In a recent survey about session times, I had an anonymous question from a responder about the possibility of offering a one-hour session that would make it more convenient for families to be together for supper. I know that many faith-formation programs offer time frames like this, especially for smaller children, so I am sure it is confusing when our minimum session duration is 90 minutes and some of them are 2 hours long. This time frame can be difficult to accomplish for small children and busy, working families. This is the reasons we are seeking help from parents to find the best time in which to offer their children a 90 minute or 2 hour session. But parents rightly ask: "Why?" "Is it really necessary?" And even, "Won't they get bored?"
In the Characteristics of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, there are 32 points of reflection that set CGS apart from other faith formation approaches, programs, and curricula. These points are necessary to consider because while anyone can use the name "CGS" for their program, there is no pre-packaged, annual purchasing of the program. The investment and is not in books or even in the materials. It is in the catechists and their faithfulness to their own formation.
So the short answer as to why we offer longer sessions is therefore pretty simple: because we want to be as faithful as we can to this time-tested approach to formation for children. A better answer is because we have seen something quite remarkable in the children: a desire to be here longer!
In answer to the question about boredom, Sofia Cavalletti, an internationally-known biblical scholar and one of the foundresses of CGS, writes in her book The Religious Potential of the Child, "We should not alter too often or too rapidly the object of the child's attention, in which case the child would defend himself with an intentional indifference to this wearying, continuous movie. If the child does not have the time to dwell on anything, then everything will come to seem the same to him and he will lose interest in all things" (RPOC, 112.) When we see indifference to the mystery of God, it is not a sign we need to hurry up or give more information, but that the child may need us to slow down and give him more time to ponder.
The children have shown us over and over that this time is not a burden to them. Even at an hour and a half, they will groan and sigh when the catechist rings the bell indicating that it is time to restore our work and finish up for the day.
When the Missionaries of Charity (St. Teresa of Calcutta's order) decided to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in their work with children (and more interestingly: in the formation of their new sisters!) they were asked, "What have you found in CGS that is different from other catechesis?" The answer: "Contemplation." It is not the child alone who experiences this opportunity for deep prayer and contemplation in the atrium. Probably the single greatest reason there is so little turnover of catechists in CGS is that in this approach, the catechist has time to see the child's quiet and individual encounter with God - that "incandescent moment of the meeting with God [which] occurs in secret between the Lord and His creatures" (RPOC, 53).
The content of CGS is nothing new to religious formation. We teach the faith. The striking difference comes in the way we prepare a space and allow time for the children to contemplate the mysteries they receive. In fact, the time in the atrium in which the child is receiving presentations (lessons) is much, much shorter than the time we leave for their personal work and reflection.
To those parents of small children for whom this time commitment can be a challenge: as a mother of little ones, too, I understand your difficulties. It can be hard to trust your little "seedlings" to an approach that seems so different than others around. But after 12 years in this work of CGS (which is over 60 years old and has spread throughout 38 countries in the world), I can testify that the investment in toddlers and 3, 4, and 5 year olds has already borne great fruit in countless families in our area and beyond. It just takes time to see it.
In answer to the question about boredom, Sofia Cavalletti, an internationally-known biblical scholar and one of the foundresses of CGS, writes in her book The Religious Potential of the Child, "We should not alter too often or too rapidly the object of the child's attention, in which case the child would defend himself with an intentional indifference to this wearying, continuous movie. If the child does not have the time to dwell on anything, then everything will come to seem the same to him and he will lose interest in all things" (RPOC, 112.) When we see indifference to the mystery of God, it is not a sign we need to hurry up or give more information, but that the child may need us to slow down and give him more time to ponder.
The children have shown us over and over that this time is not a burden to them. Even at an hour and a half, they will groan and sigh when the catechist rings the bell indicating that it is time to restore our work and finish up for the day.
When the Missionaries of Charity (St. Teresa of Calcutta's order) decided to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in their work with children (and more interestingly: in the formation of their new sisters!) they were asked, "What have you found in CGS that is different from other catechesis?" The answer: "Contemplation." It is not the child alone who experiences this opportunity for deep prayer and contemplation in the atrium. Probably the single greatest reason there is so little turnover of catechists in CGS is that in this approach, the catechist has time to see the child's quiet and individual encounter with God - that "incandescent moment of the meeting with God [which] occurs in secret between the Lord and His creatures" (RPOC, 53).
The content of CGS is nothing new to religious formation. We teach the faith. The striking difference comes in the way we prepare a space and allow time for the children to contemplate the mysteries they receive. In fact, the time in the atrium in which the child is receiving presentations (lessons) is much, much shorter than the time we leave for their personal work and reflection.
To those parents of small children for whom this time commitment can be a challenge: as a mother of little ones, too, I understand your difficulties. It can be hard to trust your little "seedlings" to an approach that seems so different than others around. But after 12 years in this work of CGS (which is over 60 years old and has spread throughout 38 countries in the world), I can testify that the investment in toddlers and 3, 4, and 5 year olds has already borne great fruit in countless families in our area and beyond. It just takes time to see it.
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