Sacrament Preparation: First Reconciliation and First Communion

November 2, 2025 at St. John: Introduction and Overview
December 14, 2025 at St. Paul: The Incarnation
February 8, 2026 at St. Paul: Preparing Our Hearts
March 8, 2026 at St. Paul: Preparing for the Sacrament of First Reconciliation
April 12, 2026 at St. Paul: Preparing for the Sacrament of First Eucharist

10:15-11:00am following the 9:00am Family Mass
(Powers Hall at St. John/Parish Hall at St. Paul)

Please note the dates for the two “Preparing for the Sacrament” sessions in the spring. At these sessions, we will walk your child through the steps of receiving the sacraments so they are prepared and know what to expect. Participation in these sessions is very important.

IMPORTANT: All sessions are Family Sessions (children and parent/s together.) Children may not be “dropped off” without a parent or guardian.

About Our Sacrament Preparation Program

Our Sacrament Preparation program follows the Family Faith Formation model, which centers parents as the first and best teachers of the faith for their children. This model consists of family catechesis sessions about once a month to prepare and support families in at-home discipleship.

Children preparing to receive the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion (usually Grade 2) participate in the six Grade K-2 Mustard Seeds Family Faith Formation sessions with their families.

In addition, they participate in five special sacrament preparation sessions: an introduction and catechesis session in the fall, two reflection and catechesis sessions over the winter, and two detailed sacrament preparation and instruction sessions in the spring. During in-person sessions the children will be split into small groups for activities to ensure they get the most out of our time together. Some of our traditional sacrament preparation activities will be done together in person and some will be completed at home (all materials will be provided.)

These sessions are paired with the “Blessed” curriculum from Dynamic Catholic for at-home discipleship, which includes a First Reconciliation Workbook, a First Communion Workbook, and a series of short animated videos that are designed to engage children in the story of Jesus. (Learn more about the “Blessed” curriculum and the wonderful online resources below.)

In the weeks in between sessions, families continue with at-home discipleship (material for each month is listed below) on their own schedule, in whatever space and time works best for them. Families can also gather with friends or relatives in small groups to work together. Most importantly, families continue the conversation throughout the month, baking the richness of our faith into the daily interactions of family life.

With only five in-person sacrament preparation sessions scheduled over the course of the year, we are hopeful that most families will be able to attend most sessions. If you miss one of the sessions, please scroll down to the At-Home Discipleship and Session Recordings section to catch up on what you missed.

An Overview of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Our First Reconciliation Service

We understand that there is a lot of information below, but we ask that you please take the time to read it in it’s entirety, particularly if you missed the Sacrament Preparation session. Their First Reconciliation is a big moment in your children’s lives, and as with any big “first”, it’s normal to feel a little nervous. The support and preparation they receive from their parents is instrumental in helping them feel comfortable and ready for the sacrament.

We want your children to be excited to receive the Sacrament and all the grace that comes with it!

The notations in blue contain information particular to our First Reconciliation Service here at the Collaborative.

If you missed the special Preparing for First Reconciliation session on March 8, please review the session recap below, and watch The Five Steps video and review Chapter 5 “Your First Reconciliation” (p. 137-174) in their First Reconciliation Workbook together at home.

At the First Reconciliation Service the children will receive the Sacrament at stations set up in the sanctuary (they will not be going into a confession room or confessional.) When you watch the video with your children, please let them know that at their First Reconciliation, they will sit in chairs talking with the priest just like in the video, but it will not be in a separate place – it will be right in the church where they can see you and you can see them.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

This year in Family Faith Formation we talked about what a sacrament is and what is meant by “sacramental grace.” A sacrament is something we can see that is a symbol of something we can’t see, and sacramental grace is a love that we can’t earn – it’s given to us as a gift. We learned that there is nothing we can do that will cause God to stop loving us. Even when we sin – which means we turn away from God and do things we know we shouldn’t do – God always loves us and will always forgive us when we are sorry. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (also called Confession) is our opportunity to tell God we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.

How do we know when we’ve sinned? We are blessed by God with a conscience. A conscience is that gentle voice inside us that encourages us to do what is good – to be kind and honest and to keep God at the center of our lives. When we ignore our conscience and choose to do things that we know we shouldn’t, like lying, stealing, or hurting others with our actions or words, we have turned away from God and sinned. This often makes us feel a little sad or restless inside. God invites us to come to Reconciliation so we can be forgiven and filled again with God’s light and joy.

