First Confession

The Sacrament of Confession is a person's personal experience of God's Mercy and it was given to the Church at Pentecost when Jesus appeared to the Apostles, breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive will be forgiven them".  To prepare a child for First Confession some basic knowledge is helpful for parents and their children.  Please review the topics below and assist your child in knowing the value of receiving God's Mercy and discovering that He desires them to grow in holiness. 

Formation of Conscience

The church has long held that when a child reaches the "age of reason", they are able to differentiate between right and wrong and therefore become accountable for their choices and actions.  A parent of a child preparing for 1st Confession can first help the child identify the difference between an accident and a choice and reinforce their ability to choose the good and avoid evil. 

What is Sin?

Sin came into the world through our first parents, Adam and Eve.  This is called "original sin" and it was washed away at baptism.  Different from original sin but resulting from it is "actual sin" which is sin committed personally.  Catholic moral tradition had divided actual sin into two categories according to its gravity: mortal sin and venial sin.  Venial sin harms the spiritual relationship between God and man, but mortal sin completely breaks the spiritual relationship between God and man.  When you commit a mortal sin, you cut yourself off entirely from the life of Christ and have deliberately chosen to give up your place in heaven.  There are three conditions for mortal sin:  (1) it must be a grave or serious matter as defined by the church, (2) You must have full knowledge that this act will separate you from God and (3) You must give complete consent, knowing that it is grave and choosing to do it anyway.  If all three conditions are not met, the sin is not mortal.  The fact that venial sin does not completely sever our relationship with God does not mean it can be dismissed as unimportant.  Venial sins lead to mortal sins because they weaken the grace active in the life of a person. 

Helping your Child

Often times children at the age of First Confession have difficulty with (1) their siblings or school friends (2) learning how to share (3) learning how to verbalize instead of resorting to physical actions (4) following directions call "obedience" to parents and teachers (4) telling the truth and being able to differentiate between a lie and a "stretching of the truth", (5) self control in not taking things that do not belong to them from cookies to an other's toys.  Helping your child with these basic areas of choices that are appropriate for their age level can help prepare your child for a good First Confession. 

How is the Sacrament Celebrated for First Confession

The local church celebrates the Sacrament of First Confession in a communal setting.  There will be several time slots to choose on two or more Saturdays.  There will be several visiting Priests who will have stations within the church where your child may sit face to face and celebrate the sacrament.  There will be a reception following the celebration and several preparation sessions for parents and children.