Preparing your child for First Reconciliation can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the sacrament or haven’t been to confession in years. First Reconciliation and Beyond: A Family’s Guide for Learning and Living Forgiveness offers parents the guidance, confidence, and encouragement they need to make this moment a joyful encounter with God’s mercy—for both children and adults alike.
Written by Tommy and Katie McGrady, hosts of Family Mass Prep on the Hallow app, this warm and relatable book draws from their own experiences helping their daughter prepare for her first confession. Through personal stories, biblical reflection, and humor, they show how the Sacrament of Reconciliation can transform family life with the healing power of forgiveness.
Each of the five chapters walks you through a simple, practical approach to growing together as a family:
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Joining Our Stories to the Church’s Story: Discover forgiveness through the McGradys’ real-life experiences.
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Learning from Scripture: Reflect on the gospel parables that reveal God’s mercy.
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Thinking and Growing as Parents: Strengthen your own spiritual life as you guide your child.
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Growing Together as Adults and Children: Share what you learn as a family of faith.
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Praying as a Family: End each chapter with prayer—either one from the McGradys or one you create together.
First Reconciliation and Beyond can be used alongside parish programs or as a standalone family resource. It includes simple tools for making a good confession and is filled with practical insights that help parents rediscover the beauty of this sacrament for themselves.
Whether used at home or in a parish setting, this guide will help families experience God’s mercy in a deeper, more personal way—and keep returning to it throughout life.
About the Authors
Katie Prejean McGrady is the host of The Katie McGrady Show on Sirius XM’s The Catholic Channel and the Ave Explores podcast. An international speaker and writer, she is the author of Room 24: Adventures of a New Evangelist and Follow: Your Lifelong Adventure with Jesus, and the coauthor of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens and Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens. She writes for Blessed Is She, Our Sunday Visitor, and Aleteia, and contributes to CNN on Church and Vatican news. She lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with her husband and children.
Tommy McGrady is a biology teacher at Lake Charles College Prep in Louisiana, a parish coach for the Accompaniment Project with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, and cohost of Family Mass Prep on the Hallow app. He is the author of Unleashed: Men of Scripture and coauthor of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, and First Reconciliation and Beyond. He lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with his wife and their children.
