Sacrament Preparation

Reconciliation and First Eucharist

The second grade devotes much of the second and third quarters of the school year in preparation for the reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. Parents are required to attend the preparation meetings and the monthly Families Growing in Faith gatherings.

Penance services are planned for grades three through eight during the school year so that students can receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation together as a class, usually during Advent and Lent. Second grade students also receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Lent.

Sacrament of Confirmation

The study and preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation begins in the seventh grade and is completed in the eighth grade year. Periods of prayer, dialogue and reflection, including a retreat experience, are all part of the preparation for the reception of the sacrament.

Parents and Confirmation sponsors are REQUIRED to attend the preparation meetings scheduled for them.  Seventh and eighth grade confirmation candidates and their parents are required to attend the Families Growing in Faith gatherings held monthly.

Families Growing in Faith

The parents of second grade students preparing for First Eucharist and seventh and eighth grade students and their parents attend a monthly meeting in which they read more about their faith and discuss questions of faith as a family.

Rite of Christian Initiation for Children (RCIC)

Children in third through eighth grades who have not been baptized or received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist are invited to participate in the RCIC program. Children who wish to be Catholic, and whose parents support this effort, or are baptized Catholic but have not yet celebrated the Sacraments mentioned above, are invited to contact the Pastor of NDV Church or the Vice Principal to register for the RCIC program.