February Adult Meeting

1. February Adult Meeting

2. Agenda

3. Opening Questions We’ve all been wronged in our lives. How does it feel to be wronged? Have you been wronged or hurt by your children? Do you ever stop loving them?

4. Opening Questions We can feel and express sorrow when we hurt someone. When someone hurts you and says they are sorry, how does that feel? What if they felt sorry, but didn’t tell you or ask for your forgiveness? Would that feel as good?

5. Opening Questions What if they felt sorry, but they planned to wrong you in the exact same way again?

6. Opening Questions Have you ever wronged someone else? How does it feel when you are forgiven? Have you ever been in line for confession and felt nervous, or seen other people looking nervous or uncomfortable? How should we feel when we go to confession?

7. Introduction: Sin, Suffering, and God’s Plan

8. How do we tend to react to death, pain, suffering, or sin in the world around us?

9. Suffering and death were not part of God’s original plan We all experience physical and spiritual pain and death Yet, even though all these things are a part of our experience, they were not part of God’s original plan for us. God created us to not experience sickness or death; He meant for us to live forever!

10. Death and sickness entered the world only through the devil’s envy and man’s sin. “As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.” ~Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1707~

11. The Sacraments of Healing: God’s Solution to Sin and Death

12. God sends His Son to reconcile us back to Him Scripture tells us that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil, to restore us to a full and abundant life, and to set us free from the bondage of sin. Jesus is the Divine Physician: He came to bring healing to both our bodies and our souls.

13. Jesus gives us two Sacraments of Healing so that the Church can continue His work of restoration and healing until he comes again: Penance and Reconciliation Anointing of the Sick

14. Penance and Reconciliation This Sacrament heals us from spiritual sickness (venial sin) and spiritual death (mortal sin). Through this Sacrament our relationship to God is restored.

15. Anointing of the Sick Jesus comes to meet us in our suffering. In some cases we can receive healing from physical illness. When we are dying, it gives us strength for our final journey to God. It can also include receiving the Eucharist as Viaticum (Food for the Journey).

16. Our God is a compassionate God, a God of deep love and unending mercy!

17. Reconciliation: The Mercy and Healing Power of God

18. Imagine you have a fight with your spouse. What do you need to do to rectify the situation? How do you know that he or she has then forgiven you?

19. When we hurt our human relationships, we seek the person’s forgiveness and in turn, hopefully, they extend it to us. If we do this with our children, our spouses, and our friends, we should also do the same with Christ! This is what the Sacrament of Penance is.

20. Scriptural Origin of the Sacrament Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession in John 20, when He appeared to His disciples after His Resurrection: He said to them, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23).

21. How to make a good confession Begin with an examination of conscience, making a list of ways in which you have failed to love God, neighbor, and self. After you enter the confessional, say to the priest, “Bless me Father for I have sinned,” and tell him how long it has been since your last confession. Then proceed to tell him your sins. The priest will then assign you a penance, ask you to recite an act of contrition, and give you absolution.

22. The Fruits of the Sacrament God’s love is imparted to the sinner in a profound way. Our sins are forgiven and we are restored to a right relationship with God and the Church. We are strengthened in our resolve to sin no more. It brings about a “spiritual resurrection” in us. It reconciles the sinner in his inmost being, enabling him to regain his true identity as a dearly loved child of God.

23. Frequent confession truly strengthens us in the life of grace and virtue!

24. Sacred Art Discussion: Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son This painting depicts a moment in Christ’s Parable of the Lost Son. What moment is that, and what happened just previously?

25. Sacred Art Discussion: Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son What can you tell about the son by his posture, clothing, and other details? What can you tell about the father? What emotions can you see in his face?

26. Sacred Art Discussion: Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son Who do you think the man standing on the right might be? What does his body language seem to indicate? How does it compare to that of the father?

27. Sacred Art Discussion: Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son If we understand this parable as a symbol of the Sacrament of Confession, which character represents us? Which character represents God?

28. Sacred Art Discussion: Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son Is God ever like the older brother? What about us? Are we ever like him?

29. Key Points in Our Readings this Month Jesus comforts us in the Sacraments of healing. He heals us of spiritual sickness in Confession. In the Anointing of the Sick, He gives us physical healing and strength for our final journey to Him.

30. Key Points in Our Readings this Month God forgives the sins we commit after Baptism through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The Sacrament of God’s forgiveness includes both the actions of the penitent and the action of God.