1st Grade Lesson 14: Chapter 15- Showing sorrow & Reconciliation
Unit: Sacraments
Catechist Preparation
Alive in Christ- Chapter 15- pp. 203-211
Bible verses: Matthew 18:21-22 Forgiveness
Luke 15:11-32 The Prodigal Son
Objectives God always forgives those who are truly sorry and ask his forgiveness.
 God asks that we forgive others and ourselves.
 Sin is choosing to disobey God on purpose, knowing that it is wrong.
 Jesus wants us to turn to God to ask forgiveness
 Jesus died to save all people form sin and to give us new life in God.
Faith Words:
Sin
Lesson Plan: The Prodigal Son
Gathering
Activity
Invite
Prayer
Space
Prodigal Son coloring page
Discover
See “Talking about sin and our relationship with God”
Opening Prayer: Psalm 52:11-14
Let Us Pray p. 203 God’s Word
What do you wonder
Review: Moses- in the basket, the burning bush, 10 Plagues, Passover & Ten Commandments + 7
Sacraments -name them, list the ones we have talked about ? (Baptism & Anoinitng of the Sick)., tell
them today we will talk about Reconciliation.
Read the Parable of The Prodigal Son from the Bible- Luke 15:11-24
Act out the story
Cast: Father
Older Son
Younger Son
friends
farmer
Servants
Props: ring, cloak, shoes,
Cloak He is part of the family, “belongs”
Ring He can act in his dad’s name, “power,” “he is trusted”
Sandals He has a job to do, “valuable”
Emphasize the emotions of the characters - expressions, etc.
What are some things you have had to wait for? How did it feel?
The older son, comes back from a hard day of work. At first he was confused then angry.
Does the father understand his older son? Do you think the older son ever joins the party?
Show children a crucifix. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. We need to ask God
to forgive our sins. He will ALWAYS forgive us , just like the father in the Prodigal Son
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - “Accident or Sin” (see below) Have the children use a hand
signal (i.e. thumbs up for accident/thumbs down for sin) or white response boards to tell if
you are portraying an accident or a sin.
Live
Song of
Praise:
I am Sorry”
Children of
God
People of
Faith
Sending
Forth
“Sin is Gross” (Nora Grina’s idea): - a messy, but dramatic demonstration of how choosing to
get dirty (to do wrong) gets in the way of interacting with our friends (our relationship with
God) Optional – catechists to provide own materials - See below for lesson and material
suggestions.
Reconciliation Suitcase – see below
In partners, practice saying “I’m sorry” and “I forgive you”.
Use puppets to act out “Making things better” sequence on p. 208
St Dismas P. 209
Closing prayer: Act of Contrition and/or Prayer for forgiveness p 210
Materials: Green = provided by CRE / Blue = on website / Purple = Optional, catechists provide
God will always forgive me if I am truly sorry.
Talking about Sin and our relationship with God
Jesus reached out to those who had sinned. He forgave them and called them to
change their ways. Through his Life, Death, Resurrection & Ascension, Jesus
overcame the power of sin and freed us so that we can one day join Him in
heaven.
Sin is choosing to disobey God on purpose and knowing that what you are doing
is wrong. It is not an accident or a mistake. It is willful.
When we sin, we choose to do the wrong thing and we hurt our relationship with
God.
Think about how the things we do affect those around us.
It is not so different with our relationship with God.
Jesus taught us that God is our forgiving, loving Father.
God will always forgive us when we are truly sorry.
Being truly sorry is deeper than simply saying the words, “I’m Sorry”.
It must include:
 sadness for what you have done
 a desire to make amends ad
 a decision to not do it again.
Choosing to do wrong, to sin, hurts our relationship with God.
How can we help our relationship with God?
By loving him and others with your whole heart and
choosing to do things that demonstrate that love.
When we forgive others, we let go of our anger. It is sometimes difficult to forgive,
but it always difficult to walk around angry.
I’m Sorry and I forgive you go together
like pieces of a puzzle,
like halves of a heart.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation - Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from
1.
2.
3.
4.
God's mercy for their sins, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church.
Think about the things you have done that you knew were wrong, but you decided to do them anyway.
Be truly sorry for having done those things because you know it affected your relationship with God.
Decide to do your best not to sin again.
Go to Confession (Reconciliation or Penance)
The Reconciliation Suitcase: Distribute the handouts. Draw a suitcase on the board. Have the students tell
you which items to “pack” in the suitcase to take to confession. Leave this on the board and tell the class we
will be coming back to it in a few minutes.
With Absolution, your sins are absolutely forgiven, erased. Go back to the Reconciliation suitcase on the board
and erase all the sins.
Reiterate that with Absolution your sins are absolutely forgiven, erased
 Reconciliation – the greatest eraser
Sin is Gross Activity (optional)
Initial set up: One teacher to get messy, at least one teacher to help with getting clean
small bowls containing:
dilute paint with a bit of glue for thickening
cracker crumbs
syrup
dirt
A large pitcher or water
pump soap
basin to collect the water
towels for cleaning up & drying off
“Oooh, look, here is a bowl with some paint in it. I know I should do this, but I’m going to dip my hands into it.
(dip hands into paint, “lather it up”, hold up your hands to show the class.)
Move on to next bowl,
“What have we here? Cracker crumbs! I know I should do this, but I am going to finish crumbling these
crackers with my painty hands.” (Sift the crumbs through your hands and show them to the class.)
Move on to the syrup and repeat
Move on to the dirt.
Then hold up your hands, approach a table of children and suggest that you read them a book.
“I have gotten my hands so dirty that I can’t read a book to you right now. I don’t think I am going to be able
to get cleaned up all by myself. I am going to need someone to help me.” Ask a team member to assist you
with water and soap so you can wash away the mess The sins). Say clearly as you are washing, “I stuck my
hands into the ____ (paint, crumbs, syrup, dirt) even though I knew I really shouldn’t. I am really sorry I did
that.” Have the other teacher nod and say “I forgive you.”
Discuss how this relates to sin (choosing to something that you KNOW is wrong) and the ABSOLUTION granted
by the priest after confession.
Sin vs. Accident
Ask children to determine if each of the following is a sin or accident. (You may choose to cut these situations
into strips and ask pairs of children to act them out, or you can read or act them out.)
You are looking for a pencil on the floor and you bump into someone who is walking by.
You tell your mom you feel sick because you don’t want to go to Mass, but you really feel fine.
Your Dad asks you to make your bed, but you don’t do it because you don’t like making your
bed.
You drop your friend’s new toy and it breaks.
You bump into somebody and then blame it on somebody else.
You did your homework but forget to bring it to school. You tell your teacher you forgot your
homework.
You don’t do your homework, but you tell your teacher you did it and then lost it.
(Make up some of your own situations.)