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First Penance & Reconciliation

One of seven sacraments of the Catholic Church in which the faithful obtain divine mercy for the sins committed against God and neighbours and are reconciled with the community of the Church.

Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Penance is usually the second Sacrament a person receives usually at about the age of eight and prior to receiving First Holy Communion.  When children are considered to have a sense of right and wrong, they are introduced to the concept of good and evil.  They are encouraged to embrace the good and reject evil.  When they do wrong, they are taught that this hurts God who loves them, hurts others or injures our own dignity as children loved by God and as brothers and sisters of Jesus.

What is Penance?

The Sacrament of Penance forgives us our sins and gives us the strength of God to avoid them in future.  It also provides us with a way to examine our lives in relation to our calling to be like Christ.

How Often Must I go to Confession?

The Church requires that serious sins are confessed before receiving a Sacrament.  In this way, the Church through its ministers continues to make the forgiving love of Jesus available.  The forgiveness of sins was an important element in the public ministry of Jesus while on earth, he even ministered his forgiveness to the repentant thief while he himself was dying on the cross for our sins.

When?

Our parish has arranged for the Sacrament of Penance to be administered prior to the Saturday Vigil Mass from 5.15 p.m. to 5.35 p.m. or by appointment with the Priest or in Ceremonies before Easter and Christmas.
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