To prepare to go to Reconciliation, we first do something called an “Examination of Conscience.” We think carefully and try to remember the times when we were kind and honest and helpful and the times that we weren’t. We think about the times we had that sad, restless feeling because we had done something we knew was wrong. This helps us to remember the things we want to tell God we are sorry for.

During our First Reconciliation Service, the children will also participate in an Examination of Conscience together.

When we go to Reconciliation, we sit down with the priest, make the Sign of the Cross, and then tell the priest our sins – the things we are sorry for. It’s normal to feel nervous or even forget what to say, but we should always remember that the priest is there to help us. Like Jesus, the priest hears our confession with love and care. He may ask us some questions and make some suggestions about how we can grow and become a better person.

He will give us a penance – a prayer to say or a good action to do after our Reconciliation to help us draw closer to God.

Then he will ask us to pray out loud an Act of Contrition, a prayer that tells God that we are sorry for our sins and will try very hard to stay close to God.

At our First Reconciliation Service, the children will say this prayer together before receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation individually.

Finally, the priest raises his hand over our head and says the prayer of absolution, which ends with the words “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, and we respond “Amen.” At that moment, our sins are forgiven and God pours sacramental grace upon us, filling our hearts with peace and joy.

It’s important to remember that although we are sitting and talking with the priest, he is there to represent God, so we are really sitting and talking with God. When the priest says the words that absolve us of our sins, it is God who forgives us.

First Reconciliation Service Details

Monday, March 16, 2026 at 5:00pm at St. John the Evangelist Church
Students and families should arrive by 4:45pm. (If your child has signed up to be a reader, please arrive by 4:35pm for practice.) The service will last approximately 30-45 minutes.
When you arrive, please pick up your candle and a worship aid in the entryway of the church before being seated. (Please sit anywhere you are comfortable.)
We will listen to a Gospel Reading and Homily, pray the Our Father together, and then participate in a simple “Examination of Conscience” led by student readers. Finally, we will recite an Act of Contrition together before the children receive the Sacrament individually.
The children will be guided by members of the Children’s Faith Formation Team to one of stations in the sanctuary to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and after they will return to you to spend some time in prayer.
After all of the children have received their First Reconciliation, family members who would like to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation are invited to do so.

An Overview of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Reception of First Communion

More details coming soon!

First Holy Communion Dates and Details

First Holy Communion will be received at one of the four Sunday 9:00am Family Masses listed below. Families may confirm their Mass assignment by clicking on the links below:

Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 9:00am at St. Paul

Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 9:00am at St. John

Sunday, May 10, 2026 at 9:00am St. Paul

Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 9:00am at St. John

Families should arrive by 8:45am for the 9am Family Mass.
Each family will have an assigned pew at the front of the church – pews will be assigned by lottery.
First Communion banner kits will be sent home with families at the April 12th Sacrament Preparation session. The banners will be hung at the end of the family pew at their First Communion Mass.
Suggested dress for girls: White dress and shoes, veil or headpiece optional, no gloves or purses
Suggested dress for boys: Sport jacket, dress pants, dress shirt, tie, dress shoes, no hats

Session Recordings, Recaps, and At-Home Discipleship

Information from each session is available below, in chronological order from first to last.

November 2, 2025: Introduction and Overview

This opening session introduced children and families to this special year of preparation for the reception of the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion.

November At-Home Discipleship

First Reconciliation Workbook – Session 3: God Sent Jesus to Save Us (pp. 69-102)
Blessed Videos – Season 3

December 14, 2025: The Incarnation and Reconciliation

At this hands-on session with the Children’s Faith Formation team, we talked about the Incarnation – the beautiful mystery of God sharing fully in our human life and experience in the person of Jesus – fully and truly God and fully and truly human. The incarnation is the foundation for sacraments like Reconciliation, where Jesus’ mercy is made tangible, helping to understand that we are loved and can be forgiven and restored.

To help explain the concept of Reconciliation we watched a video from the Dynamic Catholic Blessed series together, “Your First but Not Your Last” and then reviewed the concepts of Temptation, Sin and Grace using the Reconciliation Workbook (p. 46).

We talked about how God gave us the Ten Commandments to follow and when we break one of these commandments by making a bad decision we have sinned and need to be forgiven. And when others break a commandment that affects us we need to forgive. We reviewed the Ten Commandments and the groups completed a My Own Commandments poster together that allowed the students to translate the commandments into “rules” more appropriate for their age.

