Everything Your Child Needs to Know for 1st Sacrament Prep!
May 14, 2026Spring time is FINALLY here and, as the flowers bloom, I often find myself eagerly anticipating the First Communion Mass! All the beautiful little girls in their white dresses, and the boys in suits trying not to fidget with their ties ๐ But at the heart of my anticipation for that Mass is the immense joy I feel watching another child fully enter into the Sacrifice of the Mass. Doesn’t matter if I know the kid or not - I cry. Every. Time.
This year in particular I find myself thinking back to last year, when my own sweet daughter received Jesus for the first time. Talk about crying... ๐ฅน But before the joy of that beautiful day in May, I was filled with anxiety, constantly asking myself, “Did I do enough to prepare her?” Thankfully, I have a wonderful parish priest who invested a lot of time into weekly classes with the first communicants, in addition to their home preparation. Before classes started in the fall, he sent out a list of concepts that would be covered and things we could emphasize at home to ensure they were ready for their “test” with him come spring time. Great was my relief when I read through the list and found that the majority of the concepts on it had already been taught at home ๐ You see, before staying home with my kids I spent 4 years teaching middle school theology, so my kids were exposed to some advanced concepts just through their curiosity while I lesson planned!
BUT...Knowing that this is not the case for everyone, and thinking back on how grateful I was for “the list” despite what was learned at home, I thought it might be helpful to share my own list...This is a combination of concepts from our pastor, as well as things I found important to emphasize along the way...
1st Sacrament Prep Concepts:
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Be able to recite the following prayers:
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The Sign of the Cross
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Our Father
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Hail Mary
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Glory Be
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Apostles’ Creed
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Act of Contrition
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Prayer to Guardian Angel
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Morning Offering
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Grace Before Meals
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Be able to define (and explain) the following:
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Sacrament
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Grace
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Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
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Sacrament of Confession (OR: Penance, Reconciliation)
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Incarnation
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Sin
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Name the 7 Sacraments
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List the 10 Commandments and know them by number
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Be able to list an example of a sin against each commandment
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List the types of sin
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Name the conditions for a mortal sin
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Explain how sin entered the world (Creation, the Fall, and Original Sin)
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Explain the persons of the Trinity
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Have a knowledge of the major events in the Life of Christ and why He died for us
Now don’t get me wrong, this is a daunting list. Knowing the 10 Commandments backward and forward alone is a lot of memorization! I found it so helpful to make things visual and hands-on for my daughter. We made posters, colored pictures, did experiments, and acted out stories from the Bible to really help things stick in her mind (in a fun way)! All the activities I planned out with her were the foundation behind creating Manna & Mercy - the new 1st Sacrament prep series by All Saints Play! I am so excited for this series, for many reasons, but one big reason is that I get to use it to help prepare my son for his first communion next Spring! Every lesson and activity has been so fun to imagine and I hope it can be a useful resource for you as you prepare your own kiddos! Join the waitlist and check it out here soon - Manna & Mercy
