St. Mark Catholic Parish

The following letter and blank form was sent home with each Grade 7 student attending St. Mark’s and St. Dominic’s Schools in the Fall of 2019.  If you did not receive this package, or if your child attends a different school, please pick up a package from the parish office.

November 2019

Dear Parents:

You are receiving this letter because you have a child attending Grade Seven, the grade when a person is eligible to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Sacraments are sacred mystery and they are at the very root and life of the Church.  Our faith teaches that through Sacrament, God becomes present to His Church in a unique way that calls the person receiving the Sacrament into relationship with Him.  To be considered a full member of the Catholic Church, a person must have received the three Sacraments of Christian Initiation:  Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.  For this reason, this is a very important moment in the faith development of your child because it imparts a Catholic identity.

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life that unites us to one another, to the Church and to Christ Himself, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”  Therefore, if you are requesting the Sacrament of Confirmation for your child, as Catholic parents, I encourage you to take an active role in ensuring your son or daughter will have a sufficient understanding and be ready to receive the Sacrament next spring.  Attending Sunday Mass and receiving the Eucharist is the single-most important thing you can do as a parent, and, in doing so, we enter into the life of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.

The parish-based preparation program consists of five meetings (see dates below) and will follow the Diocese of Hamilton’s Sacramental Guidelines for the Christian Initiation of Children, which can be found on their website at http://www.hamiltondiocese.com/offices/ catechesis/sacraments/parents.

To request and enroll for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist, all candidates should attend one of the Masses on the weekend of Nov. 30 / Dec. 1 (the First Sunday of Advent):

Enrollment Ceremony Mass:
Sat. Nov. 30 at 5:00 p.m.  OR  Sun. Dec. 1 at 9:30 a.m.  OR  11:30 a.m.
During this Mass, Candidates will be asked to come forward after Communion and present their completed enrollment form requesting the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Preparation Meetings:
SUNDAYS AFTER 11:30AM MASS (approx. 12:30)
Candidates are expected to attend sessions 2 through 5.  Parents are expected to attend three sessions (Jan. 12, April 19 and May 3).  There will be no opportunity to make-up missed sessions.

Rehearsal:
Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Church

The Sacrament of Confirmation:
Monday, May 25, 2020 at 7:00 pm with Bishop Fred Colli

Candidates should arrive no later than 6:30 p.m. to gather in the parish hall to get sized for their gown.  Red gowns are rented by the parish.  An offering of $10 to help defray the cost to the parish is greatly appreciated, and can be sent to your child’s teacher before May 1, 2020.

Peace,
Fr. Steve Murrin