Blessed Robert Grissold Church offers a course of instruction to prepare children to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Confession) and Holy Communion.
The programme is aimed at children in year 3 or above, who are not receiving instruction at school – usually this means they are not attending a Catholic primary school. The course typically takes place once a year, in the spring, during term times. It consists of approximately a dozen weekly sessions of 45 minutes – the first meeting will be for parents as well as their children, the remaining sessions are for children only.
Of the Seven Sacraments of the Church, only these two – Reconciliation and Holy Communion – are ones that we are encouraged to take on a regular basis. These, therefore, are a fundamental part of our life as a Catholic, and it is therefore important that before children receive these gifts for the first time, they understand the significance of what they are doing. It is also an opportunity to allow the children to explore their own faith, and to understand some of the who, what, where, when, why and how of our liturgy.
Instruction is based around two workbooks – one focusing on the themes of repentance and forgiveness, and the other focusing on the Eucharist and the celebration of mass. Within these themes, a variety of methods such as discussion groups, art and story-telling are used to ensure each session is interesting and fun as well as instruction.
At the end of the first half of the course, the children are invited to make their first confession. Typically this is a relatively “low-key” event, just for children and their families. By contrast, First Holy Communion is a time of celebration not only for the children and their parents but also for the whole parish. First Communions take place during our regular Sunday morning mass, with a special breakfast served afterwards.
If you would like to enrol your child in our Preparation for First Holy Communion programme, please contact our parish priest via the Contact Us Page
here.