FIRST HOLY COMMUNION APPLICATIONS 2023/2024
Children entering Year 3 of primary school will be eligible to receive Holy Communion for the first time next summer. It is the duty, and privilege, of parents to prepare their child for this important step, with the support of the Parish. To this end, there are regular sessions for the children together with their parents/carers, each month. In order to undertake this programme, it is important that you are prepared to make the following commitments:
· You must attend the information meeting.
· Attend all of the sessions together with your child
· Please understand that missing sessions with no good reason will mean deferring your child’s First Holy Communion until next year
· To attend Mass weekly, as a family.
· To spend time regularly with your child, continuing on from the group sessions and working on the book at home.
Please note that children should be prepared for their First Holy Communion in the parish where the family regularly worships.
The deadline for submission of Application Forms for the 2023-24 First Holy Communion classes has now closed. You will be invited to request an application form for the 2024-25 Course from May 2024. Please see this page, or the Parish Newsletter for updates.
First Holy Commuion 2023/24 Course Dates
A second group has been created this year to cater for the older children preparing to make their First Holy Communion. The younger group will meet at 10:00am. The older group will meet at 5:00pm. On certain dates, the two groups will come together. Please refer to the table below:
Unless indicated otherwise, the Younger Group will meet at 10:00am, and the Older Group will meet at 5pm
23rd September
7th October
14th October
4t November
25th November
Sunday 26th November - Both Groups - 9:00am Mass
9th December - Both Groups - Time to be advised - First Reconciliation
13th January
27th January
3rd February
24th February
9th March
Sunday 10th March - Both Groups - 9:00am Mass
20th April - Both Groups - 10:00am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Reconciliation
27th April - Both Groups - Time to be advised - Rehearsals
4th May - Both Groups - Time to be advised - First Holy Communion Mass
11th May - Both Groups - Time to be advised - First Holy Communion Mass
19th May
20th May - Both Groups - Time to be advised - Mass followed by presentation of Certificates and Celebration
Parish Coordinator : Anne Mellis
FHC Email: catfordfhc@rcaos.org.uk
CONFESSION
In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method of the Church by which individual men and women confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by God through the administration of a Priest. The Catholic rite, obligatory at least once a year for serious sin, is usually conducted within a confessional box, booth or reconciliation room. This sacrament is known by many names, including penance, reconciliation and confession (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sections 1423-1442). While official Church publications usually refer to the sacrament as "Penance", "Reconciliation" or "Penance and Reconciliation", many laypeople continue to use the term "Confession" in reference to the Sacrament.
For the Catholic Church, the intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, lost by sin. A perfect act of contrition, wherein the penitent expresses sorrow for having offended God and not out of fear of eternal punishment, even outside of confession removes the eternal punishment associated with mortal sin but a Catholic is obliged to confess his or her mortal sins at the earliest opportunity.[3] In theological terms, the priest acts in persona Christi and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The Council of Trent (Session Fourteen, Chapter I) quoted John 20:22-23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine concerning this sacrament, but Catholics also consider Matthew 9:2-8, 1 Corinthians 11:27, and Matthew 16:17-20 to be among the Scriptural bases for the sacrament.
The Catholic Church teaches that sacramental confession requires three "acts" on the part of the penitent: contrition (sorrow of the soul for the sins committed), disclosure of the sins (the 'confession'), and satisfaction (the 'penance', i.e. doing something to make amends for the sins).[4] The basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly.[5]
Typically, the penitent begins sacramental confession by saying, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time period] since my last confession." The penitent must then confess what he/she believes to be grave and mortal sins, in both kind and number,[6] in order to be reconciled with God and the Church. The sinner may also confess venial sins; this is especially recommended if the penitent has no mortal sins to confess. According to the Catechism, "without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's Mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as He is merciful".[7] "When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon."[8] As a result, if the confession was good, "the sacrament was valid" even the penitent inadvertently forgot some mortal sins, which are forgiven as well. As a safeguard not to become something like "subconsciously inadvertent" to avoid saying some sins, these must be confessed in the next confession (if the penitent then remembers them; or generally in the first confession in which they are remembered). Even then it is allowed, however allowed, and even, except for certain devotional purposes, generally sensible to concentrate in one's examination of conscience on the time since the last Confession