Twenty Questions

The young people will learn to appreciate the need for reconciliation and the personal nature of the sacrament.

The young people should be able to describe Penance as the sacrament in which we receive God's grace to turn away from sin.

• Paper
• Pencils

• Remind the young people that the need for reconciliation was a theme that emerged in the Church during the Middle Ages and the Reformation. Just like the Church, we need to review our lives and to be reconciled with God and others.
• Review with the young people the steps for making a good confession. Explain the importance of preparing for the sacrament by making an examination of conscience.
• Invite the group to brainstorm areas of their lives that would be important to include when making an examination of conscience. Write their answers on the board.
• Divide the young people into groups of three or four.
• Instruct the young people to create a 20-point examination of conscience for people their own age.
• Invite each group to share their questions, while the other groups listen for similarities and differences.
• Have the entire group agree on 10 to 12 questions they think would make the best examination of conscience.

People Smart, Word Smart

Draw up the finished list of 10 to 12 questions. Distribute the lists to the young people to use before they receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.