SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION January 17

The title for this week's lesson was "Special Words, Signs and Places".

OBJECTIVES:

• Children will know that special signs (things we see) and special words (things we hear) are associated with all Sacraments.
• Children will recognize “I absolve you from your sins” as the special words associated with forgiveness and understand that the gesture the priest makes holding his hands over, or touching, the penitent’s head, is a special sign of forgiveness.
• Children will become familiar with the story of the Forgiving Father (Prodigal Son).

Talk to your children about your own experiences of Confession. Make sure they understand that it is natural to be nervous before doing something new. Even though we have a special ways in which we generally celebrate this Sacrament, there is nothing to worry about - if you forget everything you were taught in class - that's fine! You simply need to remember that Jesus wants to forgive your sins, and if you are honest with Him, you will have the great joy of hearing Jesus' own words of forgiveness spoken through the priest.