First Communion
The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. (CCC 1324)
Religious Education and Faith Formation - First Communion
The parish is the center of faith formation for Catholics. Every person in your pews, every Catholic in your parish community—child, youth, young adult, adult, senior—is on their own journey towards Jesus Christ and a life of discipleship. Our faith formation begins at Baptism. We are beginning to provide Family Religious Education and Faith Formation within our Sacramental Preparation Formation for First Communion and Confirmation.
Requirements for entering the First Holy Communion Sacramental Preparation Family Formation:
- Must be Baptized and be 7 years old or older or in 2nd grade or higher. If your child has not been Baptized, they may enter the First Communion Two Year Formation, be Baptized after the first year and make their First Holy Communion at the end of the second year.
- We do have groups meeting with catechists for older children (up to age 17) for those wishing to be Baptized or to make their First Holy Communion.
- Copy of Baptismal certificate is required for those who have been Baptized.
First Communion Formation
The First Communion Sacramental Preparation Formation is for two years beginning with children 7 years old and up or in 2nd grade or higher. Year One is focused on First Reconciliation and Year Two is focused on First Communion. We are engaged in the Sacramental Formation process through the Faith and Life Series of Ignatius Press. For our older children we are also using Our Sunday Visitor and Loyola Press. Curriculum requirements can be found on the website of the San Francisco Archdiocesan Office of Faith Formation (http://www.sfarch.org/ooff).
Parents will be attending a monthly Parent Session, which consists of a short catechetical review with instructions on how to teach catechism to your children at home. Parents will also attend a retreat for the parents and their children.
Calendar of Classes:
Mondays from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Wednesdays from (RCIA for children)
Saturdays 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Saturdays from 9:15 am - 10:15 am (Special Education)
Catechists:
Mondays: Jeanette De La Rosa
Wednesdays: Violy Carnero, Teresa Brigido
Fridays: Tess Valido, Marcy Bautista
Saturdays: Magdalena Mendez, Guadalupe Nava
Saturdays Special Education Formation: Valeria Monroy
Understanding the Mass
The central act of worship in the Catholic Church is the Mass. It is in the liturgy that the saving death and resurrection of Jesus once for all is made present again in all its fullness and promise – and we are privileged to share in His Body and Blood, fulfilling his command as we proclaim his death and resurrection until He comes again. It is in the liturgy that our communal prayers unite us into the Body of Christ. It is in the liturgy that we most fully live out our Christian faith.
The central act of worship in the Catholic Church is the Mass. It is in the liturgy that the saving death and resurrection of Jesus once for all is made present again in all its fullness and promise – and we are privileged to share in His Body and Blood, fulfilling his command as we proclaim his death and resurrection until He comes again. It is in the liturgy that our communal prayers unite us into the Body of Christ. It is in the liturgy that we most fully live out our Christian faith.
“At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.
“The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.
The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’.” (CCC 1323-24, 1384)
First Holy Communion prepares children to receive First Reconciliation and First Eucharist. The preparation usually begins in the 1st grade and finishes in the 2nd grade. For older children or adult there is a separate preparation program. Classes are offered in both Spanish and English. Please contact the Parish Office.
