Scope and Sequence

Chapter 1: We Belong to God
Chapter Faith Theme
Baptism makes us sharers in divine life and marks us as belonging to Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Ritual
Blessing with Water

  • Celebrate the ritual actions of naming and blessing ourselves with water.
  • Reflect on important times we are called by name.
  • Discover and identify ways that praying the Sign of the Cross and blessing with water is part of our naming ourselves as Christians.

Scripture
The Parable of the Lost Sheep: Luke 15:4-6

  • Tell the story of the parable of the Lost Sheep.
  • Discover what it means to belong to God.

Doctrine/Liturgy
Sacrament of Baptism

  • Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows each of his sheep by name. He gave his life for us. Jesus’ death and resurrection reveal how much God loves us.
  • At Baptism we are marked with the sign of the cross. This shows we belong to Christ and the Christian community.
  • Baptism joins us to Christ. God shares his life with us. We become adopted children of God and members of our church family. Original sin and all other sins are forgiven. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify ways to share God’s love with others.
  • Discover that sharing God’s love with others makes a difference.

Together as a Family

  • Recall and talk about the child’s baptism.
  • Identify and choose ways to live as signs of God’s love as a family.
  • Review the meaning of the Sign of the Cross and include its praying in family prayers.

Chapter 2: We Follow Jesus
Chapter Faith Theme
The Great Commandment is a summary and the heart of all God’s commandments.

Ritual
Showing reverence for the word of God

  • Celebrate the ritual action of gathering around the cross and processing.
  • Reflect on how gathering with people is part of daily living.
  • Discover and name ways that the cross is part of our living and celebrating our faith.

Scripture
The Great Commandment: Matthew 22:34-40

  • Tell the story of Jesus teaching about the Great Commandment.
  • Discover what Jesus taught about showing reverence for God and for one another.

Doctrine/Liturgy
Overview of the Rites of Reconciliation

  • We do what the Great Commandment tells us when we live the Ten Commandments.
  • God gives us the gifts of a conscience and a free will to live the Great Commandment.
  • Jesus gave us the sacraments to make us sharers in God’s life. We can celebrate the sacrament of Penance, or Reconciliation, individually with the priest, or we can celebrate it together with other members of our church family and the priest.
  • In Reconciliation we are forgiven sins we commit after we have been baptized. We sin when we freely choose to do what we know is against God’s commandments.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify the people whom we know are living the Great Commandment.
  • Discover that living the Great Commandment makes a difference.

Together as a Family

  • Talk about ways family members can help one another live the Great Commandment.
  • Identify and choose ways to live as a forgiving family.
  • Briefly go through the ritual actions, prayers, and responses of the rites of Reconciliation.

 

Chapter 3: We Listen to the Holy Spirit
Chapter Faith Theme
The Holy Spirit helps us make good decisions and put them into action. In the confession of sins in Reconciliation we accept responsibility for our sins.

Ritual
Praying around a lighted candle

  • Celebrate the ritual action of praying around a lighted candle.
  • Reflect on the ways families use lighted candles.
  • Discover and name ways that lighted candles help us celebrate and live our faith

Scripture
The Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:29-37

  • Tell the story of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
  • Discover the connection between the parable of the Good Samaritan and our call to live as followers of Jesus.

Doctrine/Liturgy
The Confession of Sins

  • We are lights in the world when we make good decisions and put them into action. Praying, listening to the word of God, learning what our church family teaches, and talking with a trustworthy adult help us make good decisions.
  • We sometimes do not make good decisions and we choose to sin. Confessing our sins in Reconciliation shows we want to do our best to live as Jesus taught.
  • In Reconciliation we confess, or tell, our sins to the priest. We must confess any mortal sin we may have committed. We may also confess venial sins.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify and choose ways to make good decisions and live as lights in the world.
  • Discover how bringing light to the world makes a difference

Together as a Family

  • Share ideas on how our family can be a light in the world.
  • Pray as a family to the Holy Spirit.
  • Go through the ritual “Confession of Sins” in the rite of Reconciliation.

