PARENTS > FIRST RECONCILIATION

Session 1: At Home This Week

Welcome!

Dear parents or guardians,

Thanks for all that you do! Being a parent requires tons of self-sacrifice.  Most of what you do for your child is seen by no one, and often not even appreciated by your child!  But THANK YOU.  On behalf of the faith community to which you belong--the Catholic Church--thank you!  Because of you--and only because of you--your child will grow up Catholic....

A Quick Review of the Sacraments
Take two minutes to get a quick review of the seven sacraments in this video from Video Catechism.  

You can watch with your child.

Why Do We Confess?
Why do Catholics confess using the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Here is a five minute video from our friends at Busted Halo with some answers.

If you'd like to learn even more about this question, also check out this excellent short video.


These videos will be tough for younger children to understand.

Review

God Chooses ME

In this first session, we focused on how reconciliation is part of a lifelong process beginning with baptism and introduced the beginning of the rite.  
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Review the lesson with your child.  Look through the handouts with your child, asking what he or she remembers or has questions about.

Learning to Pray

Four Prayers to Learn

There are many great ways to pray, but memorizing traditional prayers is a great way to start.  For Reconciliation, it will be important for your child to know prayers that might be assigned as a penance.
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Help your child learn the Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, prayers that every Catholic child should know by heart. Of course, you as parent or guardian should know them, too.  This week, help your child start memorizing, perhaps practicing and praying them together at bedtime and/or when driving to Mass.