Celebrating our rescue
This chapter focuses on why it is important to say sorry, but it also allows the children to celebrate saying sorry. They learn how saying sorry is about sorting things out, building bridges in our relationships with others and God as well as being reminded that God forgives us and this is a cause of great celebration! We experience JOY when we are forgiven. Even though we are all created good, we all make mistakes: but God is there to help us.
The children learn that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is where God “rescues us” from losing our way, after we confess our sins to God and tell him that we want to become friends again.
Forgiveness is something that should be an everyday activity – not something we reserve for the really “bad” things. It is something we should not only experience ourselves but also offer to others on a daily basis. We encourage children to see this, reconciliation – the act of becoming friends again, instead of holding onto hurts – becomes part of our natural/regular habits.
Questions you might like to ask your child:
Q. Have you ever rescued anything that you love very much?
A. Answers will vary – it could be a teddy, a pet, a lost sibling, etc., but you will want to emphasise the feeling of relief or joy at finding the thing again. If your child mentions an example of not having found something and how devastating that can feel, you can still bring a positive message here: it shows us that – when it comes to feeling down and sad over something we have done wrong – we don’t want to stay in that place, as it is not a nice feeling or experience. We all want the joy of being rescued …
Q. Have you ever been in trouble or danger before? Or have you ever witnessed someone in danger being rescued e.g., a road accident, an animal being stuck or injured or some other trouble?
A. Allow you child to share freely. Maybe it is a family memory or story that you can reminisce on together. Maybe you need to tell the story of a time when you “rescued” them when they were very little and how you felt – the worry you felt and the great joy that replaced it, knowing they were okay/safe in the end. They will be interested to hear your parent’s perspective (which can illustrate how God feels when we get back on the right path), because – as parents – we do try and mirror God’s love in the way we love and care for them …
Q. How do you feel when you become friends again with someone that you might have argued with or who has upset you?
A. Your child may come up with all sorts of answers, but you want to emphasise the feeling of happiness at things being put right. We always feel better when we rebuild a friendship!
Q. How can God help us to become friends again with someone who has hurt us?
A. This will be a challenging question for your children to answer, but children do often come up with insightful responses. With this question, we are trying to show how we need God in our lives. Simple answers to this question could be “God can give me strength”, “I can learn to love those who hurt me, like God loves me” or “God shows me how to live in peace”. Some children may make the link with the story of the Good Shepherd and be able to say that “God will help and look after me, just like the shepherd cared for the lost sheep”
- Jobs for home
- Complete the online quiz
- Practise with your child saying the word ' recomnciliation' and explain what this means.
- Encourage your child to reflect on their day and the decisions they have made and where they could ask for or show more forgiveness.
- Find the confessional in the church or pictures of one and start to talk about the sacrament.
