PARENTS > FIRST RECONCILIATION > SESSION 5

Session Review

Being Sorry & Asking Forgiveness

  • We are sorry because we hurt each other and our friendship with God.
  • We are truly sorry when we are aware we hurt others, are willing to admit it, never want to do it again, and promise to change and be more loving.
  • Contrition has three parts: realizing what we did was wrong, being sorry for it, and promising to be better.

Rite of Reconciliation

  • The Act of Contrition is a prayer we say in the Sacrament of Reconciliation after we confess our sins, to say we're sorry and don't want to sin again.
  • Absolution is when the priest offers you God's forgiveness after you have confessed your sins.

From Papa Francis: The Imperfect Family

On Valentine's Day, Pope Francis told 25,000 fiances that the success in marriage can be found in the three words, “Please, thanks, and sorry.... In our lives we make many errors, many mistakes. We all do. ... And this is why we need to be able to use this simple word, 'sorry'. In general we are all ready to accuse others and to justify ourselves. It is an instinct that lies at the origins of many disasters. Let us learn to recognize our mistakes and to apologize....The perfect family doesn't exist, nor the perfect husband nor wife. Let's not even talk about the perfect mother-in-law!”