I write to petition for flexibility for children to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and first holy Communion earlier than allowed through the archdiocesan sacramental program when they have demonstrated faith and commitment to their spiritual growth, and also because of the greater need of children have today for sacramental grace.
My daughter turned eight in September 2024 and like many her age, has been eagerly awaiting the day she can receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist.
It is beautiful to see her faith in Christ’s presence in the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
She loves reciting the rosary and learning about the lives of the saints. She attends Sunday school at our local parish where her teacher has been introducing her to salvation history and now in Year 3 at a Catholic school, her teachers regularly comment on her extensive understanding of the faith.
She also voluntarily queues for the confessional and enjoys discussing her sins with the priest. She tells us she loves the feeling of peace she experiences at the end of these informal chats, and I believe she has been ready for the sacrament of reconciliation and first holy Communion for more than two years.
About six months ago I approached my parish priest to inquire if it was possible for her to receive these sacraments earlier than usual. I approached him as a daughter would approach a father.
He said it would be a matter of disobedience to request them for her any earlier. Taken aback, I accepted his answer and walked away.
However, a niggling feeling remained in my heart since that conversation. The persisting thought was that this couldn’t possibly be the only viable way forward for a daughter in need, struggling against concupiscence with an awakened conscience and most ready to receive Christ in flesh and blood.
I went back to him and shared the reasons I’d observed as to why some children are ready to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and first Holy Communion earlier. It didn’t change his mind but here I share some of them.
Most Catholic parents are striving to raise their children to live in the world but not of the world. Yet at the tender ages of four onwards they start attending daycare, preschool and primary school, where children as young as two years old may be exposed to regular yoga and mindfulness programs.
Primary school children even in Catholic schools are taught the concepts of self-love and autonomy of the body—my then seven-year-old daughter came home one day and refused to play with her brother because “her body, her rules.” This was the consequence of a principle taught in silo to a child who is not yet able to grasp and apply it within its context.
Children are also surrounded by peers from different religious and non-religious backgrounds. Some may even be engaging in a “new age” religion that exposes them to different forms of dangers.
Canon law sets the age of reason at seven years old but sets no minimum age for reception of the Eucharist. Instead, Canon 913 §1 requires that a child receiving the Eucharist “have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.”
A number of dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Sydney, say that First Holy Communion can only be offered to children when they are in Year 3 or above. (Year 3 classes are comprised of children between the ages seven to nine.)
I do wonder if we can simply say that age determines when a child has “sufficient knowledge and careful preparation” or whether we should give consideration to the individual needs of the child.
After all, school education today is often adapted to children’s individual strengths and gifts, yet diocesan sacramental programs still use a single arbitrary rule when it comes to preparing and providing our children with the sacramental graces they need to grow in holiness in the world in which they live.
I was told that children are not in need of sacramental grace any earlier than this, for they have access to other forms of grace that Christ always offers them.
But I’m not convinced sacramental grace is unnecessary for children. I’m inclined to confer that it is delusional optimism to send our kids unprepared and simply with good intentions into a world filled with wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Most parents would admit that by the age of nine, most children have been exposed to different (destructive) ideologies and influences through the media, through their peers, through society. Surely, we must recognise the needs of the children today. I daresay that their need for sacramental grace is greater today than it was 30 to 50 years ago.
My daughter is still waiting to embark on the sacramental programme within the local parish as we had decided not to seek the sacraments for her outside our own diocese. Her peers who will be preparing with her in the program have various backgrounds when it comes to spiritual practices.
There are some children who attend Mass a handful number of times in a year; some may have never attended Mass except for the school ones organised by the Catholic school that they attend; some may attend Mass only twice a year during major feast days such as Christmas and Easter.
A handful of children may have parents raising their children in the knowledge and practises of the Catholic faith. Some parents of these children may have some Catholic beliefs while still holding onto other pagan practices.
With these factors to consider, some may even opine that these sacraments should be given to children later than Year 3. However, how do we determine the readiness of a child to receive these sacraments? Their spiritual knowledge? Their prayer life? Their spiritual maturity? Their commitment to their faith?
To deny a child who is ready to receive these sacraments and most in need of them is akin to a mother denying food to her hungry children or insisting on only feeding milk to a growing child and denying her solid food.
After all, sacraments are spiritual food. I think it imperative, if not urgent, that we no longer use the one yardstick to measure the spiritual needs of all children, that the age to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and first Holy Communion should not be left to the upper limit of nine years old.
Our young children are spiritually starving and seeking sustenance to grow in faith in a largely pagan society. As we prepare to host the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 2028, it is timely and opportune to truly reflect and discern their sacramental needs.