Faith Formation

The Sacrament of Reconcilliation
The Sacrament of Penance, commonly called Confession, is one of the seven sacraments recognized by the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that all of the sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ himself. In the case of Confession, that institution occurred on Easter Sunday, when Christ first appeared to the apostles after his Resurrection. Breathing on them, he said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23).
The Sacrament of First Communion 
The Eucharist, which Catholics believe is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, is the central focus of the Catholic faith, since it is Jesus Himself. Therefore, being able to receive the Eucharist for the first time is called “First Communion” or First Holy Communion. 

In order to prepare our student for the sacrament of reconciliation and their first communion here at St. Joseph Catholic School students start to prepare for the sacarment of reconciliation and their first communion in the first grade by attending religion classes. Our students receive the sacrament of reconcilliation (first confession) followed by their first communion in the third grade.