Bouquets and Flowers For Every Event...
This information is intended for parents of school-age children and teachers who are imparting Religious Education within a Catholic school environment.
The contents of these documents are related to the present day teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to Doctrine, Liturgy and Catholic practices. There are also special sections on Catholic Marriage and arranging a funeral in the Catholic Church.
- There are four events in the sacramental initiation of baptised children:
Baptism itself; First Confession/ Reconciliation; First Eucharist; and Confirmation.
- These Sacraments are intimately related to each other and should be seen in catechesis and celebration as a unified and graduated process of sacramental initiation for children.
- Baptism, the first Sacrament, is birth into the new life of Christ, incorporation into the Church, and the gateway to the other sacraments.
- Confirmation, followed by First Confession, begins the preparation of each child for First Eucharist.
- First Eucharist (First Holy Communion) is the centre of the sacramental initiation of baptised children and the Sacrament of full communion with the Church. Baptism and all the Sacraments are ordered to the Eucharistic Sacrifice (the Mass) as the source and summit of Christian life.
- Confirmation completes Baptism, deepens further the bond of communion with the Church, and confers the special strength of the Holy Spirit for the witness of Christian life.
- All these Sacraments are sacraments of faith. Each one, both in preparation and celebration, is an occasion for the evangelisation of the children themselves, their families and of the Catholic community as a whole. Each one is to be received with faith and lead to growth in faith.
- Parents are chiefly responsible for the faith and sacramental initiation of their children. Parents will petition the parish for their children to be admitted to each of these Sacraments. Parents must accompany and support the children with their own faith and religious practice before and after the children are admitted to these Sacraments. Schools should not presume that a child will receive further Sacraments until this is confirmed by the local parish priest.
- The parish is the locus of these sacramental events. In the name of the bishop, the parish priest will oversee and accompany the process of catechesis and preparation, as well as oversee and make provision for the sacramental liturgies themselves. The parish priest and the parish itself have a particular role in the catechesis and preparation of parents, parishioners and other adults (e.g. sponsors) who are involved in the sacramental initiation of the children.
- The Catholic primary school has the principal role in the formal catechesis and preparation of candidates. It is both praiseworthy and desirable that teachers and staff, together with parish catechists, are present and actively participate in the sacramental events themselves, under the direction of the parish priest.
SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION
Confirmation
1. Baptised children who are properly prepared and have a real desire will be admitted to the Sacrament of Confirmation.
2. Confirmation completes Baptism, unites us more firmly to Christ, deepens the bond of communion with the Church, confers the special strength of the Holy Spirit for the witness of Christian life, and imprints a spiritual seal or indelible character on the soul such that, like baptism, this Sacrament is received only once. Catechesis in preparation for Confirmation will present this mystery of faith in a way appropriate to the age and stage of development of the candidates for this sacrament.
3. So that their participation in the celebration of Confirmation will be all the fuller, the candidates will be made familiar with the Rite of Confirmation, the core symbolism of the laying-on of hands and anointing with the oil of chrism together with the accompanying prayers.
4. In the Rite of Confirmation, the bishop or priest implores God to send the Holy Spirit with his gifts on the candidates who are to be confirmed: wisdom and understanding; right judgment and courage; knowledge and reverence; wonder and awe. Catechesis will focus appropriately on the gifts of the Holy Spirit as grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
5. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are listed in Sacred Scripture as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. Candidates for Confirmation are to be led to understand that the Holy Spirit comes in Confirmation to make them more like Jesus Christ and to help them, as children of God, give witness to the Lord. Example from parents, teachers and sponsors is of the utmost importance.
6. It is customary for children to choose a saint's name for Confirmation as a sign of the new birth and identity they receive in Christ through the Sacraments of Initiation. This custom is to be encouraged since the saints are those, who, having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, have shown the fruits of the Spirit in the witness of a good and holy life.
7. In infant baptism, parents and godparents professed the faith of the Church in the child's name. In Confirmation, each candidate is invited to profess the Church's faith in their own name. It is therefore fitting that preparation for Confirmation will include a direct catechesis on the articles of the Creed, in a way which is suitable to the candidate's age and stage of development.
8. Confirmation will normally be celebrated at Mass by the Bishop who may delegate another priest for this task.
9. At the Mass of Confirmation, it is very fitting to use the Rite of Sprinkling in place of the Penitential Rite in order to express the meaning of Confirmation as the completion of Baptism.
10. Candidates will choose a Sponsor for Confirmation. The Sponsor, who represents the whole Church in the faith formation of the candidate, must be a practising Catholic in full communion with the Church.
11. The immediate preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation should include a prayerful time of retreat or recollection.
12. Whereas parents ask for baptism for their child and later petitioned the parish priest on their child's behalf for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist, the candidates themselves will petition their parish priest for Confirmation, a petition which is to be counter-signed by a parent or responsible adult. The parish priest will convey these petitions to the bishop.
13. The Catholic Primary School has the leading role in the formal catechesis and preparation of the candidates for Confirmation. It is most appropriate and desirable that teachers and other catechists participate actively in the Mass of Confirmation.
14. Although the Sacrament of Confirmation will bring the Christian initiation of baptised children to a conclusion, the fully-initiated young Catholics still require support and good example and further catechesis from parents, from priests, from the Catholic secondary school and from the whole community.
15. It is especially to be borne in mind that the centre of the Sacraments of Initiation is the Eucharist. One of the marks and obligations of the fully-initiated Catholic is full, active and conscious participation at Sunday Mass. Young Catholics must fulfil the serious obligation to participate at Sunday Mass so that the Eucharist will be at the centre of a full Christian life.
