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Preview of Lesson 721: First Confession Capstone Lesson for Young Catholics

The Child Prays to Make Up for Her Sins

Remember that we have to do three things in order to be forgiven:  We have to be sorry, we have to confess our sins, and we have to do our PENANCE.  What is Penance?  It is making up for the bad things we have done.

If you borrow your friend’s bike and crash into a tree, do you just say you’re sorry and then leave her with a broken bike?  No, you ty to fix it.  It is the same thing when we sin.  We must make it up to God.

God forgives our sins when we go to confession, but we still have to serve our punishment. Think about Katie and Billy in this story:

One time Katie and Billy were playing at their neighbor’s house.  Their mom warned them not to throw the ball near the fish tank, but they were having fun and didn’t listen to her warning.  While they were playing, they threw the ball too hard and cracked the fish tank.  They said they were sorry, and the neighbor forgave them.  But they still had to make it up to her.  So, for the next month they did jobs around the house to earn enough money to make up for cracking the fish tank.

This is like doing penance.

Luckily, for us, most times the penance the priest gives us in confession is easy.  Usually, he will ask us to say a prayer like the Hail Mary, Our Father, or Glory Be. Do you have these prayers memorized?  It is very important to do your penance with as much love for God as possible.  Remember, He has forgiven your sin; this is just one more way to show Him that you are really sorry.