Parent Orientation--Revisted!

Here is a link to the Parent Orientation that I posted last year.

It has some helpful insights into CGS. I hope to get on and post more about what we are doing these days, but with building 3 new atria in one summer, PLUS the New Roman Missal changes to our existing material--it is a bit overwhelming!!

I will share one story: I was presenting the "Individual Gifts Strip" to 3 Level III children (4th graders) and we were thinking about which of the gifts we have received was the greatest. Two of them very nicely said that their family was the greatest gift. A third was thoughtfully looking over the material and then said: The Mass! I was MUCH older than 4th grade when I figured that out!

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will." Matthew 11:25-26

Keep an eye out for new posts in the coming months! I'll find the time somewhere!

God Bless,

Mandie DeVries, Director or Religious Education and Level 3 Catechist

Level III--Sin and Missals!

Ok, so that's an unusual pairing, but it's been a while since I've had time to update this blog!

First, the kids have all been introduced to a work that is called "The Rubrics of the Mass." This work builds off of the first semester work, "The Structure of the Mass." This work, however, does more than just distinguish the different parts of the Mass--the kids actually take time to think about EACH prayer! The handmade work is a wooden box that looks like a book--the Sacramentary--and has colored ribbons as drawer pulls.

We started with the orange ribbon in the 3rd drawer--the heart of the Mass--the Eucharistic prayer. In the drawer are cards with each of the prayers for the whole Eucharistic prayer, title cards, small pictures of the chalice, or host, or paten, and a control chart. The beauty of this work is that by reading the cards (and checking for clues on the back) the kids should be able to do the work of getting all the prayers, titles, and pictures in order all on their own without needing help from catechist.

From here, we introduce our Level III Missal work. This is much more complex and complete than the Level II Missal, which is more of an overview. The kids who have been in the atrium before, actually went and got their Level II Missals and looked over them before they started anew on the "Final" Missal. Believe it or not, the kids actually like to do this kind of copy work.

When it comes to Sin...

Having finished our typology study of Creation, we took the leap into Genesis 3, pondering the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the serpent, and the grasping of man and woman to achieve what they already had (the likeness of God), only to lose their dignity as children of God.

Children have a knack for cutting to the heart of things, and as we thought about the comparison between Adam and Eve who were given dominion over the created world, yet after the fall they resort to "hiding" from God. One child said, "It's like they became cowards." Another noted, "It's like they don't trust anybody, now." Truly, God promised them that if they ate of the tree they would die... they chose to believe the serpent instead of God, and we hear those words, "Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

(Note: the kids remembered that Adam's name came from the Hebrew word adam which means man, and the Hebrew word for Earth is Adamah. So this reads, "Remember adam, you are Adamah, and to Adamah you shall return.)

The exciting part of the typology is when we get out the chart and see how this Old Testament story has a golden thread that ties it to Jesus--the new Adam. We see that the Tree of Knowledge is the tree of defeat, but it becomes the Tree of Victory (the wood of the Cross!) We also see the striking symbolism in baptism where we are clothed in the white garment--overcoming our nakedness of being stripped of our dignity with the original sin.

We follow the golden thread into the future--all the way to the Parousia--and we see that it will not be until then that the final enemy, death, will be defeated. And we know that is the time when God will be All in All! We pray together "Our Father...thy Kingdom come!"

God's Blessings!

Mandie DeVries
CGS Level III Catechist and Director of Religious Education

Level III--Typologies begin!

We've been so excited to come back to classes so that we could begin one of the most interesting studies of our CGS Catechist formation: the typology works. There are 5 of these, and we begin, rightly so, with the CREATION.

Creation is one of the three moments that take central importance in the Level III atrium--the other two are the Redemption (the time when Christ came to redeem us UP to today) and the Parousia (the time when Christ comes back and God will be All in All!)

Our first week of "Creation" was spent in a bible study on the first story of Creation found in Genesis 1-Genesis 2:3. After the solemn reading of scripture, we spend some time thinking about what this story means. Was the author there? In truth, the story of Creation is a reflection many centuries and even millenia after the creation of the world, but because we believe in God's divine inspiration, we know that this story speaks the truth about God and also about us.

What does Genesis reveal to us from the very beginning? God is not like us. He is not a creature. He is the only one who can create with the power of his Word--from nothing. I could say, "Let there be pizza," until I am blue in the face, but this does not a pizza make.

We think about all of the things and animals that are created and then we hear a dramatic pause... and something new:

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27

What is the divine image? What is this we hear? We are made in the likeness of God! What does that mean? What does that look like? The children come up with many answers, but we usually rest in the answer that man can LOVE... man can CHOOSE good... man can PRAY...

The second week, we focus on the second story of Creation in Genesis 2. Most times, the children are not aware that there IS a 2nd story, or that they are different. This is not troubling to them, however, because they can see it as a different way of saying something true about God and man's relationship to him.

