This is the Sacrament in which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven. It results in reconciliation with God and the Church. (US Catholic Catechism for Adults, Glossary)
Confession Schedule
Monday - Saturday: 7:15AM-7:35AM
Friday: 6:00PM-7:00PM*
*Friday Evening Confessions are cancelled on September 5.
Saturday: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Sunday (Chinese): 12:30PM-12:50PM
Our confessionals are located in the church.
Preparation for 1st Communion & 1st Reconciliation
Our First and Second Grade program years of Elementary Faith Formation are the required years of preparation for children to receive the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliation. This a 2-year program:
- 1st Grade is a Prerequisite Year. Our classes use the Word of Life curriculum by Augustine Institute, which centers on the kerygmatic proclamation to share the gospel of Jesus while also connecting faith and reason to help form a Christian mindset as a practical orientation for life. (The Archdiocese of Seattle requires a prerequisite year for all children seeking First Communion. Attending the 1st Grade Faith Formation classes, St. Monica’s School, or another Catholic School, satisfies this obligation.)
- 2nd Grade is the Sacrament Year. Our classes this year lead up to and conclude with the First Communion Mass. Our classes use the Signs of Grace program by Augustine Institute. (The Archdiocese of Seattle requires that children seeking First Communion be prepared through participation in a First Communion class. This requirement can also be fulfilled through the sacramental prep classes at St. Monica School which take place during regular school hours.)
2025-2026 Program Information
Our program year begins on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Classes are held on Sundays from 10:00AM-10:50AM. Classes will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church (4301 88th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040). Program registration for 1st and 2nd Grades closes on October 5. After this date, families must wait another year to continue their preparation.
Click here to read a letter outlining the requirements for First Communion.
For more information, please contact:
Heather Miller-Martin, PA for Sacraments
heather@stmonicami.org or 206-232-2900 x.130.
About the Sacrament of Reconciliation
There are four steps in the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
- We feel contrition for our sins and a conversion of heart to change our ways.
- We confess our sins and human sinfulness to a priest.
- We receive and accept forgiveness (absolution) and are absolved of our sins.
- We celebrate God’s everlasting love for us and commit to live out a Christian life.
Sin hurts our relationship with God, ourselves and others. As the Catechism states:
The sinner wounds God’s honor and love, his own human dignity…and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone. To the eyes of faith no evil is graver than sin and nothing has worse consequences for the sinners themselves, for the Church, and for the whole world. (CCC 1487, 1488)
A mature understanding of sin includes reflecting upon our thoughts, actions and omissions as well as examining the patterns of sin that may arise in our lives. With contrite hearts, we are also called to reflect upon the effects of our sins upon the wider community and how we might participate in sinful systems.
Contrition and conversion lead us to seek a forgiveness for our sins so as to repair damaged relationships with God, self, and others. We believe that only ordained priests have the faculty of absolving sins from the authority of the Church in the name of Jesus Christ (CCC 1495). Our sins are forgiven by God, through the priest.
The Spiritual effects of the Sacraments of Reconciliation include:
- reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace
- reconciliation with the Church
- remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins
- remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin
- peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation
- an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle (CCC 1496)
Individual confession with a priest is the principal means of absolution and reconciliation of grave sins within the Church. The Sacrament of Reconciliation frees us from sinful patterns of behavior and calls us to complete conversion to Christ. Reconciliation heals our sins and repairs our relationships.
An overview of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church and our parish's offerings of these Sacraments can be accessed via our Sacraments page.
