St. Anthony Parish

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING RECEPTION OF ALL SACRAMENTS AND PROMOTION TO THE NEXT GRADE LEVELS

For All Sacraments and to promote to the next grade level:

ABSENCES FOR THE YEAR MUST NOT EXCEED 4

We are entrusted with your children for only one classroom hour per week, and in that hour, we endeavor to teach and prepare them for the reception of a sacrament or promotion to the next grade level. Teachers and assistants are here to begin classes on time and lessons are planned to span the entire hour. Students arriving late to class not only miss important information, but disrupt the teacher and other students. Every effort must be made to 1) have your children here each week, and 2) have your children here on time. More than four (4) absences, including tardies, will hold your child back from promotion or reception of a sacrament.

CHILDREN MUST ATTEND MASS

Parents are the primary teachers and have the ultimate responsibility for passing on their faith to their children. Our faith is centered around one hour of praise and thanksgiving at Mass each week. Everything we talk about in the classroom setting has a direct reference to each Sunday’s Mass. Children who miss Mass are missing out on part of their lesson, and the lesson becomes abstract and obscure. Therefore, please, please assure that your children are being prepared for sacraments and promotion by attending Mass each Sunday.

Based on the above information, the DRE, in consultation with the Pastor, will determine if your child is properly prepared to receive a sacrament or promote to the next grade level.

Baptism

• Parents of children seven years and younger can arrange baptisms by telephoning the Parish Office at 428-5678.

• Children eight years or older can arrange for baptismal preparation by telephoning the Catholic Faith Formation Office at 392-6362. Children eight years or older will receive the Sacrament of Baptism during the Easter Vigil Mass through the initiation rites. During this liturgy, the children will also receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Eucharist. Preparation for these sacraments takes a minimum of two years. The Director of Religious Education, in consultation with the Pastor, will determine whether the child is prepared to receive the sacraments.

Reconciliation and First Holy Eucharist

• Reconciliation and First Holy Eucharist are celebrated generally in the third grade. In order to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Eucharist, the children must be attending their third consecutive year of classes. They must have successfully completed Beginning Year I and Beginning Year II , and be currently enrolled and regularly attending the Eucharist/Reconciliation class.

Confirmation

         Candidates must be in 7^th grade or above and must have been continually attending a faith formation program. 

Out of Sequence

• Children between the levels of fifth and twelfth grade who have been baptized, had previous religious education in the Catholic Faith, but who have not received one or another of their sacraments, are described as “out of sequence”. If your child is out of sequence, he or she must register for the appropriate age level. The family must indicate that the child is out of sequence and tell us the sacrament the child needs. We will assure that the child is catechized in order to receive the sacrament. The child and his or her family must also schedule an appointment with the Director of Religious Education prior to, or within the first month of enrollment, to discuss the child’s preparation.

Rite of Christian Initiation - A serious family commitment.

• Children who are between the ages of 8 and 17 who have not been baptized must enroll in the “initiation process”. The family may wish to schedule an appointment with the Director of Religious Education prior to enrollment to discuss the initiation process. Children who successfully completed the RCIA I program last year are to register for RCIA II.

• Children who are between the ages of 8 and 17 who have been baptized but who have had little or no education of the Catholic Faith must also enroll in the “initiation process”. The family may wish to schedule an appointment with the Director of Religious Education prior to enrollment to discuss the initiation process. Children who successfully completed the RCIA I program last year are to register for RCIA II.