2nd Grade Sacrament Preparation

"Second grade is such an exciting year for students to grow and learn about their faith through two great sacraments: Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist." - Jackie Thompson, 2nd grade teacher

     At the beginning of the year, we always explain to the kids that the reason they receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion in second grade is because they’re coming to that age of reasoning where they can distinguish between right and wrong. When they were really little, they weren’t really aware of the choices they were making, but in second grade, they start realizing those choices could be a sin, if they’re choosing to say no to God. And of course they’re so innocent and sweet that God just wants them to come to him. Just like Jesus says in the Gospels, “Let the little children come to me.”
     Additionally, early on in the year, we give parents the prayers and 38 questions that the second graders will be learning. There are a few new prayers that they have to learn like the Act of Contrition, the 10 Commandments, and the confession “formula.”
     The 38 questions are taken from the 92 questions, which they go over in 5th grade as part of their Confirmation preparation. It all builds on top of each other. In second grade, they’re asked questions about their faith and their sacrament. So an example would be, “Who is God? He’s our Father in Heaven. He made everything and everybody.”
The students will be studying them at home and then we will pull them out and study them in class. The kids will ask each other, I will ask them, parents will come and help sit in the hallway and go through the questions. Then our goal is for all students to know the answers to the 38 questions by their First Holy Communion.

(2nd grade singing in the K-5 Christmas Concert, 2022)

"Let the children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." (Luke 18:16)

*The Second Grade Retreat* As part of the second grade sacrament preparation, we take the kids out to the retreat house and we spend that whole day growing closer to Jesus through the sacraments, preparing things, making a rosary, baking unleavened bread, making a banner for the day to decorate at home, and they play a faith game. If they’ve had their First Reconciliation at that point, then they can actually have confession with the priest too while on the retreat. We spend the whole day there. It’s really a lot of fun and often their first experience of a retreat.	(Second grade retreat, Spring 2022)
(First Holy Communion, Spring 2022)	*The Joy of Sacrament Preparation* Everything about sacrament preparation with second grade is my favorite. I mean it’s the highlight of teaching here. I feel bad for all the other teachers who don’t get to teach it because it’s just so rewarding. Seeing the kids come to that realization in their faith of knowing the difference between right and wrong, I just feel like it’s such a huge step and I’m happy to be a part of it. I have quite a few parents that will tell me that their child has really changed, behavior-wise, just because of that right and wrong. They’re learning more about how to help and obey. You see so much growth. Then the day of their First Holy Communion is just so amazing. There’s nothing that can go wrong. Because it’s all just for God.
The Magnifikid! The Magnifikid! publication has been really good for the second graders because it really helps them follow along with the Mass, stay focused, and gives them something to do because sometimes they get distracted at church. We’ll use them to go through the Sunday Mass readings in class and talk about them a little bit so they recognize them when they go to Mass on Sunday. And it has fun little activities, which engages them as well.	(Second graders reading their Magnifikids!, Fall 2022)
(First Holy Communion, Spring 2022)	Continuing Sacrament Preparation at Home I’d say getting kids involved in anything that the church is doing. For example, when we have our holy hours at Cathedral, take them to those things. Make sure that they’re attending Mass on Sunday, even on vacations or anywhere else. Let them experience Mass in another place and just see that we’re all together in the same faith. The mass will go the exact same as it does here. Let them experience that. Bringing them to things at the church is really insightful for the kids more than parents even realize.