The school works closely with the Parish and supports the Sacramental Program, particularly through focused Religious Education units. The journey of initiation into the Catholic Church begins with the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Sacramental Program at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School is parish based and is run in small groups of children who each have a parent attend with them. The child works with their parent through learning material which is supplied. The program focuses on the parent sharing faith with their child. Parents usually find that this is a valuable one-on-one time with their child.
Current practice is for the children to receive the sacraments in the following sequence:
Year 3 – Confirmation confirming the baptismal promises and receiving the Holy Spirit to strengthen them.
Year 4 – Reconciliation in preparation for receiving Eucharist.
Year 4 – The Eucharist is the sacrament which comes after Baptism and Confirmation and is the third and final Sacrament of initiation, the climax of the process of initiation into the People of God, the Church.
At school the children complete a unit based on the Sacrament of Confirmation which is run in co-ordination with the Parish Sacramental Program. There are two special units based on Reconciliation in and Eucharist and again, these are run in conjunction with the Parish program.
Of course, there is no requirement for your child to receive these sacraments in these years and families are encouraged to make the decision based on their child’s readiness.
Sacramental Program information evenings are advertised in the weekly Parish Bulletin and the Parish website.
Visit the Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish website for further information regarding the following Sacraments:
- The Sacrament of Confirmation
- The Sacrament of Reconciliation; and
- The Sacrament of First Eucharist First Holy Communion.