First Holy Communion

First Penance (First Confessions)

Before the children receive their First Holy Communion, they are invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This year, the sacrament will be celebrated in a very simple way during school time or after school (in the case of those who attend after school classes).

Please prepare your children for the Sacrament by talking to them about God's love for us and his willingness to forgive us when we do wrong. You might like to help your child remember times that they didn't live as Jesus asks us to? Please print out the First Confession sheet and revise with them the Act of Sorrow, along with the Prayer for Forgiveness and the Prayer after Forgiveness. They will have learned these while in 2nd Class. You can then ask your child to write down their sins on the sheet to help them remember when they come to celebrate the sacrament. They might also like to draw a picture on the back of the sheet to show the priest. 

It is important to explain to your child that they will be welcomed by the priest and that they need not be afraid. Sometimes children can become very anxious if they are given the impression that the priest might be angry because of what they have done. Remind them that the focus of the Sacrament is God's forgiveness and obtaining the strength of his grace to live more like Jesus.

First Holy Communion Booklet

This is the First Holy Communion booklet for 2024. You can print off a copy of the First Holy Communion Mass and practice the responses with your child. It would be good to rehearse simple actions that the children will know for a number of years, such as how to bless themselves, along with the new action of how to receive Holy Communion.