The 2nd story is the familiar story of the Garden of Eden and the creation of Adam. It is cool to think about the Hebrew word for mankind: adam which so closely ties into the word for "the earth": adamah. We hear how mankind is made from the clay of the ground, and also about the special relationship between adam and God. God made all of these animals FOR adam. Truly, all of creation was made FOR adam, and God gives the great privilidge of naming the animals to man.

There is also mention of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This discussion is interesting because we have to think: are we as humans made to know everything? In some ways, it is grasping to be more than we were created to be... When we do our Sin Typology, this will come in to play more.

The creation of woman is also worth noting. The woman is not created from the dust, but from the man. In Hebrew, we hear that from ish comes ishah. These verses then lead to the man's exclamation (the first words man speaks in scripture):

"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Genesis 2:23-25

Our last pause before finishing is about this "naked without shame" verse. We discuss how there are many different ways to be "covered up" and reasons for this. We cover our eyes when we are ashamed, we cover our thoughts when we don't trust another... Adam and his wife were not ashamed of anything. They were completely open and uncovered in their relationship with each other AND with God. It was a beautiful time in the garden.

In the next week or two, I will post about the "chart work" that goes with this presentation. Once the children have participated in the scripture studies, they will go forward with a more individual reflection which I will detail here soon!

God's Blessings!

Mandie DeVries, CGS Catechist and Director of Religious Education

Level II-Moral Parables

A couple weeks ago in level II, the children were presented the Synthesis of the Kingdom Parables of Growth. The children are familiar with these parables from level one. If you would like to read more about the Kingdom parables please take a look at the latest level I post.

This past week we moved into the Moral Parables. At this age (6-9) children are very sensitive to what is right and wrong, fair and unfair. The moral parables begin to feed that need in them and help answer some of their questions.

We began with the Good Samaritan Lk. 10:30-37. The children were eager to answer Jesus question “Which of these, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man?” It was very clear to them that it was the Samaritan man because he “…treated him with compassion” Lk. 10:37a They commented that the man might have been surprised that holy men from his own city would pass him by, but this Samaritan would treat him as a friend. In relating this to their own lives, they determined that we should treat all people as our neighbors! “Then go and do the same.” Lk. 10:37b

In the upcoming weeks we will continue to focus on the moral parables, each one giving a new message which encourages moral virtue. These are some of my favorite presentations in level II and I am looking forward to reflecting on them with the children!

~Liz Stone, CGS Catechist and Assistant Director of Religious Education

Level I & II-Overview of the Advent and Christmas Seasons

I would like to give a brief recap of what the advent and Christmas seasons looks like in the Atrium. In both level I & II, the weeks of advent are spent in preparation for the birth of Christ. The children reflect on the Infancy Narratives and the Prophesies and we light the advent candles together as a reminder of the time spent in waiting.

The Infancy Narratives begin with the Annunciation to Mary and the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth which are presented during advent. After Christmas the level I children hear about the Adoration of the Wise Men and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. The level II children receive a beautiful presentation called the Synthesis of the Infancy Narratives in which they reflect on all of the narratives together. They watch as the knowledge of Christ’s birth spreads to more people throughout each story, and remember that his light has continued to spread throughout the world, all the way to us here today.

Through the Prophesies, the children hear some of the earliest proclamations of the coming of Christ. The level I children love the prophesy of light, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light” –Is. 9:1 Just as the people of God waited many, many years for the coming of Christ, we are waiting now for the birth of Christ at Christmas. The level II children recall all of the level I prophesies in the Synthesis of the Prophesies and they look at the ways in which the prophesies were fulfilled at the coming of Christ.

~Liz Stone, CGS Catechist and Assistant Director of Religious Education

Level I--Parables of the Kingdom

This past week in Level I we began to look at the Kingdom Parables. I had one little boy in my class that had been interested in the Pear of Great Price material for many weeks, so that’s were we began. The children learn that parables are special stories that Jesus told, they are special because they have a deeper meaning. In these parables Jesus wanted to help us understand what His Kingdom would be like.

Throughout the three years in level I, the children receive five Kingdom Parable presentations.

· 3 Parables of Growth
-The Mustard Seed Mk. 4:30-32
-The Grain Mk. 4:26-29
-The Leaven Matt. 13:33

· 2 Parables of Value
-The Pearl of Great Price Matt. 13:45-46
-The Hidden Treasure Matt. 13:44

The parables of growth focus on the transformation from small to great. The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of all shrubs. When the leaven is added to the flour, a total change takes place. The grain grows while the farmer sleeps, producing an entire ear. We reflect on where this power of growth comes from, (God), and whether or not this transformation can be reversed once it has begun. We wonder with the children what these parables can tell us about the Kingdom of God?

The two remaining parables focus on the great value of the kingdom. The merchant would sell all of his fine pearls when he finds the one of great value in order to buy it, and the man would buy the entire field in order to obtain the hidden treasure therein. We again wonder, what these parables can tell us about the Kingdom of God? As adults, we might ask ourselves, what are we willing to do or give up in order to be worthy of the great gift of the Kingdom?

~Liz Stone, CGS Catechist and Assistant Director of Faith Formation