First Reconciliation Parent Night 1 St Mary’s Parish Leederville

Prayer In the + Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. God of compassion and mercy, your love for us knows no bounds. Send us your Holy Spirit to help us see ourselves as you see us. Give us wisdom that we may recognize our need for forgiveness, and so celebrate your gift of reconciling peace. Help us to know what we have done wrong and to be truly sorry. This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the + Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sacraments of Initiation Baptism Confirmation Eucharist Sacraments of Healing Reconciliation Anointing of the Sick Sacraments of Service Holy Orders Matrimony

Sacraments are not isolated events intended for individuals. Sacraments are by their nature communal, that is, they belong to and must be celebrated in the context of God’s People. So, Reconciliation reinforces our responsibility not only to ourselves, but to God and His family. Like all sacraments, the sacrament of penance is an encounter with God that we experience in the midst of our community of faith, the Church. Communal celebrations of reconciliation show more clearly the nature of penance.

It is the expression of our common need for grace and forgiveness, not only from God, but from the Church which is the Body of Christ. We, the Church, through a common baptism share the responsibility to show by our lives our faith and the Gospel that is so much in contrast to a selfish and sinful world.

What are your memories of this Sacrament? What did you call the Sacrament? What was the focus of the Sacrament? What do you remember feeling about receiving it? What are your feelings about the Sacrament now?

God forgives us endlessly and the church celebrates this reality through the sacrament of reconciliation. Even though we are baptised and confirmed, and even though we are steeped in Eucharist, there remains that tendency within us to "miss the mark,“ to be selfish and to fail to love, a tendency to sin.

God never fails to love and the church celebrates this in the sacrament of reconciliation. We call it a sacrament of “conversion” because in celebrating it, we turn our hearts empowered by the Spirit of Love, back to Divine Love through Christ who reveals that Love.

We also refer to it as the sacrament of "penance“ a term which comes from a Latin word: repere, which suggests a posture of sorrow and a process of change. It is also called “confession” because it is here that we are invited to talk out loud about how we have sinned, and in that talking, recognize the mercy of God which is endless.

For Catholics, the Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known as the Sacrament of Penance, or Penance and Reconciliation) has three elements: conversion, confession and celebration. In it we find God's unconditional forgiveness, and as a result we are called to forgive others."

It is called the sacrament of “reconciliation,” because it draws us back to balance, it reconnects us to our journey of faith, and it celebrates God’s wonderful love.

The role of the family in the Sacrament of Reconciliation The context of our first understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is in the life of the family. It is in the family that we learn about the experiences that help us understand this wonderful and healing sacrament. In the family we learn that our selfishness has a bad effect on those with whom we live. In the family we learn that our actions, both good and bad have consequences. In the family we learn that we need to ask forgiveness and that we need to give it when it is requested. In the family, we also learn that there are rules for living in society that must not be broken, but that when they are broken, we need to view one another with compassion and love, even though there is some reparation needed.

Jesus said to [His disciples] again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." ~ John 20:21-23

Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation with children not only teaches them to cherish and welcome God's mercy, it also helps them to develop a well-formed, healthy conscience.

Information First Reconciliation – 7.00 pm, Thursday 1 September Parent night 2 – 7.00pm, 6 July Retreat afternoon– 27 August 1.00pm pm

We Hold a Treasure What three things did you learn that were new to you ? What would you like to learn more about?