Education in Faith 

What's a good number?

Students and families have loved unpacking this particular Bible verse as we have prepared for Reconciliation. 

Peter means well in this story, wanting to continue to learn from Jesus. He asks how many times he should forgive people in his life. Is seven a good number? 

Our students have had a good laugh imagining this. Being very honest they have admitted they have burned through plenty more times of forgiveness than seven with their family and friends! 

As you can imagine in this Bible story, Jesus responds to Peter in his usual calm and non judgmental way. 

Jesus responds to Peter's number with another number. However as our students have unpacked, he is not actually expecting Peter to do the sum in his head! (It is 490 by the way!) 

Instead, Jesus is highlighting something very important. The fact that forgiveness should not be a number. We should strive to forgive others as much as we are able! 

Jesus and God know we as humans will make mistakes and poor choices in our lives. This is part of the experience of being human! 

Please see some of our students further explanations of this below! 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation 

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the sacraments of Healing because it helps restore our friendship with God and others when we have made poor choices. It is a sacrament which can be repearted through our life as much as we need. 

Through this sacrament, we remember that God loves us endlessly, forgives us, and wants to help us grow. Much of what Jesus was speaking about with Peter! 

Small Mistakes v the Times we can do Better! 

In preparing for our Sacrament our students have been doing lots of fantastic work reviewing their choices and thinking about the ways our actions can impact others. Something that is always valuable to do! 

In reflecting students have developed their understanding that Reconciliation is not about the times we make small mistakes, but rather the times we act in a way when we should know better. Often this is referred to as turning away from God, or acting in a contrary way to the teachings of Jesus. 

These are the times we may be impatient, mean or quick to anger. The times when we only think about ourselves, or let our emotions dictate the way we speak. The times when we lean into conflict, instead of thinking with empathy about what others might be going through. 

As much as we would like this to not be the case, we all know that we have times when this happens in our lives. It is part of the human experience! Reconciliation is not about judging ourselves though, it is about being identify these times we do poorly, asking for forgiveness an then hopefully embarking on a journey to grow and do better! 

First Reconciliation 

As mentioned our Year Three students did a wonderful job preparing for this Sacrament. At our retreat day, students created some beautiful art work from the story of Peter and Jesus. They also spent some valuable time mapping out what they might share during their Reconciliation. 

On the evening of the Sacrament candidates were reverent and did a wonderful job with their readings and speaking with Father Leenus and Father Eugene to make their Reconciliation. 

When sharing during Reconciliation we understand we are opening our hearts to God, and sharing the times we wished we could have done better. We know this does not mean it will never happen again, but rather God is always willing to forgive those who ask for it. 

We are so proud of our Year Three students who made their Reconciliation, as well as their peers who supported them so well on their journey. 

Congratulations to Holly C, Holly E, Alex, Liam, Maya, Felicia and Natalie! May we be inspired by their efforts to keep doing our best, but always be willing to reflect and apoligie in those times when we don't meet those standards! 

God Bless

Tim O'Mahoney 

Education in Faith Leader 

tomahoney@santglen.catholic.edu.au