to receive Reconciliation during this service and celebrate together this important step in their child's life.

First Holy Communion

Preparing to receive Jesus through the sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time is exciting for our second grade students. It is a time for focus on Jesus, faith, and family, and of vital importance to a child’s preparation is the family’s regular attendance at Sunday Mass. The Mass is the greatest expression of the Catholic faith and it is here that the preparation for this sacrament comes alive. The First Eucharist celebration takes place in late April of our students' second grade year.

Confirmation

In the sacrament of Confirmation we celebrate the completion of Baptismal grace and continue to lay the foundations of every Christian life that was begun in Baptism and continued in the Eucharist. Confirmation gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to Jesus Christ by word and deed.

The first step toward receiving the sacrament of Confirmation happens in sixth grade, when the students each receive their own personal Bible during a liturgical celebration held in church. Preparation continues through their seventh grade year and a visiting bishop confirms the candidates during an evening liturgy in early May of their seventh grade year.