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Welcome to the Sacrament of Reconciliation!
Through God's Divine Love for us, we are provided this blessed opportunity to renew our relationship with Him and His Only Son, Jesus Christ, through cleansing ourselves of our sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation.
The primary preparation for this sacrament comes from what families do at home to live out their faith. We truly believe that parents are the first and best choice for teaching the sacraments to their children. Our goal through the Faith Formation Sacramental Preparation program at Our Lady of Sorrows is to compound upon the knowledge each child learns at home through their parents and family traditions. That being said, preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an essential part of our second grade Faith Formation curriculum, for it is at that age (around 6-7 years old) that we feel children are old enough to grasp the basic understanding and meaning of the sacrament. Second Grade students, with the aid of their Faith Formation teachers, work diligently throughout the program year to learn and understand just how important the Sacraments are to our faith as a whole.
Children who are older than second grade, and who have not yet received this sacrament but would like to, should contact Alex Bourgeois for details on how to complete their preparation.
Preparations for the sacrament of First Reconciliation are as follows:
PARENT MEETING
There is a parent-only meeting for all second-grade families to be held during the November 4, 2018 regularly schedule Faith Formation class time of 945am - 1045am in the Cottage Street School cafeteria. At least one parent from each second-grade family MUST attend. Parents will receive a take-home component to complete with their child over a period of several weeks. If you have a child who wishes to receive the sacrament but who is currently in Grades 3 and above, please contact either Alex Bourgeois or Teresa Coda in the Office of Faith Formation.
MINI-RETREAT
There will be a mini-retreat held on January 5, 2019, from 2PM to 4PM in O'Connell Hall. This experience is for parent and child and is required as part of the preparation for the Sacrament. Children will participate in simple and engaging activities, hear a story, and create a quilt square which will be displayed on the altar during the Reconciliation Service. The retreat experience closes with attendance at the 4:30PM Mass in the Church.
CELEBRATION DATE
First Reconciliation will be celebrated on Saturday, January 26, 2019, in the church, at 1:30 PM, weather permitting.
If for some reason your child is unable to attend on this date (medical/health exceptions only), please contact Alex Bourgeois.
This celebration is a communal service, expect to stay for the entire hour. Please plan to go to confession at this service, as your child is doing. Your example could be the difference between your child happily or anxiously receiving this sacrament. The priests who will be hearing confessions will be expecting that it has been a long time for most adults since their last confession.
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
In helping to prepare your child for these sacraments, families should try to establish two habits, if they aren't already in place.
First, pray as a family. Establish a time of day when you can pray together as a family, whether it be morning prayer, a prayer before meals, evening or even bedtime prayer. As part of our Faith Formation program, we expect all second graders to learn the sign of the Cross and the Our Father, in order to more fully participate at weekly Mass. Consistent prayer rituals are the basis of our faith and are encouraged. In class, your child will learn a prayer pattern: Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Sign of the Cross. We ask that you keep this pattern the same with at-home prayer. If your child has learned the Our Father, then moving onto the Hail Mary or another simple traditional prayer would be appropriate.
Second, attend Mass as often as possible. All Catholics have an obligation to attend Mass each week, barring serious and unforeseen reasons. If some pattern of regular Mass attendance is not established as a family habit, children will not truly understand the significance of First Eucharist, which they will begin preparing for shortly after celebrating their First Reconciliation. The more exposure children have to the sacraments in everyday life, the better they will understand their significance to our faith. Without such exposure, children will have little basis for practicing the Catholic faith as they get older. If you value the sacraments enough to send your child to Faith Formation classes, then regular attendance at Mass is a crucial piece to the program.
DRESS CODE
Your child should be dressed neatly as if attending a special occasion. Boys do not have to wear jackets and ties unless desired. Girls do not have to wear fancy dresses unless desired. However, jeans, sweatshirts, T-shirts, sneakers, baseball caps or other headgear, sweatpants and gym clothes are inappropriate.
BAPTISMAL RECORDS
If you have not already submitted a copy of your child's baptismal record to the Office of Faith Formation, please do so now. We require a copy of the original certificate or the long form baptismal record for all children who receive the sacraments through our parish. You may have submitted a copy of the record when you first registered with the Faith Formation program. If so, then we do not require a second copy. Otherwise, please contact the church where your child was baptized (including Our Lady of Sorrows) and request a copy of the record for submission to our program. Your child must have been baptized to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.