Reconciliation and First Communion: When a child reaches the age of reason, usually grade 2, he/she begins to prepare to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion. Their preparation involves their parents, teachers and parish who work together to help prepare these children to receive the sacraments. Along with the Religious Education program presented in our Catholic Schools, we have a Home Program for Reconciliation,  "We Discover God's Paths on the Way With Jesus" and for First Communion, "We Share in the Eucharist on Our Way With Jesus". These programs are presented by the parents in the home. Our parish team also meets with the parents to present information to the parents, on both of these sacraments. An activity session is held for parents and children as a final means of preparing the children to receive the sacraments. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated during Lent while the sacrament of the Eucharist takes place after Easter during the regular Sunday Masses.

Confirmation: Confirmation takes place when the students are in grade 8. The school along with the parish and the Home Program, "Around The Table", help in the preparation process. A retreat day is scheduled for the candidate as well as a Commitment Sunday- a day when the candidate and their parents confirm their commitment to the practice of their Faith.

Marriage Preparation: Each year our parish provides a marriage preparation course for couples preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony. The marriage preparation team is made up of several married couples along with the pastor who present talks and have discussions on a variety of topics to prepare the couples for the reception of this sacrament. This course is usually held in February of each year.
Contact: Lynda Cadotte.

R. C. I . A. The Rite Of Christian Initiation Of Adults: is a way of responding to people who come to the Catholic Church with their questions. It is about making the Good News come alive! It is a journey, a process through which adults who are seeking can explore the Catholic faith. It is a journey we travel together. During the process we seek to nurture the mind, heart and soul

Who is it for?

• It is for those who have never been baptized and are interested in learning more about our faith.
• It is for those who have been baptized in another Christian faith and would like to join the Catholic Church.
• It is for those who are baptized in the Catholic faith but have never celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation.

School Ministries

Blessed Sacrament Parish now has only one elementary school - St. Vincent's School. However, since the closure of Blessed Sacrament School, some of our students now attend St. Agnes School, Our Lady of Fatima School and Monsignor Uyen School as well as Ecole Ste. Marie and Ecole St. Catherine (French Language Schools). Our Pastoral Minister visits these schools to help prepare the students for the reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation.

Our parish team takes part in school masses, school celebrations such as paraliturgies, reconciliation celebrations, special dinners, etc. Our coordinators of youth visit Ursuline College "The Pines", on a regular basis.

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Youth Minsitry

Our parish youth ministry programs focus predominately on young people beginning at the grade five level and continuing through high school. Our focus is to journey with youth on a number of different fronts. First and foremost in faith; we work collaboratively with our schools and with the family to enhance the understanding and responsibility of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. Many of our gatherings incorporate a physical element, where we convey the importance of physical activity and maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. It is important for our youth to know our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

We aim to help our children grow in healthy social interaction with appropriate boundaries through games, skits, dances and other activities. Community awareness and civic responsibility are other areas we focus on, that we may help our youth understand the need to live out our baptismal call. Finally every time we gather we incorporate a spiritual element, a time of prayer, a time to share our faith in Jesus.

Our Grade 5/6 and Grade 7/8 youth programs run from October through May and all young people are welcome. We meet on Tuesday nights between 7:00 and 8:30 pm usually in the church hall or meeting room. Ministry with teens is done collaboratively on a citywide basis and in cooperation with Ursuline College. This ministry consists of special gatherings or events usually on a monthly basis. Advertising and information on our various programs is found on our Sunday bulletin, through the schools or contacting Frank Mosey at (519) 352-1062.
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Altar Servers

This ministry is a very important part of liturgical celebrations and we are very thankful to the many dedicated young people who have committed to serving Fr. Nevett at the altar. Many of our youth have been committed to this minisry for years, serving through their high school years and beyond!

Our past secondary servers, Brian Morgan, Justin Morgan, Robert Sterling, and Joe Sales: You continue to be a terrific example of faith to all in our parish community.

No less important, our younger servers give great witness of faith and we hope you will continue in this important ministry.

While we have been blessed with a fine team of servers, we always need to bring new people into this ministry; so if you are interested, please call Frank at 352-1062 to arrange orientation and training.
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