In this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus outlines how to settle disputes among our brothers and sisters in Christ. Holding our brothers and sisters accountable for their sinful actions can help reunite them with the Church and bring us all closer to Christ. In this week’s lesson, students will contemplate how to give fraternal correction in charity
A Brother Who Sins – Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | Year A
Lesson Overview
Upper Elementary Lesson Materials
Download all PDFsDirections
- Have your students read the Gospel passage, or read it aloud to your students, and then answer the focus questions.
- Review and discuss the answers when they have completed the focus questions.
- Arrange students into small groups and distribute to them the Fraternal Correction Scenarios handout. Have them read each scenario and come up with the best way to handle each situation using the Gospel to support their answer.
- When they have finished, call on students to share and discuss their answers.
Answer Key
Focus Questions
- He says you should take your brother privately aside and let him know what he has done to wrong you.
- You will have won your brother over.
- You should take him before two or three witnesses and explain the wrong done. If he still doesn’t listen, you should tell the church. After that, you should treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.
- They are bound and loosed in Heaven.
- That what they pray for will be granted by the Father.
- Jesus will be in their midst.
Fraternal Correction Scenarios
- Confront your friend and tell him what he is doing will get him into trouble.
- Tell one or two other friends about the situation and ask them to help you talk some sense into your friend.
- Tell his parents or report him to his boss or the police.
- You probably cannot help someone who has shown repeatedly that he does not want to be helped. Pray for him. Be a friend to his family members.
- Friendship is based on desiring what is good for our friend. Sin harms us and harms others. Sin also hurt our relationship with God. Therefore, holding our friends accountable for sinful actions is a sign of love and mercy. Accept other reasoned answers.
Lower Elementary Lesson Materials
Download all PDFsDirections
- Read the Gospel passage aloud to your students as they follow along. Then discuss the focus and reflection questions with them as a class.
- Arrange students into small groups and distribute to them the Correcting a Friend handout. Read each scenario aloud or have students read them together in their groups, and then have them come up with the best way to handle each of the situations using the Gospel to support their answer.
- When students have finished, call on groups to share and discuss their answers.
Answer Key
Focus Questions
- He says we should talk to our brother privately and let him know what he has done to wrong us.
- We will have won our brother over.
- We should take him before two or three witnesses and explain the wrong done. If he still does not listen, we should tell the church. After that, we should treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.
- That what they pray for will be granted by the Father.
- Jesus will be in their midst.
Fraternal Correction Scenarios
- Confront your friend and ask him to tell the truth to your parents.
- Tell a few other friends about the situation and ask them to help you talk some sense into your friend.
- Remind her to ask you next time and to stop taking your money without permission. Tell your parents what is happening.
- Accept reasoned answers. Friendship is based on desiring what is good for our friend.
- Sin harms us and harms others. Sin also hurt our relationship with God. Holding our friends accountable for sinful actions is a sign of love and mercy. Accept other reasoned answers.
