This past week I had the privilege of sitting in on a training led by a dear friend of mine. She invited me to "guest present" a parable about God's Kingdom that we offer to the children in their first year in the Atrium. After presenting "The Precious Pearl" to the adults and pondering the meaning of this parable with them, I shared the response of a young three year old boy to the statement, "I wonder what the merchant did next." The boy, hearing this parable for the first time, said, "He just stared and stared." One of the women in the training said these words of the young child led her to think about how we will respond to God's presence in heaven, staring and staring, with incredible joy, at the Face of God forever. How beautiful to receive a new "take" on this parable through the eyes of a new (adult!) member of the CGS community! |
During the summer months I have the beautiful opportunity to travel a bit and meet and journey with adults interested in bringing the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to their home, their local parish, or their Catholic school. This week I have been in the Diocese of Madison, pondering Scripture and liturgy and the 3-6 year old child through a Catholic and Montessori lens. It has been a week filled with blessing as I have walked with and learned from a beautiful group of women who love children and who love our Catholic faith. One of the unique joys of this week came about when one of the participants observed that this group included women from each and every diocese in Wisconsin: the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Green Bay, the Diocese of La Crosse, the Diocese of Madison, and the Diocese of Superior. In many ways this group of participants gives a window into the growth of Atria in Wisconsin as parishes and schools all across the state are beginning this beautiful work of CGS. What a gift to hear stories about children being welcomed into the sacred space of the Atrium, pondering narratives and parables from the Bible, and beginning to learn the beautiful language of the liturgy for the first time....AND to hear these women speak of the ways their first year in the Atrium has moved, touched, and even started to transform their own personal faith. God is so good!!
|
Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
|