Red is for Pentecost

In the atrium, our celebrations mirror the liturgical year as much as possible. We are simply living and enjoying the life and rhythm of the Church year with the children.

The exceptions are when the "school year" has ended before the greatest celebrations have taken place. So even though we still have several weeks left to enjoy and you grow from the Feast of Easter, we celebrate Pentecost this week with the children in our Level 1, 2, and 3 atria, as this is already our last day in the atrium. It's such a beautiful reflection on the "Birthday of the Church" and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that came not only to those who are waiting in the upper room, but also to each of us.

Serious Leisure and CGS

A guest reflection by parishioner and catechist, Janet Van Pelt.

Have you ever had a hobby or an activity that was so exciting and interesting that it encompassed most of your free time and then you wanted to continue to commit and develop yourself?

To be honest, my answer up until this past year was “No, not really.” Who even has free time these days? What would I even do in my leisure time? Do I even have free time to commit to an activity? When you have a busy schedule with two young girls, a husband, a massive extended family, and work…life gets kind of crazy. Sadly, my short-term casual leisure activities had been going to the gym for a quick run or work out, going to the grocery store by myself or even taking that quick 5 minute shower. Yes, I would volunteer my time for different activities when I could but they were never weekly commitments that directly impacted my family or really fulfilled me.

My oldest attended School of Mary Montessori last year and the offering of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) was one of the main reasons why my husband and I enrolled her. I have had a lot of experience with Catholic Religious education. I went through grades K-8^th at a Catholic school, taught Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) to kindergartners while in high school, and I was my husband’s Rite of Initiation of Adults (RCIA) sponsor and accompanied him to his classes while I was a graduate student; however, none of these Catholic programs seemed to offer the amazing gifts like my daughter at age two experienced in CGS; it was incredible!  

I finally decided this year I wanted to volunteer in any capacity with CGS at All Saints since my oldest was of age to be enrolled. To my excitement, they were offering a Toddler Environment for volunteer catechists and their children. This was a huge bonus since my youngest could participate, too, and I was assigned to assist with the Infants-Toddlers!  I had not yet been able to take any CGS formation courses, but this past March, I was totally blessed to participate in the seminal Infant-Toddler Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Training course. It was a completely enriching experience and pretty life changing to say the least!

The Infant-Toddler Training course unwrapped so many gifts for my family but it benefited me more than I could have ever expected. It was a beautiful experience and much needed! I took this course anticipating being a better catechist but throughout the course I was helped to define my pursuit as a catechist and what all that encompasses.  This experience as a catechist would directly influence my family life, but it also helped me find what I have been seeking for myself. As a catechist, I was finally experiencing serious leisure again!

Serious Leisure

Serious leisure was a topic I researched as a graduate student, and I had the privilege to interview Dr. Robert Stebbins who developed this sociological theory and leisure perspective. In 2008, Stebbins continued his 30-years-plus work on serious leisure and wrote a book entitled Serious Leisure: A Perspective of Our Time. The definition of serious leisure on page 5 is:

The systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that people find so substantial, interesting, and fulfilling, that in the typical case they launch themselves on a (leisure) career centered on acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge and experience.

There are 6 qualities associated with serious leisure: persevere, career, personal effort, durable benefits, identification, and unique ethos. As a catechist, I would definitely agree to experiencing all of these.

1). Persevere- As it was my first year in a Toddler Atrium as a CGS catechist, I was unfamiliar with the environment and processes. There were many times in the beginning where the Atrium was working towards normalization, but I had to push through, stick it out, and have faith that things would get better.

2). Career- The stages in which a person develops and achieves a practice or skill. I know after this toddler training and being trained in other levels, I am going to be a better catechist. It takes a lot of time and as catechists we are continuing to develop ourselves to meet the needs of the children in our Atria by taking formation courses and other trainings.

3). Personal effort- Taking the knowledge I learn from trainings and applying it in the Atrium as a catechist.

4). Durable benefits- A sense of accomplishment of a skill.  As a catechist, I have a sense of self-development and renewal after a really great session.

5). Identification- I can now associate myself as a catechist.

6). Unique Ethos- There is a spirit of a community of participants with shared practices and values or beliefs.  I am a part of a CGS catechist community at All Saints, and in our diocese, and the CGS USA organization.

Serious leisure also has 7 personal rewards: personal enrichment, self-actualization, self-expression, self-image, re-recreation, and financial return.

1.)    Personal enrichment- Cherishing the moments in the Atrium or with other catechists.

2.)    Self-Actualization- Developing skills, abilities, and knowledge as a catechist in the Atrium or continuing to take formation courses.

3.)    Self-expression- Expressing skills, abilities, and knowledge already developed.

