November Update from the Atria

It has been a year of changes for us at St. Thomas, some good and some sad. Last month we said "Good-Bye" to Janet Hernandez, who joined us in February to manage the traditional RE programs for the teens and adults. I know she will be missed, especially by the youths who were priviledged to attend a mission trip with her this past summer. We all pray for the repose of her soul and for peace and comfort for her loving family.

Our atria are bursting at the seams, especially Level 2! It is a joy to see Catechesis of the Good Shepherd embraced by the community. In fact, we've grown so much that it became necessary to open another time slot. Last month, we began meeting on Thursday afternoons between 4:30 and 6:00. We have a small group of children in all the levels, which makes for a peace-filled afternoon.

One little boy comes on Sundays and Thursdays, which has really helped him to enter deeply into the work. Last week he was pondering the Parable of the Leaven and chose to make two batches of dough, one with yeast and one without. At the end of the period, he contemplated the results with the catechist: "Look, it really is like the Kingdom of Heaven!" he exclaimed with delight and surprise. This little four year old has managed to reveal a bit of Heaven to the rest of us with his joy and acceptance.

The level 2 children have been revisiting the gestures of the Mass that are presented in Level 1 and placing them into the rite of the Mass. It's interesting to see the children's appreciation for the innate order of our liturgical life. The Thursday group is mostly new to the atrium, so now that we've looked at the big picture, we'll break it down into the moments. I'm looking forward to sharing the mingling of the water and wine with this group.

In Level 3, we've been unpacking moments of the Mass. Last Sunday a group of children worked with the Memorial, which traces the Eucharistic celebration from the Last Supper to today and into Parousia. Eventually, we'll study Exodus and trace those roots back even further. One student, new to the Church, was amazed to hear the prayers we looked at in class later on during Mass. It's a gift for the children to recognize the power of the words that we adults often just allow to wash over us without too much notice.

This is my work from yesterday - I wanted to meditate on the memorial it a bit. The words of Christ are on small cards which are moved down through the ages - it's hard to see on the phone photo. I'll have to bring the camera to work at some point.

You can see the Structure of the Mass chart behind the Cenacle (or Last Supper) work, not because that's where it belongs, but because a child left it out on Sunday in order to finish the work the next week :-)

~ Beate