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The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
1. First Confession and Reconciliation, is for the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism, and is a preparation for First Eucharist. The Sacrament of Reconciliation usually will be celebrated when the children are in P3 (age 7-8).
2. Reconciliation with God and with the Church is the heart of this Sacrament. The forgiveness of sins is the principal grace of the Sacrament. Children will be taught that God is a loving Father who is always ready to forgive his children: that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who always seeks out the lost sheep; and that sins are forgiven through the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
3. Forgiveness flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus the Saviour. The forgiveness of sins is a key theme of the Christian mystery. Children, innocent and good as they are, need to be helped to understand in terms appropriate to their age and maturity that they can in fact do wrong and commit sin, and that sin can have sad personal and social consequences in this life and in the life of the world to come.
4. Children will be taught that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the normal means for Catholics to have their sins forgiven; that frequent Confession is a good spiritual practice; and that they must go to Confession before Holy Communion if they are conscious of having committed serious or grave sin.
5. Children should be introduced to the difference between grave sin and venial sin. They should be helped to understand that, in confession, serious or grave sins must be confessed, and that it is very good to confess venial sins and make a full confession.
6. Children will receive a penance in Confession, which will normally take the form of prayer. Children need to be helped to understand the meaning of this practice of satisfaction for sin or making up for sin.
7. It is essential that the children learn an Act of Sorrow (Act of Contrition) for use in Confession. It has to be remembered for life!
8. Christ's forgiveness and reconciliation are imparted by the priest through sacramental absolution. Children should be helped to understand the meaning and importance of the words of absolution as words of Christ himself.
9. Children are to be assured of the inviolability of the seal of Confession.
10. Before First Confession/Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, parents are to be appropriately catechised and invited to petition the Parish Priest for these Sacraments for their children.
11. In the course of their preparation, it is useful to bring the children to church to show them the place where the Sacrament of Reconciliation is usually celebrated and where they will normally come to Confession.
12. It is praiseworthy and desirable that the Catholic teachers and catechists who have been responsible for the children's formal catechesis and preparation should be present and participate actively at the celebration of First Confession and Reconciliation.
13. In general, children should be made as comfortable as possible with the experience and practice of what Catholics commonly call "going to Confession".
First Eucharist
1. First Eucharist (First Holy Communion) is the centre of the sacramental initiation of baptised children. Baptism and all the Sacraments are ordered to the Eucharistic Sacrifice (the Mass) as the source and summit of Christian life. The Mass of First Holy Communion is rightly considered a most unique and joyful event in the lives of children and their families. First Holy Communion will be celebrated when the children are in P4 (age 8-9). There should be regular confession from the time First Confession has been made.
2. It is of the greatest importance that children approaching First Holy Communion should already be in the habit of participating at the Sunday Eucharist. Familiarity with the Mass is the best spiritual and practical preparation for First Holy Communion. Parents are exhorted most emphatically to bring children to Mass from their earliest years.
3. Formal catechesis for First Holy Communion will present, in a way appropriate to the children's age and stage of development, the fundamental themes of Catholic faith in the Eucharist: the Mass as the Church's great act of praise and thanksgiving for creation and salvation in Christ; the Eucharist as the one table of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord; the Eucharist as the sacramental memorial of Christ's death and resurrection; the Eucharist as the real and substantial presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the consecrated bread and wine which become in a real though mysterious way the body and blood of Christ; the Eucharist as the Sacrament of full communion with the Church; the Eucharist as sacrament of the Kingdom and the pledge of eternal life.
4. Above all, the children will be helped to appreciate that in their First Holy Communion, Jesus himself truly comes to them in the most unique and holy way as the bread of life, the food of their souls and as the companion of their lives.
5. Mass and Holy Communion by their nature are repeated events in the lives of the children. There is time for understanding to grow with age, maturity and experience. Catechesis on the Eucharist should therefore be continuous through the years of Christian initiation and of religious education.
6. The children will have made First Confession and Reconciliation before First Holy Communion. They will be helped to grasp the relationship between Baptism Reconciliation - and Holy Communion, such that the Sacrament of Reconciliation becomes a regular part of their lives as practising Catholics who go to Mass on a Sunday.
7. The children will be helped to understand the importance of reverence and respect for the Eucharistic species in attitude and posture.
8. Candidates for First Holy Communion should be able confidently to join in the responses and prayers of the Ordinary of the Mass.
9. Children are to observe the Eucharistic fast of one hour before receiving Holy Communion.
10. Mass of First Holy Communion is traditionally celebrated in the Easter season on a day and at a time established by the local parish priest in consultation with families and Catholic Primary Schools.
11. The Parish Priest, or another priest delegated by him, will be the usual celebrant of the Mass of First Holy Communion.
12. It is praiseworthy and desirable that the children's teachers and catechists be present at the Mass of Holy Communion and participate actively in the liturgy.
13. At the Mass of First Holy Communion, the Rite of Sprinkling, most appropriate during the Easter Season, may be used in place of the Penitential Rite as a link with Baptism.
14. The Readings must be taken from the Lectionary or, if it is considered appropriate, from the Lectionary for Masses with Children. No unauthorised versions of the Scriptures are permitted.
15. First Communicants may receive Holy Communion on the tongue or in the hand.
16. If the children sing a Thanksgiving Hymn, care must be taken not to turn this hymn into a performance for the congregation.
17. The dress code for the First Communion Mass should be characterised by a religious simplicity, with an emphasis on white garments (white robes - albs) to recall the baptismal robe. Ostentation is to be avoided, as are accessories which have no place in the liturgy.
MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL - EXAMPLE FROM PARENTS AND FAMILY
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