We also completed a Words & Symbols activity to further define a few of the commandments familiar to them. To reinforce the concept of forgiveness each group made a forgiveness chain where each link is an act of forgiveness.

We closed the session by watching the video “What is Reconciliation?” and giving out Prayer Rock kits for parents and students to complete together at home. Prayer is an important part of sacrament preparation and this fun activity helps make it easy to integrate into morning and evening routines.

February 8, 2026: Preparing Our Hearts

At this hands-on session with the Children’s Faith Formation team, we talked about the Sacrament of Holy Communion and the Mass, focusing in particular on two parts of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

First we watched a short video from our Dynamic Catholic Blessed curriculum, “Food for the Soul” (4 minutes), and reviewed the section in our First Communion Workbook (“Food for the Soul” p. 112-113) to help us understand why it is important that we hear the Word of God and receive Communion.

Next we talked about the part of the Mass called the Liturgy of the Word, which includes readings from the Bible, the homily, the Creed, and the intercessory prayers. We learned more watching the video: “The Liturgy of the Word” (4 minutes)

Then we talked about the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which is broken up into three parts: the Offering, the Eucharistic Prayer, and the reception of Holy Communion. During the Offertory, the priest prepares the gifts of bread and wine to offer them to God. This is followed by the Eucharistic Prayer, which is the most important part of the Mass because this is when the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus. This is called the consecration. When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus gives himself completely to us. God always wants us to feel loved, and when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist this is a special moment of God’s love. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. It is not a symbol; it is Jesus.

Finally, we talked about how the Last Supper was the first Eucharist, and the disciples First Communion. (First Communion Workbook p. 130-131)

We learned more watching the video: The Liturgy of the Eucharist (8 minutes+)

(Click here to read the script from the session and access additional activities.)

February At-Home Discipleship

First Communion Workbook – Session 3: The Word of God (pp. 79-108)
Blessed Videos – Season 9

March 8, 2026: Preparing for First Reconciliation

Linda Messore, Director of Children’s Faith Formation, talked about what the Sacrament is and the details around our upcoming First Reconciliation Service on Monday, March 16 at 5pm at St. John the Evangelist Church.

Following this introduction, Fr. Jim spoke with the children in detail about what happens during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and then role-played the steps of receiving the Sacrament with the help of the Children’s Faith Formation team (and a volunteer from the audience!)

Finally, we watched a video about First Reconciliation from the Dynamic Catholic Blessed curriculum (The Five Steps) and suggested reviewing Chapter 5 “Your First Reconciliation” (p. 137-174) in their First Reconciliation Workbook together at home.

The card below was distributed at the session and will be available at the Reconciliation Service. Children are encouraged to have the cards with them during First Reconciliation. (If you missed the session and would like a card ahead of time, they are available in both parish offices.)

At-Home Discipleship (For after First Reconciliation)

First Communion Workbook – Session 4: The Eucharist (pp. 111-140)
Blessed Videos – Season 10

April 12, 2026: Preparing for First Holy Communion

At-Home Discipleship

First Communion Workbook – Session 5: Your First Communion (pp. 148-162)
Blessed Videos – Seasons 11

About the “Blessed” Curriculum and Resources

These are not mere textbooks or workbooks; they are masterpieces illustrated by an internationally acclaimed children’s book artist. The combination of incredible content and more than 250 hand-painted works of art captures children’s imagination and opens their eyes to God’s incredible dream for their lives.

We teamed up with an Emmy Award-winning animation studio to create the first-ever animated film series for sacramental preparation. Each of the episodes will engage your children’s sense of wonder and take them on an unforgettable adventure into the story of Jesus and the life-giving truths of his Church. -Dynamic Catholic

The First Reconciliation Workbook and First Communion Workbook are available online, and a physical copy will be provided for each child for at-home discipleship. Also available online is An Unforgettable Adventure, a series of short animated videos that correspond to the sessions (or chapters) in the workbooks.

Each workbook contains 6 “sessions” (or chapters.) The videos are organized into 12 “seasons”, with each season corresponding to a session (or chapter) in the workbooks. So Sessions 1-6 in the First Reconciliation Workbook correspond with the Seasons 1-6 videos, and Sessions 1-6 in the First Communion Workbook correspond with the Seasons 7-12 videos.

The images below show how Session 1: You Are Blessed! in the First Reconciliation Workbook corresponds with the Season 1 videos.