This Sacrament of Holy Communion is the second stage of a person’s enrolment in the Catholic Church. The first stage is Baptism and the third, the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Enrolment in the Church is not like joining a club. It is to do with a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ within the community of the Church. To prepare to celebrate this Sacrament the individual must be a practising Catholic (i.e. attending Mass every Sunday). That is how partly the relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church Community is built up.
Those preparing for the Sacrament of Communion are assisted by a group of experienced catechists with the help of volunteers who are supervised.
Applications to join the preparation programme for the Sacrament are invited during the summer each year. Application forms are only distributed at Mass and those applying must be entering year 3 at school in the following September. When the form is returned completed it must be accompanied by a copy of the person’s Baptismal Certificate.
The specific preparation lessons for the children take place after the 9.45am Mass, which the applicants will have celebrated together and which will have been slightly adapted for them to participate.
A charge is made to parents to cover the cost of training materials, photograph, etc.