| First Penance |
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Children preparing for First Penance and First Communion follow the Alive 0 4 Programme. From the beginning we endeavour to explore with the children the human values and attitudes, which are central to an understanding of and meaningful participation in these sacraments.
· A sense of their own goodness · A sense of being connected to others · A recognition of wrongdoing · A respect for self and others · A capacity to forgive and to be forgiven · A sense of celebration In Alive O 4 the children are formally introduced to the Sacraments; Baptism, Penance and Communion. As the children are preparing for their First Penance and First Holy Communion we seek to deepen their understanding of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. We deal also with the main events in the Liturgical year: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and Pentecost.
The Sacraments are presented as the actions of Christ. It is Christ who offers us the forgiveness of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is Christ who is present in the Eucharist, speaking to us in the Scriptures, leading us in our praise, thanksgiving and worship to God and giving himself to us as the Bread of Life. We go from the celebration to show his love to others.
Catechesis on Eucharist is not confined to the specific lessons on the Eucharist. Throughout the year, we try to develop in the children attitudes which will help them to participate in the celebration.
· A sense of coming together with others
· A sense of the meaning of celebrations
· A listening to the Word of God
· An ability to work with symbol
· An ability to take part in ritual
· A sense of God ‘s presence in the sacrament
· An ability to reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Sacrament of Penance
In the lessons in Alive O 4 in preparation for the Sacrament, the children begin the process of reconciliation, where they come to recognise their essential goodness and rejoice in it. They create little ‘Beings' to depict the goodness within themselves, caring, kind, helpful, honest etc. They begin to appreciate their inter-relatedness with others, become aware of their failures. They begin to see the need to say sorry for the times their behaviour has caused pain or hurt and has weakened the connection between themselves and others and between themselves and God. We help them to reflect on the times when they become disconnected from their true selves, from the goodness in those around them and from God who loves them, in spite of any failure on their part. Many stories in the Alive O help the children to reflect on the times they have acted in a destructive manner. Following on with a discussion they create little ‘Beings' from clay to depict the weakness, failure and sinfulness, being unkind, selfish, greedy etc.
In Second Class we explore with the children the capacity to create a spirit of being with others. We help them to reflect on their experiences of sharing their life with others at home, at school, with their friends, in their neighbourhood.
We help to heighten their awareness of the identity which shapes any group of people, who hold a common sense of belonging. Baptism is presented as the sacrament where the Christian community gathers to welcome a new member into the family of God. Throughout the Alive O 4, the children are led to a deep awareness of God's love for each one of them, that they are indeed God's children. They come to know that the spirit of the Risen Jesus is always with them and is especially celebrated in the sacraments.
Resources
Preparing to celebrate First Penance "Click"
Prayers for First Penance "Click"
Lost Sheep "Click"
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