1. Before You Begin Penance Lessons Set up a Prayer Space in your home where you will conduct your lessons. Include on your Prayer Table: ► Color cloth for the Liturgical Season  Dec. 2 – 24, 2012…PURPLE for the Season of Advent  Dec. 25 – Jan 6, 2013…WHITE for the Season of Christmas  Jan. 7 – Feb. 12, 2013…GREEN for Ordinary Time  Feb. 13 – Mar. 23, 2013…PURPLE for the Season of Lent ► Candle (with matches or a lighter) ► Cross or Crucifix ► Bible ► A picture of your family ► Any other item or image that has religious significance for your family.

2. First Penance, Ch. 4 We Prepare to Celebrate Penance: Celebrating the Sacrament OPENING PRAYER: Light the candle in your prayer space and open your textbook to page 43. ► Invite your child to join you in crossing your arms over your hearts as you pray. ► Pray the “Sign of the Cross” and together read aloud the quote from the “Rite of Penance” on page 43. ► Then pray the “Our Father” (found on your Prayer Handout).

3. We Gather SHARE: Share with your child happy and positive memories of your own First Penance or other times you have celebrated the Sacrament of Penance. EXPLAIN: Today we will talk about the process of celebrating the sacrament. READ: Read aloud the story on page 44. DISCUSS & RESPOND: What ways can we show friends that we are sorry? Draw a picture or write your answer below the story.

4. We Share God’s Word EXPLAIN: In Jesus’ time, some tax collectors kept money for themselves. For this reason many people did not trust tax collectors. And devout Jews saw them as sinners. READ: Read together from the Bible the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1 – 10. DISCUSS: What ways did Zacchaeus show he was sorry for his sins and wanted God’s forgiveness?

5. We Believe & Celebrate EXPLAIN: The Church has a special way to share and celebrate God’s love and forgiveness with us. READ & RECALL: Read aloud page 48 – 49. Ask your child to underline the terms “contrition,” “confession,” and “penance.” Then ask your child to recount the things we do when we make an examination of conscience. EXPLAIN: By completing the penance that the priest gives us when we celebrate the Sacrament of Penance, we show God that we are truly sorry. We also show God that we never want to sin again.

6. We Believe & Celebrate EXPLAIN: Jesus gave to his Apostles the power to forgive sin in his name. Because his power has been passed down to him since the Apostles, the priest also acts in the name of Jesus Christ and he will NEVER tell anyone the sins that we confess. READ: Read together page 50. Underline the term “absolution.” Read about the four parts of the Sacrament of Penance in the box titled “When We Celebrate.” EXPLAIN: God’s forgiveness of our sins through the words and actions of the priest is called “absolution.” Look at the photo on page 50. When the priest gives someone absolution, he extends his right hand over the person’s head while saying the words of absolution. Read again the words of absolution on page. 51.

7. We Respond & Pray REFLECT: Ask your child to close their eyes and recall what feelings they have when they know they have been forgiven when they were truly sorry for something they had done. Write/draw the feeling on page 52. DISCUSS: What ways have you experienced forgiveness, whether giving or receiving it? EXPLAIN: Invite your child to look upon the cross or crucifix on your prayer table and to quiet him or herself for prayer. Explain that you are going to offer a silent prayer thanking Jesus for giving us God’s gift of forgiveness. Invite your child to do the same. PRAY: Pray the “Quiet Prayer on page 54.” End by praying the “Sign of the Cross.”

8. Chapter 4 REVIEW Complete the “Sharing Faith with My Family” activities on pages 87 – 88.