Religious Education 

 

Religious Education

 

 

Now you are  the body of         Christ and individually members of it.                                   1 Corinthians 12:27

Dear Parents/Carers,   

Last Tuesday evening, the Year 3 parents and students participated in a Reconciliation Faith Night. The evening gave parents and students the opportunity to reflect together, on the scripture The Parable of the Lost Son . One theologian's interpretation of this story is from a Catholic perspective focusing on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He identifies the four stages of Reconciliation:

Admitting Wrong

Saying Sorry

Forgiveness

Reconciliation

The process we used to unpack this story is called the "hermeneutical process." Throughout the evening the students engaged in dialogue with their families to share their thinking about the story.  Some students were able to see new layers of meaning as they read through the story many times and made connections between the Father in the story and God who loves us unconditionally. 

The story of the Prodigal Son really challenges our thinking about Reconciliation. This story is also poignant during this Lenten Season where we reflect on our relationship with God. 

You might like to reflect on the following questions over the week ahead:

What is Jesus saying to us about forgiveness and reconciliation?

How does Jesus' teaching and practice of forgiveness and reconciliation compare with the world's understanding and practice of forgiveness and reconciliation?

How does it compare to our usual approach?

What if we, as individuals, as a church, and as a society adopted Jesus' approach to forgiveness? What would change?

What is Jesus challenging us to do?

The students in  Year 3 and 4 will continue reflecting on the sacrament of Reconciliation and will participate in a Reflection day on Monday the 28th March at school. 

Take Care

Bernadette Reed

(Religious Education Leader)