M. Montessori words to contemplate:

The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist". - Dr. Maria Montessori

Baptism

Every year in the atrium, from the time children enter at 3, they will spend time contemplating the beautiful gift of Baptism. Each year our understanding of this sacrament expands. In level 3, we spent time looking at the 3 distinct moments of the rite and the prayers that accompany them - the first takes place at the doors of the church, the second at the font, and the last at the altar. As a parent, bringing my child to the altar always made me aware that I was giving her back to God and of the gift He'd given me by allowing me to parent her. The realization that this was also symbolic of the Good Shepherd welcoming her to the table grew slowly. This year we talked about the last moments of Baptism in conjunction with Holy Communion and the words of Jesus: "I have longed to share this meal with you."

As always, it is a gift to share scripture with the children.

In the peace of the Good Shepherd ~
Beate

Liturgy of Light

This year we invited all the young people in RE to celebrate with us. Our prayer is that everyone learned just a bit more about the wonderful prayers that make up the Easter Vigil liturgy. 

On Holy Thursday:

From Pope Francis' homily at the Chrism Mass

"On this Holy Thursday, I ask the Lord Jesus to enable many young people to discover that burning zeal which joy kindles in our hearts as soon as we have the stroke of boldness needed to respond willingly to his call."

Amen!

"I am a priest because he has regarded my littleness (cf. Lk 1:48). And in that littleness we find our joy. Joy in our littleness!"

So often, we ponder littleness in the atria - it is something that resonates with all the children, but esp. the youngest. Jesus was born in a little village in a little country....the smallest of seeds contains within the power to grow into a large tree....the tiny yeast has the ability to cause the flour to rise.... One of the gifts I enjoy the most as a catechist, is seeing the deep joy in the faces of the children when the Gospel is proclaimed. 

In preparation for these three Holy Days, we have reflected on the Last Supper, or Cenacle, and on the City of Jerusalem. When presenting the Last Supper to the younger children, we read: Luke 22:7-13 and Mark 14:17, 22-24, 26. This focuses on the essential moments, leaving out the betrayel of Judas. For the 7 - 12 year old children, we gradually add other Passion Narratives such as:

·       Jesus Arrested  -John 18:1-14, (7+)

·       Jesus before Caiaphas Matthew 26:57-68, (7+)

·       *Agony in the Garden - Luke 22:39-46, (9+)

·       Jesus before Pilate and Herod Luke 23:1-12, (7+)

·       The Trial before Pilate - John 18:28-36 and 19:16, (8+)

·       *Crucifixion - Luke 23:33-46, (9+)

· 

The children are also encouraged to find other scripture accounts of these events using the scripture charts provided in the atria. All of my children at home are now 10 and over, so tonight we'll gather our bibles and pick one of the above narratives to focus on. My niece, who has young children, will probably do the Last Supper reading with her 4 year old, using some simple apostles and a block for the table. 6 years ago, after doing this work at home, my now 12 year old found the sheep from the Good Shepherd work and gathered them around the Last Supper table. She spent a very long time meditating on the scene, having just recently made the discovery that we are the sheep. It was a truly beautiful moment!

Meeting Noah

Yesterday the children in Level 3 and I began our meditation on Noah. This is the culmination of the 3 typology studies that we are doing our first year. The first was Creation, followed by Sin and now the Flood.

If you are wondering, as I did, what is typology? It is a way of looking at scripture that encourages us to find how one event is "imprinted" on another. In other words, we see hints of Baptism in the account of Creation, and then look at both through the words of the prophets about Parousia. St. Augustin called this "the Golden Thread" that unites the whole of scripture.

"The typological approach guides us to see each event in history as linked to what preceded it and at the same time projected toward completion—“when God will be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). Only such a reading respects the weight of the divine mystery in history." ~ Sofia Cavaletti

With each scripture study, I remind the children to listen for truths that God is revealing to us. The children have a real grasp of this which is often illustrated in their commentary. When one child pondered God's putting the tree of knowledge in the garden, another chimed in "Because of trust." In the creation accounts, they easily saw that God has prepared all for us - man arriving last like guests at a banquet. It's a concept we've pondered since the early days of Level 2 and now was obvious to them as we read further in Genesis than we had previously.

