Sacrament Preparation: First Reconciliation and First Communion

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

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 Reconciliation
April 12, 2026 at St. Paul: Preparing for the Sacrament of the Eucharist

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

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.

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 catechesis sessions, you and your child can watch the recording which will be posted below.

(Please note the dates for the two “Preparing for the Sacrament” sessions in the spring – in-person participation in these sessions is very important.)

Quick Facts

• Some of our traditional sacrament preparation activities (which includes candles, prayer rocks, and banners) will be done together in person and some will be completed at home (all materials will be provided.)

• 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.

• The First Reconciliation service will be on Monday, March 16, 2026 at 5:00pm at St. John

• NEW THIS YEAR: Children will receive First Holy Communion at a Sunday 9:00am Family Mass in the spring. Initial Mass assignments will be made based on parish of registration and will be communicated in January. Families will be able change to a different Mass if needed, and the process to do that will be included with the communication.

- April 26, 2026 at St. Paul
- May 3, 2026 at St. John
- May 10, 2026 at St. Paul
- May 17, 2026 at St. John

At-Home Discipleship and Session Recordings

November 2, 2025: Session 1 – 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: Session 2 – 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 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.

December At-Home Discipleship

First Reconciliation Workbook – Session 4: Forgiveness and Healing (pp. 105-134)
Blessed Videos – Season 4

January 2026

At-Home Discipleship

First Reconciliation Workbook – Session 5: Your First Reconciliation (p. 174)
Blessed Videos – Season 5

February 2026

At-Home Discipleship

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

March 2026

At-Home Discipleship

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

April 2026

At-Home Discipleship

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