Blog Archives

The Second Year Retreat

4/26/2017

The Way of the Shepherd 2nd grade children spent last Friday on Retreat. They were joined by three Community Atrium children who are also preparing for First Communion. The day was filled with time in silence and prayer, gathering materials which have helped them prepare to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time, and expressing their growth this year through artwork as they decorated the crosses which were blessed for them at the beginning of Lent. The children also had time to choose work that would help them to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd as they spent their day with Him. And they most enjoyed their Agape Meal, so beautifully served by their 3rd grade prayer partners! Please continue to keep these children in prayer as many of them will be receiving Jesus in His Body and Blood for the first time over the next few weeks.

Easter Celebration: The Liturgy of the Light

4/25/2017

Happy Easter!! The Way of the Shepherd children celebrated the beginning of the Easter Season with an all-school participation in the Liturgy of the Light, patterned after the Easter Vigil Services. The E2 children (4th-6th grade) spent the morning preparing and then leading this celebration for the rest of the children and staff on our first day back at school after Easter. It was a beautiful time of prayer filled with much song and LIGHT!

The Paschal Narratives

4/15/2017

The Paschal Narratives are a series of Scriptural accounts of the final week of Jesus' life on earth. They begin with the Messianic Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which we celebrate on Palm Sunday, and end with the great coming of the Holy Spirit which we celebrate at Pentecost. During their final Atrium gathering before the Triduum, the Upper Elementary children (4th-6th grade) took time to examine these Narratives more closely. Pairing up, the children randomly chose a Paschal Narrative title (ex: The Trial before Herod) and spent time finding that passage in the Bible and then summarizing and drawing the Narrative. After time to work on this, the children gathered and put the Paschal Narratives in chronological order then presented their drawings and summaries. This prayer, paralleling the Passion Narrative we hear both on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday, resulted in conversation and questioning, pondering and rejoicing. Truly, God is so good to us!

The Triduum

4/13/2017

In preparation for the Triduum, this week the kindergarten through sixth grade children participated in a Seder meal and Stations of the Cross. These celebrations prepare the children for Holy Thursday and Good Friday services in anticipation of the great feast and celebration of Easter. Here are pictures of the E2 Seder Meal and the Stations of the Cross.

The Mystery of Life and Death

4/3/2017

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much wheat." (John 12:24)

In reflecting on this Scripture with the 1st - 3rd grade children, the following comments were made...

- "The seed is us as a baby and the roots are how we grow on earth and the shoot is after we die, when we go up to heaven." (1st grade boy)
- "The one seed is Jesus and heaven is all the seeds when we are there." (3rd grade boy)
- "It's like when the bread at Mass is broken, we die and go to heaven." (2nd grade girl)

The Second Year Retreat

Easter Celebration: The Liturgy of the Light

The Paschal Narratives

The Triduum

The Mystery of Life and Death

Carolyn Kohlhaas

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