forgiveness Archives - Catechist's Journey

young girl celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Apologies and Forgiveness

We were created for love, and we naturally seek forgiveness. This is one reason children naturally take to lessons on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In their young lives, the kids in my third-grade class have made mistakes and gotten in trouble, all the while being continuously loved and constantly forgiven by a parent. In our lesson about Reconciliation, I included a discussion of the difference between what is a sin versus what is an accident. […]

Encouraging Reconciliation

Lisa Jones

In a recent class, I asked who had made their First Reconciliation. All my third-grade students raised their hands. But when I asked how many have celebrated Reconciliation since then, the majority of their hands went down. Even though these children are only one year removed from preparing for their First Reconciliation, they still need to learn about Reconciliation and God’s forgiveness. How do we turn a first-time experience into a life-long practice? I decided to […]

Catechists in Action – Steve Lascola Tells the Story of Zacchaeus

Joe Paprocki

In this segment of Catechists in Action, 2nd grade catechist Steve Lascola tells the story of Zacchaeus. Watch for the following: Steve explains that the story of Zacchaeus is a celebration of forgiveness Steve reads the story of Zacchaeus to the children and then summarizes in his own words Steve directs the children to participate in a short prayer and has one of the children stand to lead httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NQBBI7vZfc

Catechists in Action – Steve Lascola Tells the Story of the Prodigal Son

Joe Paprocki

In this segment of Catechists in Action, 3rd grade catechist Steve Lascola tells the story of the Prodigal Son in preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Watch for the following: Steve introduces the story of the Prodigal Son as a love story To keep their attention from wavering, Steve continually pauses to add his own thoughts, to restate things in his own words, and to ask questions of the children. Steve summarizes the story and […]

Catechists in Action – Steve Lascola Talks About Forgiveness

Joe Paprocki

In this segment of Catechists in Action, 3rd grade catechist Steve Lascola talks to the children about forgiveness. Watch for the following: Steve invites the kids to color in the word forgiveness; Steve asks how many of the kids know the Lord’s Prayer; Steve recites the Lord’s Prayer and asks the kids to write down any lines that deal with forgiveness; Steve reviews the kids answers and concludes that the Lord “likes it” when we […]