"Do I hunger and thirst for salvation, not just for myself, but for all my brothers and sisters? When I receive the Eucharist, which is the miracle of mercy, do I stand in awe before the body of the Lord, who died and rose again for us?" Pope Leo XIV

Sacramental Preparation at Our Lady of Lourdes

Catholic schools are here to complement the work and faith development of our parishes and are an important means for evangelising young people today by teaching them how to live as children of God. We have an important responsibility to support families and parishes in the preparation of children to receive the sacraments. The role of the Our Lady of Lourdes School is to nurture strong partnership between families, parishes and school.

This three way partnership means that Sacraments at OLOL are

• Family Focused
• Parish Led
• School Supported

We expect all Catholic children who enter OLOL to be ready and willing to receive the Sacraments as part of their life faith journey and we welcome members of the Parish Community who do not attend OLOL to join us in the preparation for the Sacraments. Parents must be willing and eager participants for this to be the path their children take in their faith formation.

At OLOL we support children preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation

• Reconciliation (in Year 3)
  • The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the second Sacrament and is also known as Penance and Confession and it is the Sacrament that supports children in understanding of forgiveness, saying sorry for the wrongs done in heart, words, actions and mind, restoring our relationship with God and helping us to make better choices moving forward
• Eucharist (in Year 3)
  • Eucharist is the third Sacrament that Catholics will receive. It is the most important and memorable Sacrament as it allows us to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and in doing so Jesus becomes a part of us. It is also a gift we receive each week at Mass as we remember the sacrifice of Jesus at his death. The first time children receive this Sacrament it is called First Holy Communion
• Confirmation (in Year 6)
  • During the fourth Sacrament of Confirmation, God the Holy Spirit comes upon the child just as he did for the Apostles at Pentecost. In this Sacrament the children receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and nurture the fruits that are the living actions of those gifts. This Sacrament concludes initiation into our Catholic faith and children start to take responsibility for their faith development with the skills and gifts they have received

There is an expectation that the whole family commits to the preparation path towards a Sacrament and we support this through

• High quality RE teaching
• A fruitful and reverent prayer life and liturgy
• Retreats and Catholic Life experiences
• Preparation workshops and meetings
• Preparation masses with sacramental focus

Classes prepare as a whole for the Sacraments and we include non-baptised children and children of other faiths so that they can support their peers. We use a wide range of materials and resources to support a creative and faith-filled approach to developing the whole child in their Sacramental life.