The Sacrament of Reconciliation is received typically in second grade before children receive their first Communion. As adults we are asked by the Church to go as often as one feels called, but at a minimum once per year. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of the Catholic faith. Jesus Christ himself, in His abundant love and mercy, established this sacrament so that we as sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconciliation with God and the Church. The sacrament “washes us clean,” and renews us in Christ
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:21-23
Children prepare to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation through St. Anne’s Faith Formation Program. Preparation begins in the Fall, and typically students will receive this sacrament in December.
“Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and…service are the rule…Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents are better able to guide and correct them… Parents should initiate their children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith of which they are the ‘first heralds’ for their children. They should associate them from their tenderest years with the life of the Church. A wholesome family life can foster interior dispositions that are a genuine preparation for a living faith and remain a support for it throughout one’s life…Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and to discover their vocation as children of God. The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents.”
Excerpts from CCC 2221-2226