Sacramental Programme

Love God, Love One Another

Sacramental Programme

The children continue their Sacramental Journey in Year 3 when they partake in the sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. These sacraments are celebrated at the church of St Hilda’s by Fr Owen Gallagher.

Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also known as First Confession. For Catholics, the point of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul, to be once again at peace with God and with ourselves. There are three elements to the sacrament of Reconciliation:

• Contrition, thinking through our failings and being sorry for these sins,
• Confessing our sins to a priest, in an open but still confidential discussion of our failings.
• Penance, some prayer or action intended to make amends for the harm our sins may have caused.

After a short act of contrition, the priest acting in the name of Jesus, says the prayer of absolution, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”

The Sacrament of Reconciliation should be a beautiful experience for Catholics, as we are healed, washed clean, forgiven, and reconciled with God and his Church. We can start again, knowing that having said “Sorry Lord”, he in turn has said “I forgive you!”

So, Reconciliation helps us to grow as a person and reminds us that God loves us.

Holy Communion

First Holy Communion day is when the celebrate their development as Christians and is a huge cause for celebration. Children prepare for First Communion over a period of several months in school with the support of Fr Nick Kern and their parents who work with the children to help develop their faith in Jesus.

Receiving Holy Communion or the Eucharist is central to the Sacramental life of Catholics. It is our spiritual food. We believe that the Sacrament of the Eucharist was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper when he gave his disciples bread and wine during his last Passover meal. Jesus commanded his disciples to "Do this in memory of me,” and this is what we celebrate at Mass. Catholics see the Mass as a celebration of Christ's sacrifice of himself on the Cross and his commission of the apostles at the Last Supper. We believe that it is this same sacrifice that happens at every Mass.