The Flood account was more difficult for them. Perhaps the childrens' story aspect of it got in the way - all those cute animal pairs filing into the ark ;-) Also, Noah being 600 years old! Yet they did manage to move away from all of that and wondered about Noah's obedience. Unlike the prophets we've studied, Noah didn't question, he just obeyed. One of the children also saw Noah living in a time of chaos - where noone recognized God and all He'd created. We noticed many allusions to the creation account, especially the specific order and the Holy Spirit's presence. All in all, it was an accounting of God's unfailing love and mercy. No matter what is going on in the rest of our world, we can be assured God's plan will prevail.

If you'd like to read the passages we shared at home, I'll list them for you. We don't read from beginning to end, some of the narratives are meant to be grappled with by adults, not children!

This week (March 30):

Genesis 6:5 – 8:12

Next week (April 6):

Genesis 8:13 – 9:17 

For more information about specifically Catholic ways of studying scripture there is article 3 of the Catechism, as well as three Papal Encyclicals on reading the Bible:

Pope Leo XIII, 

Encyclical Letter On the Study of Sacred Scripture,

Providentissimus Deus, 1893

Pope Benedict XV,Encyclical Letter Commemorating the Fifteenth Centenary of the Death of St. Jerome,

Spiritus Paraclitus, 1920

Pope Pius XII,

Encyclical Letter Promoting Biblical Studies,

Divino Afflante Spiritu, 1943

In the peace of the Good Shepherd ~

Beate

Mary's Communion Song

This was written by CGS catechist Mandie deVries in an effort to show her first holy communicants the proper way to receive communion:


I

We'll practice this in class, but it would be wonderful if you could also practice at home.

~ Beate

Lent in the Atria

Reminder - No class on March 9!

We are heading into Lent in the atria, so here is a quick update on the themes we may be covering in the atria this season.

In Level 1, the children will be hearing the parable of the Found Sheep (Luke 15:5-6), Psalm 23:1-2, the Mystery of Life and Death (John 12:24), and ponder events in the City of Jerusalem all before Easter Sunday. Individually, they will continue to work on gestures, the vestments of the priest, and other works that call to them during their time in the atrium.

In Level 2, the children will be encouraged to revisit some of the Paschal narratives. These include:

• The Mystery of Life and Death, John 12:24
• The Last Supper (also called the Cennacle,) Luke 22:7-13, Mark 14:17,22-24, 26
• Entry into Jerusalm, Luke 19:29-38, 45a
• Jesus in the Garden of Olives
• The Prayer, Luke 22:39-46
• The Arrest, Matthew 26:47-56
• Trial before Caiphas, Matthew 26:57-68
• Trial before Pilate 1st part, John 18:28-37, Matthew 27:12-14
• Jesus before Herod, Luke 23:2-12
• Trial before Pilate 2nd part, John 19:4-16
• Crucifixion, Luke 23:33-46, Mark 15:39, Matthew 47:57-60
• Ascension, Acts 1:4-12
• Pentecost, Acts 2:1-11

The children will also be encouraged to continue working on the structure of the Mass and their first Missal, as well as meditate on the moral parables.

The Level 3 children will continue their study of Genesis. Thus far, we've discussed Creation and the Fall, so they will look at those more deeply. We will venture to the Flood next, again looking at this event typologically. What unites these OT events to redemption (our baptism and Eucharist) and also to Parousia, when God will be all in all? Our liturgy often makes the connections for us, esp. during the Easter vigil, but also during the Baptismal rite. 

In other presentations, we will focus on God's mercy and justice, reading and discussing the Parable of the Debtors (Matthew 18:23-34) and doing a meditation called the Armor of Light.  

Like the Level 2 children, the Level 3 children will be encouraged to revisit the Paschal narratives listed above. We have scripture booklets available to them for this purpose, but we also have scripture charts so they can look up and read the various accounts in the Bible.

~ Beate