Last Sunday we were excited to welcome our Loaves & Fishes families back to Family Faith Formation with the first session of the new year on our theme for January – The Sacraments of Initiation – led by Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy.
During the “Focus on Faith” reflection at the beginning of the session, we talked about what a sacrament is and what is meant by “sacramental grace.” The children learned that a sacrament is something we can see that is a symbol of something we can’t see, and that sacramental grace is a love that we can’t earn – it’s something given to you, as a gift. We talked about and looked at some of the visible symbols of sacraments, including water, oil, bread, and wine.
We focused in particular on the three Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation – which are the sacraments that welcome us into the Christian community and provide the foundation for our lifelong journey in the faith.
In the second half of the session, while the children participated in activities with the Children’s Faith Formation team, parents gathered in small groups to discuss questions including:
What compelled you to have your child baptized?
Describe a feeling you have when receiving the Eucharist?
How would you describe The Sacrament of Confirmation to a young person?
Afterward, parents completed the following sentences on a prayer card to share with their children at home:
I pray your baptism gave you. . . .
I pray the Eucharist gives you. . . . .
I pray your confirmation will give you. . . .
We ended as we always do, with all gathered together for a closing prayer.
Remember, if you missed the session, or if you just want to listen again to the reflection or review the slides, you can find it all, including the At-Home Discipleship for the month, here on our website.
We look forward to our next session on Sunday, January 25 at St. Paul with our Mustard Seed families!