FIRST PENANCE AND FIRST EUCHARIST
Parents wishing their child to receive the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist for the first time should reflect through their own practice of their Catholic faith and the importance of it.
In the sacrament of Penance, we have the opportunity to confess sorrow for the sins we may have committed and receive the loving mercy of God. The Eucharist is the pinnacle of our expression of faith. Jesus, through the prayers of the priest, becomes truly present in the bread and wine. It is the summit and the source of all Christian worship and life. It signifies and effects the unity of the Church.
Diocesan policy states that sacramental preparation be a two-year course of study; therefore, a child must be enrolled in a religious education program for one full year prior to receiving the sacrament, with no more than three absences per year.
We look at two areas to evaluate your child’s readiness to receive the sacraments: knowledge (class attendance) and practice (participation at weekly Mass). A delay in receiving the sacrament may be required if we feel one area needs improvement.

CONFIRMATION
The sacrament of Confirmation continues to guide one on the path of Christian initiation. At Baptism, the Catholic is enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and is bound more perfectly to the Church. Through Confirmation, the person is strengthened and obliged to witness to Christ more firmly by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith.
Diocesan policy states that sacramental preparation be a two-year course of study; therefore, a child must be enrolled in a religious education program for one full year prior to receiving the sacrament.
In the Diocese of Harrisburg, Confirmation is conferred during the spring of the eighth grade year on a deanery level.
We look at two areas to evaluate your child’s readiness to receive the sacraments: knowledge (class attendance) and practice (participation at weekly Mass). A delay in receiving the sacrament may be required if we feel one area needs improvement.

Candidates
* Must be a practicing Catholic (and regularly attending Mass). * Must be at least in the eighth grade.
* Must be carefully instructed in the fundamental doctrines of the Faith.
* May wish to assume an additional name at Confirmation or may prefer to use the name given them at Baptism. If a new name is adopted, it is the responsibility of the pastor of each parish to see that only saints’ names, or names of Christian significance, are presented by the candidates.

Sponsors
Each candidate shall have a separate sponsor for Confirmation. It is desirable that the godparent at Baptism, if possible, also be the sponsor at Confirmation. This role may be filled by anyone else who is qualified for the office:
* To be admitted to the role of sponsor, a person must have completed his/her sixteenth year, be a Catholic who has been confirmed and leads a life in harmony with the faith and the role to be undertaken (must be a practicing Catholic, validly married, etc.). The sponsor need not be the same sex as the one being confirmed.
* During the actual Confirmation, the sponsor shall place his/her right hand on the candidate’s right shoulder. The practice of parents presenting their child- ren to the Bishop at the time of Confirmation is not encouraged.
* Parents are not permitted by Canon Law to act as sponsors.