LESSON 2 - FIRST RECONCILIATION LEARNING CENTER - CHOICES

FREE WILL AND SIN
God created each of us in His image as a human person.  We were created with a mind that has the power to think, to imagine, and to reason.  We have emotions that allow us to love, a will that can choose good or bad, and a soul that will live forever.  Together, all these things make us different than the animals.

In order for love to be real, it must be given freely; you can't force someone to love you.  God won't force someone to love Him, but He does want us to freely choose to do so.  When we do the right things, we are loving God.  When we freely say, do, or desire something that is against God's law, we are freely choosing to NOT love Him.  This is called sin.

Sin is something we say, do, or desire that is against God's law.  Whenever we turn away from God, we sin.  Remember, Jesus said, "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40 So just by hurting someone else, even in a small way, you will offend God.  Jesus also told us that evil begins in the heart, so we must try very hard to be filled with thoughts and ideas that are pleasing to God.

What will happen if you continue to turn away from God?  The devil and all his helpers delight in our sinful ways.  If you don't ask God's forgiveness for your sins, you cannot be as close to God.  Worse yet, those who totally reject God spend eternity in hell!  

Sin has been with us since the beginning  of time.  Adam and Eve, the first people on Earth, disobeyed God.  This first sin is called original sin.  Every person born after Adam (except Jesus and Mary) is born with original sin (without sanctifying grace) and has tendency to fall away from God.

Sin is always serious, but some sins are more serious than others. Venial sin is a sin that hurts the relationship between you and God. Mortal sin is any sin that completely breaks off your relationship with God.  The way to restore this relationship is through Reconciliation.

You cannot accidentally commit a venial or mortal sin.  In order for a sin to be considered mortal, it must meet three conditions.  It must be (1) of grave matter, (2) done with your full knowledge, and (3) done on purpose.  CCC 1854-1864
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First Reconciliation (2014 Church of Saint Paul - Family Formation Sacramental Prep)
Read the following to your child or have your child read it to you:
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It is not always easy to obey.
Sometimes we feel like disobeying.
Sometimes we feel like answering back.
We may want to steal or to tell a lie.
We may want to blame others for what we did.

These are temptations.
Temptations are not sins.

We know what God wants us to do.
But sometimes we say “no” to Him.
We do, on purpose, what we know is wrong.

To sin is to disobey God on purpose.
When we sin, we make others unhappy,
And we hurt ourselves.
WHEN DO I REFUSE TO GROW?​
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Please click on the presentation or use the arrows at the bottom of the presentation to advance to the next slide.​
Discuss the following with your child:
When do I hurt others-  at home?    at school?        at play?

All of us make unloving choices.  We ask forgiveness for the hurts caused by our unloving choices.

Pray together:

    Jesus, I want to make loving choices like you.
    Unloving choices hurt.
    Help me to think and care about others and not just me.
    Amen.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Please read through the Ten Commandments and explanation of each below with your child.  

