In Unit 2 the focus is on learning to love, forgive, and heal as Jesus Christ does. Young people will read about the Great Commandment and the Holy Spirit, which help them to make good choices.
		Jesus Shows Us How to Forgive and Heal Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • understand that God sent Jesus to heal and forgive us because we were born with original sin which is forgiven in Baptism. • realize that God wants us to act with compassion and mercy. • learn that the Holy Spirit is with us and helps us do God's will. Background Sooner or later, someone will disappoint, betray, or hurt us. When this happens, there is a natural tendency to retaliate. The Old Testament is filled with instances of sanctioned retaliation. "You shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth..." (Exodus 21:23-24). But the New Testament Scriptures reveal to us Jesus' teaching about mercy and compassion: "I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other to him as well..." (Matthew 5:39). God establishes a new covenant with God's people and, through Jesus, shows us how to forgive and heal others. In Luke 5:17-26 we read the story of how Jesus not only cured the physical suffering of a paralyzed man, but cured his spiritual ailment as well. Jesus forgave the man's sins. Through his mercy and compassion, Jesus showed the paralyzed man that God truly cared for him. Our Call to Forgive Others Saint Francis of Assisi followed Jesus Christ by using his inheritance and devoting his life to help the poor, the sick, and the dying. He spread Christ's message of healing and love to everyone he met. We, too, are called to be caring, compassionate, and forgiving. Such healing actions are at the heart of what it means to be Church.
		We Celebrate Reconciliation and Healing Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • understand that Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick are Sacraments of Healing. • realize that Jesus heals and forgives through the Sacraments of Healing. • learn about the meaning of venial and mortal sins. Background God gave us the free will to live in accordance with God's laws and experience true happiness. But the human condition is corrupted with the presence of original sin. Hence, we have the tendency to be selfish and turn away from God. We sin when we act in selfish ways–not only do we harm others but we break our relationship with our Creator. Fortunately, God provides the means by which we can re-establish a right relationship. God the Father sent Jesus as expiation for our sins so that we might be saved. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God calls us to sorrow and repentance so that we can experience Christ's healing and forgiveness. The Sacraments of Healing Spiritual healing takes place in a community of faith. We must seek forgiveness from others, not just from God. The community is a vital aspect of every sacrament of the Church, especially Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. The priest forgives our sins or prays for our physical, emotional, and spiritual healing in the name of God and the community. Only God has the power to forgive sins and heal sickness. Yet, we believe God works through the Christian community.
		Jesus Teaches Us How to Love and Care Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • understand that the Great Commandment tells us to love God above all things. • realize that loving one's neighbor means respecting and caring for all people. • recognize that if we follow the Great Commandment we will make good choices. Background Jesus exhorts us in the Great Commandment to love God above all things. We are also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Love for God, however, is inseparable from the love we must have for our neighbor. We cannot love God without loving our neighbors. We cannot love our neighbors as Jesus did unless we love God and see God in every person we meet. Christian Morality The Great Commandment of Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments. It also forms the basis for Christian morality. Because we believe all people are valuable and are made in God's image, we try to treat them as we would treat God. We show them respect; we listen to and care for them; we love them and work for their happiness. In Luke 4:14-22, Jesus defines his mission on earth in terms of love and social justice. He also outlines our task as Christians. Our love for others begins at home and in the parish, it is to have no boundaries. We must love and care for others by bringing glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. We are to see all people–even strangers or people we don't like–as our neighbor.
		We Pray to the Holy Spirit Prior to presenting each chapter, refer to the TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME pages in your child's book, or print out these pages from TAKE HOME FAMILY TIME. Learning Focus This chapter will help the children • understand that we should ask God the Father for what we need. • learn that the Holy Trinity is one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. • learn to be open to and accept guidance from the Holy Spirit. Background Have you ever wondered why Christians pray? If we truly believe God knows us and reads our hearts, why do we have to say anything? The prayer itself seems unnecessary. Does God answer our prayers? Sometimes it seems that our prayers are futile; it seems that God does not listen to them. At other times it seems that God does not give us the answer we think we need. So why should we pray at all? This chapter presents a summary of Jesus' teaching on prayer. Jesus tells us that we are to pray constantly. The chapter helps to explain why we are to persist in our prayers and keep asking God for what we need. Why Prayer Is Important True prayer changes us, not God. When we persist in prayer, we grow in our ability to think and act like Jesus. We begin to see things from a different perspective. We begin to see what is really important rather than what we think we need. Prayer helps make us more receptive to the workings of the Holy Spirit who is with us always. Through prayer we open ourselves to the virtues of faith, hope, and love. We realize God loves us, helping us in every situation throughout life.