Sacraments

The Church celebrates seven Sacraments -

Children's Preparation

The Diocese of Broken Bay provides resources for four weeks of preparation for Confirmation, Reconciliation and First Communion. 

Each week there are rituals for home, worksheets for home, small group sessions and rituals at the Sunday Mass. Details of the process, including a booklet for parents, are given at the Parents’ Meeting held at the beginning of each preparation cycle.

After the four week period there is a rehearsal and a summary presentation to the children.

With regards to the group sessions, one or more parents within each group will take the role of leader of the group.  Leaders receive additional support in the form of a leaders’ handbook. There is also a leaders’ meeting prior to the sessions to provide materials for the group sessions and to show how to prepare the sessions.

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Parish Life
- Milestones

We measure our journey in life by the significant milestones along the way. The Church sacraments celebrate the milestones in Christian life.

Children's Milestones - Sacraments of Initiation

Baptism is the first of the sacraments of initiation. Infants and children up to the age of discernment are baptised in the faith of the Church. This faith is proclaimed for them by their parents and godparents. To fulfil the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in which they have been baptised. For further details on children's baptism click here.

The next sacrament of initiation is Confirmation. In Broken Bay Diocese, all children in Year 2 or older are eligible to be confirmed. They celebrate their first Reconciliation and First communion within eighteen months of being confirmed. Please see the sidebar to the right for details of the preparation process.

Adults' Milestones

The sacraments of Christian initiation for adults are normally celebrated each year at the Easter Vigil.  For further details on adult initiation click here.

Other milestones celebrated with Church sacraments include Marriage, Ordination and Anointing of the Sick. The final milestone, Christian funeral, marks the transition from this life, through death to eternal life.