If you have a child who has been baptized AND he or she has already completed one year of Religious Education, you may register your child for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist preparation.
Preparation is both “family based” and “parish based.”
Each child will receive preparation books to be completed with the parents at home.
For more information about children receiving First Reconciliation, please contact Krisen Porcaro at [email protected] or at 201-337-5537.
Reconciliation Experience the Sacrament of our Lord's forgiving love on Saturdays immediately following the 8:30am Mass or by appointment with the Pastor, or at any reasonable time upon request. Please contact our Pastor, Rev. Dr. Robert McLaughlin (Fr. Bob), at [email protected] or at 201-337-7596, ext. 314.
What if it’s been a long time since I’ve been to confession? Then thanks be to God that you’ve decided to return to the sacrament! That choice itself shows that God is moving in your heart and calling you to Himself.
You have absolutely nothing to be nervous or fearful about, since the sacrament’s very purpose is to restore you to fellowship with God and bring about healing and forgiveness. So please put aside all worries that would detract from your experience of reconciliation and God’s love. Our sincere hope is that you eventually choose to make this sacrament a regular part of your spiritual life. It is the means that Christ Himself established for the forgiveness of sins and for the continued application of the power of His Cross in our lives:
“Jesus said to them [His Apostles] again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” (John 20:21-23)
Jesus Himself thus connects the forgiveness of sins with the giving of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who helps us to grow in virtue and holiness. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a significant aid in that process.
What if I don’t remember what to say in confession? Don't worry. The priest will guide you through precisely what you need to say or do. To give you an idea, the sacrament consists of the following:
Examination of Conscience
Before actually sitting down with the priest in confession, you should look prayerfully into your heart and review how you have hurt your relationship with God and others through thoughts, words, and actions.
When you actually begin the sacrament in the Reconciliation Room, it will consist of the following:
1. Priest’s Greeting
The priest greets you and invites you to make the Sign of the Cross. He may read a brief passage from the Bible.
2. Confession of Sins You tell the priest how long it’s been since your last confession and then tell the priest what sins you have committed. Traditionally, the formula used is, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been [length of time] since my last confession…”
You should confess both the degree or severity and frequency of sins, since it is important for the priest to know this information in order to assess an appropriate penance and to offer a corresponding word of counsel. It is important to confess all serious sins of which you are conscious. If you later realize that you had sincerely forgotten to mention something, you need not worry. You’re covered.
3. Penance
The priest will give you a penance to perform, which usually consists of an act of kindness and/or prayers to be said. Penance is important because it gives us the ability to demonstrate that we are truly sorry for the sins we have committed by expressing that fact in concrete, good deeds.
4. Expressing Sorrow for Sin
You then verbally express sorrow for your sins, either by using a traditional prayer such as the Act of Contrition or by speaking genuinely from the heart. (If you'd like a copy of the Act of Contrition, click on the link to the left under Documents.)
5. Absolution
The priest prays the words of absolution over you, ending with “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” while making the Sign of the Cross over you. You respond with “Amen.”
You are then dismissed with the priest’s words, “Go in peace.”
What if I am embarrassed or self-conscious about confessing my sins?
Again, there is no need to be alarmed. First, you have the option of sitting face-to-face with the priest or behind a wooden screen that shields your identity. Second, it is unlikely that you are going to tell the priest something that he hasn’t heard multiple times before, so you are probably not going to cause shock or scandal. Third, the priest is there to forgive you, not judge you. Fourth, there is truly something beneficial and healing about getting a spiritual burden off your chest by voicing your sins and hearing that they are forgiven. We trust that this will be the impression you’ll have when the sacrament is over, not you dwelling on the things you told the priest.