Page 8 - First Reconciliation

God Forgives Our Sins
Objective (10 minutes)
• The children will identify words and gestures of forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Gather the children in the work area to explore words and gestures of forgiveness. Ask them what they do when they feel sorry that they did something mean or forgot to bring
a brother or sister’s toy inside and it got ruined. Help them recognize that when they feel sorry they want to say so and make peace.
Read the sentences at the top of page 2 aloud, or have children take turns reading them. Make sure children grasp that not keeping the commandments and not acting like Jesus are what we mean by sins. Recall with them how in each of their prayer rituals they have prayed together, said they were sorry for times they acted mean
or fought or lied, and asked God to forgive them and help them grow more loving.
Have the children describe what is happening in the photo. A priest is holding his hand over a child’s head, praying the Prayer of Absolution.
Write the word “absolve” on the chalkboard or newsprint. Have a volunteer read on page 2 what the word means.
Demonstrate how the priest holds his hand over the head of
a person who is sorry for their unloving actions. Ask what they think the gesture means—blessing, giving power, af rming you can be a loving person.
Demonstrate how the priest will extend his hand in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Read aloud the words of the Prayer of Absolution: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Be sure the children know that this is the prayer the priest prays to let us know that God forgives our sins.
Read the text to the right of the cross shape on page 2.
Find the “I Forgive You” cross sticker that completes the page. Ask the children who is saying the words, “I forgive you.”
The priest says the words, acting in the place of Jesus, who wants to assure us that God forgives us as the merciful father forgave his son. Because God forgives us, Jesus wants us to forgive one another.
38 l Together in Jesus: First Reconciliation
God Forgives Our Sins
Jesus breathes the Spirit upon his followers.
Jesus sent his followers to share his teaching and to baptize all who believe. We call someone sent on a mission an apostle or a missionary.
Jesus gives his apostles the power to forgive people’s sins.
What is a sin? Actions that break God’s commandments are sins. We forget God’s love for us. We disrespect others. We fail to act the way Jesus teaches. We act in unloving ways. We are mean and disrespectful. Sin is the name for these actions.
We can always ask God and each other to forgive us.
A priest forgives our sins in the Sacrament
of Reconciliation. The priest shows us in words and actions that Jesus forgives us.
Our Priest Gives Us God’s Forgiveness
The priest uses the word absolve to tell us God forgives us. Absolve means take away.
He says:
“I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
The priest uses an action to show us God forgives us. He holds his hand over our heads and makes the Sign of the Cross. This action shows us that Jesus is with us and blesses us.
Find the
I Forgive You cross sticker. Put it here.
Together in Jesus © 2018, P aum Publishing Group, a division of Bayard, Inc. All rights reserved. Art/photo credits: p. 1: Jim Burrows/Bayard, Inc.; p. 2: (illustration) Jim Burrows/Bayard, Inc., (photo) Mike Doyle/Bayard, Inc.; p. 3: (top) M. Migliorato/CPP/CIRIC/Bayard, Inc., (middle) Armineh Johannes/CIRIC/Bayard, Inc., (bottom) Corinne Simon/CIRIC/Bayard, Inc.; p. 4: Bayard, Inc. Excerpts from the English translation of Rite of Penance © 1975, ICEL.
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