SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION PROGRAM 2023
Please read carefully the following information
You will need to complete a separate registration form for each Sacrament your child is seeking to receive.
Please note the opening and closing registration dates for each Sacrament program.
This is important since the parish needs to book suitable rooms and ensure that we have available Catechists.
This year our 2023 Sacramental program will include the parishes of Malvern and Malvern East.
Preparing children to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Holy Communion is primarily the responsibility of parents. This is a responsibility that all parents promise to undertake when their children are baptised as infants.
The most important part of your child’s preparation for the sacraments is their regular participation in the Sunday Mass and your own example of regular worship, prayer and good works. All other preparation is secondary to that obligation of worshipping together each week with the Christian family gathered around the altar of God. Bringing your children to Mass regularly is an essential part of fulfilling the promises you made at your child’s baptism to bring them up within the life of the church.
God’s love and presence are made real and celebrated in the Sacraments. Important times and experiences in our lives are celebrated and enlivened by God’s presence. Each Sacrament signifies, in a particular way, the transforming love of God and the new life which Jesus Christ brings.
Your parish is ready to assist you in this joyous responsibility of preparing your children for the Sacraments and, to this end, you and your children are invited to become fully involved in the ongoing life of your parish family in addition to the sacramental program offered for your children.
First Reconciliation is normally for children in Year 3 or above, and is celebrated in the 4th term.
First Communion is normally for children in Year 4 or above and is celebrated towards the end of the 2nd term.
Confirmation is normally for children in Years 5 and 6 or above and is celebrated towards the end of the 3rd term. The regional Bishop nominates the dates.
The Sacramental program is not a program at all – it is a ‘sacramental journey’ in which there needs to be a moment of discernment about when we are ready to receive the Sacrament and this has very little to do with age or school year level. It has more to do with the integration into the worshipping life of the parish community and our personal spiritual growth and prayer life.
TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION you must belong to
either the Malvern or Malvern East Parish. If you belong to another Parish, please seek advice from your parish.
Registration is usually open 4-6 weeks prior to the nominated sacrament closing date for registration.