4.)    Self-Image- Again, identifying as a catechist.

5.)    Re-recreation- Revisiting a moment or presentation and recreating it for each child.

6.)    Financial Return- Although catechists do not get paid, we do receive discounts and tuition waivers for our children since we are volunteering our time.

Serious leisure also has social rewards:

            1). Social Attraction that is associated with other fellow catechists, the parish family or church community coming together. Hosting catechist teas or meetings and other CGS events provides means social interaction.

            2). Group accomplishment with catechist activities or presentations.

            3). Contribution to the maintenance of carrying on CGS and developing sense of being needed in the parish community and contributing altruistically to the program.

It never occurred to me that serious leisure was something that I could experience weekly, with my children, my church community, and my Catholic faith. How awesome is it to be able to experience all of these for myself as a catechist? It’s been a humbling experience to volunteer and commit fully to my Christian duty as Paul describes in Romans 12:2  

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

(Photos are from catechist formations, catechist teas, certificate ceremonies, materials-making events, retreats, in-services, and other adult formation opportunities connected with being a CGS catechist).

Liturgy of Light

Exult! Let them exult! The hosts of heaven!

An excerpt of the Exsultet (sung by one of the children) during this morning's Liturgy of Light in the atrium. The 4th-6th grade children prepare this special celebration of Easter (modeled after the opening rites in the Easter Vigil) for the younger children. There may have been happy tears on the part of some adults in the room!

On Us and on the Whole World

This Sunday we celebrate the (relatively) new feast of Divine Mercy. As you may know, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and this devotion to Jesus under the title of Divine Mercy has its roots in Poland.

St. Faustina Kowalska, who died just before the invasion of the Nazis in 1939, received this image of Jesus in prayer. He asked her to have it painted and to tell the world of His burning desire to pour His Mercy out on the whole world.

Divine Mercy

And Poland would need this gift in the decades to come.

Recently I was meditating on the Healing of the Paralytic with some 4th-6th graders in our CGS Level 3 atrium. In that instance, Jesus asked the question to the incredulous bystanders: "Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?" Luke 5:23.

One of the girls thought it was definitely easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven." As we thought about it, we realized that any of us could say whatever we wanted to the paralyzed man, but it wouldn't heal him. We could tell him to rise and walk all day, but he'd still lay there, paralyzed. It seemed that Jesus was trying to make a connection between the man's paralysis and his sin. He was stuck and could not move without God's action.

"But I can forgive people," the girl insisted. "I may not be able to heal their body, but I can stop being angry. I can forgive."
We thought about this together for several minutes. Why is it easy for me to forgive? When is it easy for me to forgive? We talked about Pope St. John Paul II forgiving his would-be assassin who shot him point blank several times. Was that easy? Maybe it would be easier for me to say powerless words like "Rise and walk" before I could say the words "I forgive you" and mean it. Sometimes it is we who are paralyzed because we are unable to forgive.

As I reflect on the wisdom of God in His gift of the Divine Mercy image, chaplet, and devotion, I see the Divine Physician at work: healing Poland, which could have been paralyzed in hate and anger, but instead brought forth some of the greatest saints of modern times. He can do the same in our lives, if we let His Mercy flow into us and heal us, but more than that, if we let it flow through us to others.

"Have Mercy on us, and on the whole world."

I Obey

You have to wonder if Creation became silent.

Was it just Man who had so lost his tether
to that heartbeat of the Cosmos -
the one in the wind, and the sun, and the planetary orbit -
that takes in the law of God and breathes out, "I obey"?

A three-hour darkness...
Creation held its breath, and lowered its eyes.

While Man continued his own plans and preparations.

The God-Man is told to carry His cross.
God freely says to Man, "I obey."
Like a lamb led to the slaughter.
"I obey."
Love reversed the order.
He walked the mutineer's plank.

"I obey."

No twelve legions of angels. Not even one.

Of all subjects, who may say to his King, "Obey me"?
Only a mother, perhaps.

But she pulls close her mourning mantle
and walks in obedience up to the tip of the spear
that will pierce her heart.

Man, we who long to be gods, to call out the order,
continue to make our own plans and preparations.

But our only call apart from the God of Life is "DEATH! THE SWORD!"
Man's plans and preparations are ordered to the funeral pyre.

Even when all was accomplished, He lay where they put Him.
But not for long.

Open House!

Taking the Good News to All Nations

Sometimes it is more difficult to handle the overabundant blessings of God than it is to deal with suffering. St. Peter responded to the overabundant catch of fish by falling to his knees and begging Jesus to "depart from me... for I am a sinful man" Luke 5:8. Yet, if we can bear it, God will not tire in showing us his great desire to fill the nets and bring in a great harvest.

