FIRST COMMUNION
SESSION 1
Please review the following information with your child, watch the videos, and assist them in answering the questions below.
In Genesis Chapter 3, Adam and Eve commit the first sin. This sin not only affects them but also all of humankind who follows. We call this "original sin. Original sin describes our fallen nature as humans. The good news is that this original sin is wiped away in our Baptism. We read in the catechism,"Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns aman back towards God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 405)
We hear in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death..." Sin equals death for our spiritual life. In this session we are going to explore the fall of Adam & Eve, the entrance of original sin, and how sin has bad effects on our life.
In John 3, Chapter 16-17, God so loved the world that he gave his inly Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not sent his Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved.
Reconciliation heals our relationship with Jesus.
Reconciliation isn’t all about our sin - it’s all about Jesus’ response.
We are really being forgiven by Jesus.
Sin is "an offense against God." It is a "deliberate thought, word, deed, or omission opposite to the eternal law of God" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1871). For a sin to be a sin it has to meet these three things: something that is wrong AND you know it is wrong AND you decide to do it anyway. It’s the free choice to do something you know is wrong. There are two types of sin- venial and mortal:
Venial Sin: A less serious sin, hurts the relationship with God but does not break it.
Mortal Sin: Agrave or serious matter, causes serious harm, and breaks the relationship with God.
God gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to help restore our relationship with Him and offer us forgiveness for our sins.
Before we go to reconciliation, we have to figure out why we are going! We do this by examining our conscience.
To examine means to look at something very carefully.
Conscience-The gentle voice inside you that encourages you to do good and avoid evil
The 10 Commandments are the laws God gave to Moses to teach us to love Him and others and to help us be faithful to Him. They show us what is required in loving God and loving our neighbor. The first 3 commandments deal with how we should love God. And the next 7 deal with how we should love our neighbor.
The Great Commandment was taught by Jesus, and it summarizes the 10 Commandments and God’s laws: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” -Luke 10:27