Chapter 4: We Are Sorry
Chapter Faith Theme
We show our sorrow for our sins. The prayer of sorrow, or act of contrition, and penance express our decision and desire to heal the harm caused by our sins and to be reconciled with God and the Church.

Ritual
Praying the Our Father

  • Celebrate the ritual action of praying the Our Father.
  • Reflect on how praying is part of daily living.
  • Discover and name ways that showing we are sorry is part of living and celebrating our faith.

Scripture
Zacchaeus: Luke 19:1-10

  • Tell the story of the meeting between Jesus and the tax collector Zacchaeus.
  • Discover the connection between Zacchaeus showing people he was sorry and our living as a follower of Jesus.

Doctrine/Liturgy
Accepting a Penance and Praying the Act of Contrition

  • Being sorry is a sign of love. We need to express our sorrow for our sins. It shows our love for God and for other people.
  • The Holy Spirit helps us to be sorry for our sins. The Holy Spirit helps us forgive others.
  • In the sacrament of Reconciliation accepting and doing our penance and praying an act of contrition shows we are sorry for our sins and helps us repair the harm we have caused by our sins.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify and choose ways to show true sorrow.
  • Discover how showing true sorrow makes a difference.

Together as a Family

  • Talk about why expressing our sorrow is important for our family.
  • Go through the rituals “Receiving and Accepting a Penance” and “Praying an Act of Sorrow” in the rite of Reconciliation.

Chapter 5: We Are Forgiven
Chapter Faith Theme
In the sacrament of Reconciliation God forgives our sins through the ministry of bishops and priests.

Ritual
Laying on of hands

  • Celebrate the ritual action of laying on of hands.
  • Reflect on how making up, or reconciling with others, is part of daily living.
  • Discover and name ways reconciling with God and other people is part of living and celebrating our faith.

Scripture
The Parable of the Forgiving Father: Luke 15:11-32

  • Tell the parable of the Forgiving Father. Discover the connection between this parable and God’s love for us.

Doctrine/Liturgy
Absolution

  • Reconciliation is one of the two Sacraments of Healing.
  • In this sacrament we share in God’s mercy and forgiving love. Our sins are forgiven. The Holy Spirit reconciles us with God and with one another.
  • In the sacrament of Reconciliation, Christ is present with the Church. Through the ministry of bishops and priests we are forgiven our sins. The bishop or priest absolves us from our sins “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify times when we forgave others.
  • Discover how being forgiven and forgiving others makes a difference.

Together as a Family

  • Share ideas on ways our family can be a forgiving people.
  • Go through the ritual “Absolution” in the rite of Reconciliation.

Chapter 6: We Are Peacemakers

Chapter Faith Theme
The sacrament of Reconciliation makes us sharers in God’s gift of peace and renews our calling to share that peace with others.

Ritual
Sharing a sign of peace

  • Celebrate the ritual action of sharing a sign of peace.
  • Reflect on the ways sharing peace is part of daily living.
  • Discover and name ways that sharing peace is part of living and celebrating our faith.

Scripture
The Gift of Peace: John 14:15-27, 20:21

  • Tell the story of the promise of Jesus to give his disciples the gift of peace.
  • Discover the connection between Jesus’ promise and his presence with us.

Doctrine/Liturgy
Proclamation of Praise and Mercy/Dismissal

  • Jesus taught that peacemakers are children of God. We live as peacemakers when we forgive others and ask others to forgive us.
  • At the end of the celebration of Reconciliation we are sent forth in peace. We are reconciled with God and with one another. We want everyone to know how wonderful God’s love is.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

  • Identify peacemakers we know and what they do.
  • Choose ways to live as a peacemaker and discover the difference living as a peacemaker makes.

Together as a Family

  • Share ideas on how family conflicts can be solved peacefully.
  • Go through the thanksgiving and dismissal rituals of the rite of Reconciliation.