I was speaking to my friend, Maggie, last week about her recent mission trip to Haiti for spring break. She had been dying to tell me the amazing story of her trip, most specifically about how God is using Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (the program we use here at All Saints) to bring the Gospel to all nations.

While on mission, she met a woman living in Haiti who had previously lived in Georgia and served as a Director of Religious Education there. The woman brought her family (5 children) to Haiti, with the desire to serve as a missionary. She showed Maggie some of her CGS materials that she had been working on to help begin an atrium in Haiti. She thought that maybe these materials would help her to evangelize in a way that simply talking and teaching couldn't do.

Maggie, filled with excitement, encouraged her new friend, "Let's do it! Really. Let's just try it and see what happens!"

So, later that week, equipped with a white sheet and the Good Shepherd material that is very similar to the one we have in our rooms downstairs, she and Maggie embarked on a mission to proclaim the Gospel to the children of Haiti.

As they walked around the area where the families lived in huts, they invited children to come and see. "They just kept coming!" Maggie and her new friend spread out the sheet on the ground and, speaking in creole, her friend gave these children the first proclamation of the Gospel that many had ever heard in their lives. Parents, whose religion is heavily influenced by Voodoo, a belief in a distant, unknowable God, lingered close by, sitting under nearby trees and keeping and eye and ear on what their children were seeing: an image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who cares for His sheep and loves them. Perhaps it was their first exposure to the Good News of Jesus Christ who is God with Us.

Maggie kept looking up to heaven and saying in her heart, "Stop, Lord. You are just too good!" as the children drew pictures of the sheep and the Shepherd. Then a young boy took her hand and pulled her over to a place where he liked to go and think. "This is where I go to be alone and think of God."

Maggie shared her overwhelming gratitude for this trip and for the knowledge that indeed, the harvest is rich. God is doing His work everywhere and in all nations.

Because of the Element of Contemplation...

In the Journals of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd there is a story about Sofia Cavalletti meeting with the Missionaries of Charity after it was discerned that the MCs would begin to use CGS in their homes and in the formation of their sisters. Sofia asked why they chose CGS. The response: "Because of the element of contemplation."

We began our foray into the world of Infant-Toddler Catechesis this past fall. A catechist took a couple of videos this past week. The profound concentration and silence as all of the children chose a work is nothing new to a CGS catechist, but it is always amazing. Finding the same wonder among the youngest children is even more so. 

Here are a few short videos to enjoy. 

Faith Seeking Understanding

"How do I know that God is really real? How can God ever be "All in All" when people are so bad? I don't see how the Parousia (pair-oh-see-uh) can ever come!"

The pain and worry behind her questions tore me from whatever I was doing and brought my focus on my sweet 9 year old. Probably the most surprising thing about raising up my children almost literally in the Church is the fact that 7 years of religious formation (by the time this particular child was 9) didn't help avoid these questions and doubts. In fact, I wondered if the focus on faith didn't bring these doubts on sooner. For children, faith comes first. Understanding comes later.

I remember difficult times in my life when I struggled with my faith. For example, when I was in college, I discovered that there is a whole movement of "Christians" who believed that Jesus lived and died, but didn't rise from the dead. One of my professors held this belief, and though he thought I was a bright student, his demeanor became superior and even a bit condescending when he saw that I held to such an incredible proposition as the Resurrection. I had never encountered very intelligent people who considered themselves Christians but without qualm rejected St. Paul's insistence on the Resurrection: "If Christ is not raised, your faith is vain" (1 Cor 15:17).

It was a painful time. Not only did I feel the pain and confusion of disunity, it was the first time I remember clearly that my motives for believing what the Catholic Church teaches were challenged. Did I just want to feel better about life? Did I believe simply as a way to avoid the stark finality of death? 

I definitely didn't think that I was smarter than my professor, but the witness of the martyr apostles and thousands of others who have followed Christ, refusing to deny Him even on the pain of death, could not be ignored either. St. Paul taught that "if for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all" 1 Cor 15:19. By the grace of God, I persevered with a stronger faith to still profess this incredible truth that "Christ has died, but He is Risen!"

Almost 20 years later, I thought of this experience as I talked through my daughter's questions with her. Doubt is not something that we should fear can kill our faith. Doubt is our mind seeking to purify and strengthen our belief. Only when gold is tested is it it most pure.

As a wise priest told me once, "All the doubts in the world do not equal one act of disbelief." My daughter is still asking questions, and that is very good. She is experiencing the natural process of her very beautiful, childlike faith, seeking understanding. My hope is to help her trust the process. Her faith is a living thing, and it will continue to grow and challenge her to give up anything that is not real and true and good. I pray that she, too, will persevere.