Over the summer months I have been enjoying pondering in the company of many adults in formation courses. It is always a gift to see the face of a child focused and intensely pondering the gift of our faith and it is no less of a gift to watch adults open and enjoy these same gifts in much the same way. Last summer I began a Level 3 course with a number of adults with whom I've been given the privilege of walking since 2016. In introducing them to typology, a looking at Old Testament passages in light of the New Testament and hearing echoes of truth throughout all of Salvation History, we took time, as we do with the children, to chart out some of our thoughts on these connections. I hope you enjoy their ponderings as much as I have!
Reading the Old Testament after having spent years immersed in the New Testament allows the children to see the "echoes" which point toward Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments. After reading the first two chapters of Genesis, the children chose lengthy follow-up activities, copying or narrating large selections of the Scripture passages and then illustrating them. Charts, timelines, booklets, and more went home with these four focused third graders just before Spring Break. They have been doing beautiful work!
Typology is a way of looking at God's plan as it has been revealed throughout history by comparing what we know of the past, particularly through the events of the Old Testament, to the life of Christ, our current lived reality in the Church, and then by taking time to ponder what the patterns we find reveal about the future. God's plan, revealed in the Bible and lived in the liturgy, is one plan. Thus, after reading a passage from the Old Testament we look to see parallels, echoes, or "types" in the moments of Redemption and Parousia. Augustine spoke of this reality of God's Plan as a "Golden Thread" that unites all of history. In the Level III Atrium this year the children have engaged in a number of typology studies, some of which will continue into the Easter season. In speaking about the unity of the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "Christians...read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen" (§120). In the Atrium this truth is lifted up from the first moments of Level II through a focus on God's Word which contains the one history of the Kingdom of God. By the time the child is in the Level III Atrium he has had six years in which to become intimately familiar with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep. This deep knowledge of Christ allows the child to look back to the Old Testament and read its ancient words in light of the moment of Redemption and the coming of the Word Himself. "Typology" is a way of studying the Bible in which a passage from the Old Testament is looked at as a "type" of the New Testament and a "foretaste" of the time of Redemption in which we live today. The Level III Atrium contains five Typology studies: Creation, Sin, The Flood, Abraham, and Exodus. As the children work their way through these typology studies they become more and more facile at seeing the links between the Old Testament and the New, easily recognizing the unified way that God has always worked and continues to work in creation and in their own lives.
In a recent post on the Liturgy it was stated that The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is founded on two pillars, Scripture and Liturgy. From the first weeks of the year the youngest children in the Atrium are introduced to the Holy Bible as the Word of God, the way in which He is present, speaking for all to hear. This introduction to God's Word is repeated every year, forming a foundation for the importance of this holy book. In addition, there are many, many materials in the Atrium which lift up particular aspects of God's Word which speak deeply to children at different ages. From the age of three through the age of twelve the children spend many hours pondering, enjoying, studying, and engaging in discussion around the truths revealed to man by God in the Holy Bible. Near the end of our Typology Study on Abraham the children take time to individually list parallels between Abraham and Jesus (and even other Scripture passages). Then we gather together and share our thoughts and ideas. This year the children came up with quite a lengthy list! I've attached two children's individual thoughts as well as an example of how we put them together as a group to show the many parallels they have seen. It is surprising how each year there are many familiar connections and how there are always one or two (or more!) new ones that the children have discovered. Such a gift!!
The following pictures show some of the work children in the Level III Atrium chose to do after our communal study of the Flood (Genesis 6-9). Having read the Scripture together in which we discussed individual verses and ideas, the children were invited to think typologically about this passage. We made a list of some of the most important people, places, and objects in the account and then they wrote their thoughts on how these pointed to the moment of Redemption (the time of Jesus' life on earth through today). When we gathered back together and shared, it was a great gift to enjoy their facility with reading Scripture in a typological way as the early Church Fathers did. Below are some of their notes as well as several examples of their artistic expressions of their thoughts!
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Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
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April 2024
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