Children's Religious Education

Sacraments of Initiation - Reconciliation, Confirmation

Children not attending Catholic Elementary School must attend a formal parish-based catechism program for at least a year prior to preparing for Confirmation. Parents wishing their children to celebrate Confirmation and first Holy Communion are asked to ensure their children are attending weekly mass with their family and participating in family faith life, prayers and bible reading/stories as well as receiving weekly catechesis instruction.

First Reconciliation Program

The Church wants children (at about seven years of age) to have the opportunity for first Reconciliation (Confession/Penance) before Confirmation. The children journey to a lifelong conversion to JesusÕ way of living through the Together in Jesus First Reconciliation (Pflaum publication) program. This program calls children to keep the Commandments, to love and forgive each other as Jesus teaches, and to make peace with family members, classmates and neighbours. The program is appropriate for young children about 7 - 9 years of age and aims to help children:

• Connect the Sacrament with their lives
• Recognize moral good and evil
• Feel sorrow for wrongdoing
• Desire to become more like Jesus
• Turn to Jesus for forgiveness
• Become faithful Christians who forgive and ask forgiveness
• Approach the sacrament freely and regularly
• Be at ease with the Sacrament of Reconciliation

The parishioners of St. AndrewÕs Cathedral offer families a source of community that values the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. The children in the First Reconciliation program learn that other parents and the whole parish community share the same expectations. Parents participating in the Reconciliation program experience that helping their children prepare for Reconciliation renews their understanding of what is most basic about living as a Christian.

Confirmation and First Holy Communion Program

St. AndrewÕs Parish preserves the order in which Christians in the early Church received the Sacraments of Initiation, celebrating Confirmation and first Holy Communion together. Canon law calls for celebrating Confirmation at Ôthe age of discretionÕ and the National BishopsÕ Conference sets the age at about seven.

In Confirmation, a child receives the Holy Spirit whom the risen Jesus breathed upon His disciples on Easter evening and sent upon His followers on Pentecost. As the sending of the Spirit completes JesusÕ mission, Confirmation completes Baptism. As a Sacrament of Initiation, Confirmation introduces and welcomes children to life in the Spirit of God. Full understanding of the grace of Confirmation is not required; it Ôgoes without sayingÕ that, as with faith formation and all Sacraments, growing in our Catholic faith is a lifelong process of maturity. Baptism and Confirmation lead to the Eucharist, the source of the ChurchÕs life; to ongoing participation in the communityÕs life; and to lifelong transformation in Christ and the Spirit. The children share with the community the Bread and Wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ; at seven years of age, children are old enough to recognize that this Bread and Wine are different from ordinary bread and wine.

The Diocese recommends the Together in Jesus [Pflaum] program for Confirmation and first Communion and the program may be followed by parents at home as well. The program recognizes the spirituality of children, emphasizes liturgical or ritual catechesis, and affirms the role of the whole Christian community in the Ministry of Initiation. The Together in Jesus resource for primary aged children:

• Strengthens awareness of GodÕs love, of JesusÕ call to gather for Eucharist, and of the energy of the Holy Spirit
• Familiarizes children with the main events of JesusÕ life
• Teaches children our Catholic faith that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ
• Draws children into active participation in Mass and reverent reception of Communion.

This family program is also meaningful for the adult participants, indeed, parents deepen their own understanding of these Sacraments. Liturgical and prayer formation is at its heart. It emphasizes story and ritual, helping children to enter into meaning by using the language, symbol and gesture of which Liturgy is built. The children are a community of believers gathering to pray, share and reflect on their experience and the ChurchÕs traditions.

Please telephone (384-5554) or e-mail Christine Gilgunn (chris@gilgunn.ca) early to advise that you wish religious instruction for your elementary school aged children (Grade 1 - 6). All children wishing to celebrate Sacraments of Confession, Communion or Confirmation must be enrolled in these classes unless they attend Catholic school.

We also need teachers for these classes (please call Christine if you feel called to this ministry).