First Reconciliation
The Church invites all children who have been Baptized and attained the age of reason to prepare to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist for the first time. “The age of reason” is generally interpreted to be around 7 years-old, or entering the second grade, but each child is different so Seton Parish invites those children who are minimally entering the second grade to begin their First Eucharist Preparation.
The Church recommends that children should make their first Reconciliation (aka Penance, Confession) before receiving their First Eucharist.
Also, the Church requires a year of faith formation, either through the parish or through a Catholic school, in the year prior to preparing for these Sacraments. Special Note: due to the extraordinary circumstances of the past year caused by the coronavirus pandemic, this requirement for a year of prior formation is being waived for 2021-2022.
Our approach to preparing for these Sacraments is to prepare for First Reconciliation during the first semester (October-December) and then prepare for First Eucharist during the second semester (January-March) – so it’s one comprehensive year that includes BOTH sacraments.
We believe that children learn best from their parents and that the whole family shares in the responsibility for preparation. We also believe that parents need support, that children benefit by hearing from other adults and that children need interaction with other children. Our approach, therefore is a hybrid of at-home family meetings with parent/child gathered sessions.
We ask for $80 as a registration fee, which covers the expense of all the materials for BOTH sacraments. No family will ever be turned away due to financial issues so scholarships are available to those who request them.
Please click here to pay by credit card through our secure Give Central site. You may also mail a check into the Parish Office if you’d prefer. So that we apply the check correctly, PLEASE write the name(s) of
the child(ren) and “First Eucharist Prep” on the memo line of the check.