By Dave Jolivet, Editor
ASSONET, Mass. — Lent is often considered a time for reflection, repentance and forgiveness, yet Christ’s Good News stresses these virtues year-round. And parish Religious Education programs across the diocese heed that news, as well as its five Catholic high schools.
As the diocese prepares for its second Reconciliation Weekend March 19 and 20, students are being reminded to embrace and not fear that sacrament the Father offers to draw us closer to him. High school chaplains, teachers, directors of Religious Education and their staffs work diligently to impress on young minds God’s tender forgiveness and the need to seek repentance.
“I walked into a recent ninth-grade Religious Education class at my parish,” said Father Michael Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet, “and the teacher told me that several of her students wanted to go to confession before the end of Lent.” He brightly added, “The message is getting through.”
Father Racine told The Anchor that his staff of Religious Education teachers, directed by Brian and Marlene Correia, stress that reconciliation is not “just something to be read about.” He said the instructors lead by example. “They live out the sacraments in their own lives, and the students see that.”
As the students mature from their first penance days, they are taught the importance of the sacrament. “Most of them do take it very seriously,” said Father Racine. “We make the sacrament available for them as often as we can, and we let them know it’s OK to suggest their parents go as well.” Father Racine also said they are encouraging the students to think about taking advantage of the Reconciliation Weekend.
At Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, chaplain Father Thomas E. Costa Jr. and the theology teachers there encourage the students to take advantage of the gifts of forgiveness offered through the sacrament of reconciliation. “We offer them the chance to go throughout the year, but during Advent and Lent we run special reconciliation programs,” he said. “During Advent we had approximately 500 students go to confession during the program.”
The program includes a guest speaker who shares insights into the sacrament, eucharistic adoration in the auditorium, and a special prayer luncheon at which time the students have quiet lunch with reflections playing in the background. “We encourage the students to think about who they would like to forgive and who they wish would forgive them,” he said. “They have a good respect for the sacrament, and we encourage them to have faith in themselves in their own lives, even when they fail.”
During the Lenten season the students fast and abstain from meat on Fridays and offer it for a particular cause, such as the victims of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and the flooding on the Island of Madeira. There are also charity drives. “We stress the need for almsgiving, but we also want them to give something holy, like prayer.”
Father Kevin A. Cook, chaplain at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton recently held a Lenten penance service for each grade to promote and offer the sacrament of reconciliation. Each student received an examination of conscience and how to use it, as well as a copy of the Act of Contrition. The religion teachers spoke in detail about the sacrament leading up to the service.
“I offer confessions when we have eucharistic adoration on First Fridays, and I try to free up my schedule as best I can to offer the sacrament on other Fridays during Lent,” said Father Cook. “I am amazed how more students are seizing the opportunity to go once they have gotten over the false fears people have made about the sacrament. I also find many students really want to make a good confession and try to prepare themselves for the sacrament after they are taught how to go and are encouraged to go with a certain frequency.”
Jean Kelly, director of Religious Education at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth told The Anchor the students in that program are offered the sacrament a least once a year. “One week prior to their receiving, we provide a lesson on what the sacrament is and how important it is to reconcile with God,” she said. “Our priests take a very active part in the teaching, and this makes the students more comfortable when it is time to visit them for reconciliation.
“Most of the older students do take it very seriously, and we suggest that it is also a good time to seek counseling for anything that may be bothering them in their faith lives. It’s not just a confession, but a dialogue with the priest. Before they go we explain what mortal and venial sins are, and let them know there are sins of omission and sins they commit willingly. They know what they are doing when they go to confession.”
Kelly also mentioned that the students will bring home flyers encouraging their parents to take part in the upcoming Reconciliation Weekend.
Beni Costa-Reedy and Peter Carvalho are responsible for the Faith Formation of junior high school-aged students at St. Mary’s Parish in South Dartmouth and St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth, and reconciliation and repentance are high on their list.
“As the students grow older, they become afraid of the sacrament of reconciliation,” said Costa-Reedy. “They’re afraid of being judged, and afraid of what the priest will think of them.”
To help alleviate some of those fears, Costa-Reedy and Carvalho use visuals to help illustrate just what reconciliation is. “We have baggies filled with rocks and on the baggies we write some type of transgression against God. We keep adding the baggies to a backpack and the students become very aware just how heavy the bag is becoming,” Costa-Reedy explained. “Some say, ‘I can carry this load,’ but it becomes harder and harder. We let them know that the sacrament of reconciliation is like unloading that backpack and feeling relieved of its heavy burden. And we also let them know that the sacrament is always there to ‘empty that backpack.’” She said some of the students make the connection, and others don’t, but there are always those who want to take advantage of the sacrament after the presentation.
During class sessions, the students learn the Act of Contrition, receive an aged-based examination of conscience, and a schedule of when the sacrament is available. “Some feel that ‘God could never forgive me,’ for certain sins, but we let them know God forgives all who are repentant.”
At St. Mary’s Parish in Seekonk, Karen Bergeron directs the Religious Education program along with James Souza. Bergeron works with the younger grades and prepares the tots for their first penance. While these young minds cannot grasp the gravity of sin yet, they do know right and wrong. “We liken the sacrament of penance to being upset with a friend,” said Bergeron. “When you apologize to that friend, you feel so much better. That’s what we stress with the youngsters, that it feels good to stay friends with God.”
Prior to that big first step, the young students experience a three- to four-week session on the sacrament of reconciliation. “We let them know what it is, how to make a good confession, and teach them a beautiful song for the penance service. At a time when they can be afraid, it’s reassuring to them. And, we let them know that forgiveness is not a one-time thing, but something they’ll carry with them all their lives.”