What? No sacraments in school?

[Jennifer_J]

I too send my son to a Catholic school. I also take him to Mass and talk about Jesus at home.
I decided to send him to a Catholic school so he could receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation, with his schoolmates as a community.

Last year I was so disappointed. It was time for my son to make his First Holy Communion.

His school has done away with the Sacrament of Reconciliation - no idea why.
Contact your local Bishop about this, if talking to the Priest and DRE doesn’t get answers. You’ll need to pursue this if you want a change!!
I got sent home a letter that I had to pay $25 for my son to make this Sacrament.

I asked why.

I got a list emailed of things that are supplied to children making their First Communion.

They are:
a stole
a mass book
a medallion
arts’n’crafts for work at school
certificate

Well I was shocked. I asked why I had to pay extra for private school fees, if I wasn’t going to get the Sacraments for that price.

I was told that not all children at the school do the Sacraments, so it is unfair to incorporate the cost into the fees.
I’m sure these things come from the Faith Formation part of your Parish and NOT the school. Sacrament prep is done through RE/Faith Formation
I was so shocked and angry.

My son never wore the stole, as I gave him his Baptism stole to wear, as it seemed more symbolic.

The mass book is a tiny book that explains the Mass, and RCIA people get a copy for free.
Apparently as there are more students than RCIA candidates, the students have to pay for them, and the RCIA candidates dont.

The medallion is just a tiny inexpensive silver cross as a memento. They are donated by the Parents Association - so should not be inscluded with this $25 fee.

The certificate my son received was just an average certificate that can be printed from any computer.

None of the children celebrated this Sacrament with each other. Parents were asked to subit any Mass in August for this occassion.

I submitted the Saturday night vigil, and there ended up only being my son and another boy from his class there.

Gone are the days it looks with rows of children all in white.

Oh yeah, they dont even have to wear white dresses now if they are girls, as that is “hard for people who cant afford such gear”, so Sunday best is encouraged instead.

It is really a shame that my son wont experience the joy as much as what I did, although it is joyous to receive Our Lord.
Get involved in your Parish Faith Formation Committee if you want changes made!

God bless, Jennifer

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

I guess I’m having a hard time tracking this discussion, because my parish does have a real parish school. The church and the school are separated by parking lot. It’s not like they are entirely separate institutions. The children walk across the parking lot for school Masses in the church. The priests walk across the parking lot to visit or teach in the school.

The thing that puzzles me, from some the comments made here is this: If parish schools are teaching the theory of sacraments, but not sacramental preparation, I still don’t understand the need for a separate sacramental prep course (how to do it.) After learning the basics of sacraments, presumably in the Catholic school, one can learn “how to do it” in about 10 minutes per sacrament.

Yep, same here.

I think it’s because the pastor, with the parents, is responsible for making sure the children know what they’re doing.

The other is local customs. I mean, let’s face it, things can be at times very different from one parish to the next, even though the basic actions are the same. Parish A might be a part of Diocese I and stand through teh Eucharist, and Parsih B might be part of Diocese II and kneeel, for example.

My elder granddaughter is making her First Communion with her class in late April. Each child sits in a reserved pew with his or her family.

 

[kellie]

kellie;1857824:

I decided to send him to a Catholic school so he could receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation, with his schoolmates as a community.

I only wish to comment on one smal line of your post.

Catholic Community is gathered around the parish. The local Catholic parish is the center of the Catholic community. The Pastor is canonically responsible for the celebration of the Sacraments within his patish boundries.

I’m sure that your parish school has students attending who don’t belong to the parish. Heck, some may not even be Catholic.

Anyway, it is the home parish where the student belongs, which is his/her faith based community, and where the Sacraments are to be received and where preparation for those Sacraments are made.

Jim

Of course I meant my son receives his Sacraments AT the Parish he belongs to.

Most parishes here in Melbourne have a primary school attached to them.

So all students at my son’s school belong to the same parish, the church which is on the same block of land.

The preperation has always been dealt with by the school.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Years ago when I was coordinator for the Confirmation program in my parish, I made it mandatory that all Confirmation Candidates attend our preparation program. This included students attending the two Catholic High Schools in our city. One school was a diocesan school, which had no Confirmation preparation. The other was run by a religious order, but it too, had no Confirmation preparation. I had the support of the priest who was in charge of religious education.

This worked until our parish hired an ex-nun, as director of Religions Education. She, immediately ended the mandate that students attending Catholic High school, must attend Confirmation preparation classes in order to receive Confirmation.

I spoke to her about it, and she was completely closed minded about it. Students attending Catholic High schools were learning enough about religion, that preparation for Confirmation, was not needed. The priest who was then in charge gave her full authority on these decisions.

She actually had a snobbish attitude against students who did not attend Catholic schools in general and didn’t want Catholic school students mixing with them.

Anyway, she was eventually fired from the job, but the result of her decision was, four years of confirming students who were not prepared for the sacrament they received.

Jim