Recently, my son made his First Reconciliation. He is our oldest child, so it was our first time going through second grade sacramental prep. Our children go to Catholic school, and much of his preparation took place in his classroom (which is truly such a gift). Additionally, our parish had a few check-ins and provided videos and questions that we could talk through with him as we got closer to the day.
In one of the videos, one of our parish priests talked about how sin is like dropping jelly on your white shirt, and going to Confession is like washing out the jelly to become stain free again. His explanation was perfect for 8-year-olds and left my son giggling. This priest also doubled down on the idea of Confession not being “scary” and for parents to not use it against the kids when they do something bad – i.e. “I’m going to make you go to Confession for talking back.” etc.
As someone who tries to get to Confession every six weeks, it was nice to get a “refresher”. My husband and I always bring our kids with us to Confession when we go, so they know what it’s kind of like, but for my son, the questions that came up were ones that I have taken for granted. It was so sweet to hear his questions of “why”, his worries, and his general wonderings about what goes down in a Confessional.
When the day came, he wasn’t really nervous. We got to the church full of 2nd graders and their families, and I was suddenly very aware of how big this moment was. Of course, I knew it was a big moment, but seeing all of these children about to take a big step in their faith journey made me slightly teary-eyed. Seeing my son’s friends and their families (and those kids and families we didn’t know) reinforced the idea of the Body of Christ.
And then the parish priest who gave the analogy of the jelly on the shirt came forward to give a little homily before they opened up the lines to Confession. He said how he was almost late that day because he was in the middle of doing chores – laundry, specifically. How when he was little, his mom always did his laundry. But now, he has to do his own laundry. He said how today, for the 2nd graders, it’s like doing their laundry. Not only because they may have some jelly stains, but because it’s their responsibility to become clean. Their parents couldn’t do it for them. It was between them and God.
As my son got in line for Confession, he had a slight smile on his face. When he was done, he walked past his friends, straight to the St. Francis of Assisi statue (his favorite saint) that had a kneeler in front of it, knelt down, and prayed his Penance. Just writing about it makes me teary-eyed again. He was more grown in the Church. His relationship with God had taken another step. He was all forgiven. He was clean.
In a few months, my son will receive his First Communion to continue his initiation into the Body of Christ. What a gift to be able to witness my eight-year-old have a relationship with God. What a gift our faith is. We all have jelly on our shirts and questions about “why” we do things, but don’t let those stop you from coming “clean” and taking ownership of your relationship with God. I hope your Easter season is one filled with joy and peace in knowing that God loves you – despite your dirty shirt.