1.    I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange God’s before me.  God made our world and created each one of us.  He wants us to know that He loves us and that He will always be with us.  There are times when we forget and we make other people and things more important.  That would break this commandment.  Try to remember God in your day.  Try to go to Mass on Sunday.  Who comes first?  
2.    You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  It is good to talk politely with other people.  Using cuss words and talking badly about God would break this commandment.  Names are special.  Your name is very special to you.  Your name is what is used when people wish to talk to you.  No one should dishonor anyone’s name.  Especially God’s name.  His name should be spoken with respect, prayed to with care and asked for with love.
3.    Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.  Try to go to Mass on Sunday.  The Lord’s Day is a full day dedicated to God, family and being helpful, not just the 45 minutes at church.  Our Lord wants us to have a day of rest.  A day when we can put aside our work and just think of how much we are loved by God.  That special day is Sunday.  That’s the Lord’s Day.  We go to church on Sunday to spend time with Our God.  We listen to God’s Word at church and pray for each other.
4.    Honor your mother and your father.  Be kind to your mother and father.  Help them out around the house.  Go to bed or turn off the video game, phone or TV when they ask you without an argument.  Fighting with your parents and not doing what they may ask of you would be breaking this commandment. 
5.    You shall not kill.  Although you may not literally kill someone, hurting someone’s feelings or doing or saying mean things to someone you may not like is breaking this commandment.  When we fight or do other disrespectful things, we are killing the special joy and peace that is given to us by God.  Their life is precious, as ours is, and we must remember to honor that life.
6.    You shall not commit adultery.  This is mostly for married people.  When two people get married, they promise to share their love only with each other.  They must keep that promise.  When people aren’t married, this commandment reminds us to respect ourselves and be honest with our friends.  We should be a true friend and not break promises and not lead our friends to break their promises.
​7.     You shall not steal.   Taking something on purpose that isn’t yours breaks this commandment.  We all have things that are special to us.  Perhaps we have worked hard and earned it or perhaps it was a gift from Christmas or a birthday.  Whatever the reason, we would never want what is ours to be taken from us.  To just take what is not ours is wrong.  It is selfish and harmful.  Everyone has a right to what belongs to them.  When we cheat, it’s the same thing.  When we are cheating to win a game, to get the right answer, whatever we cheat on, it’s taking what is not ours.
8.    You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  This is about lying.  Talking untruly about someone or not telling the truth when asked breaks this commandment.  The trust makes us happy and lies make us so sad.  Lies hurt other people and they hurt us.  There are times when we lie to get out of trouble.  There are times when a lie seems to help.  That isn’t true.  A lie always hurts the respect we have of ourselves and it usually hurts another person.  A lie makes us sad.  When you tell other people’s secrets, even if it’s true, that hurt them.  When we make them hurt, we hurt ourselves.  Beware of gossip.
9.    You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.  This is also an adult commandment.  But it can have meaning for us too.  Have you ever wished so deeply that someone’s friend was your friend?  So much so that you would be mean to your friends just to be friends with that person?  
10.    You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.  Many times, other people have really neat things. You might even wish that is was yours.  Many people are good in sports or have really wonderful clothes.  To want nice things for ourselves is okay.  When we become mean or nasty to others that have what we would like to have, that’s wrong.  When we are unhappy and sulk because the other person is better in sports or wears better clothes than we wear, that’s wrong.  We need to admire the things that other people have, not be jealous of them.  We need to admire their special talents, just like you have special talents.  We need to be happy for them.  We need to thank God for the special gifts He has given us in family, friends, health, a home, our toys, and so on. ​
​Parents: Explain to your child that the 10 Commandments are laws (rules) to live by.  These laws of love were created to help us to be happy.  God also created these laws to help us be God’s holy people.  When we follow these laws we find peace in our lives.  Each day we need to ask ourselves.
   How am I following God’s Laws of Love?  
   How can we live God’s 10 Commandments?
​One person who lived the 10 Commandments was “The Good Samaritan.” 
Please watch the video and answer the questions below.
​Do you think the robber lived by God’s laws? Why or why not?
Do you think the Good Samaritan lived by God’s laws? Why or why not?
What commandments do you think the Good Samaritan lived by?
MAKING LOVING CHOICES

Parents tell your child that we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be forgiven of our sins, but you must be truly sorry for your sins before they can be forgiven.  How do I know when I am truly sorry for my sins?
Pray the Act of Contrition together.

O my God, I am sorry for my sins, In choosing to sin, and failing to do good, I have sinned against You and Your Church.  I firmly intend, with the help of Your Son, to make up for my sins and to love as I should.
​Amen.

As a family, try to pray the act of contrition often.  Remember to practice saying your prayers.  (Parents, praying prayers together helps your children to learn them by heart and bestows purpose for your child.)

How can we make loving choices or show we are sorry, besides just saying “I’m sorry”?

Think of something you are sorry for now.  Write a prayer to Jesus telling him you are sorry.  Ask Jesus to help you be better.