Come, Holy Spirit, and stir up in us all that we need to live well in your Kingdom. Amen.
As we celebrate the end of the school year we also prepare to celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. Last week we ended the Atrium year by pondering and enjoying the work of the Holy Spirit, Who we celebrate during this beautiful solemnity. The children were introduced to or recalled anew the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. The Level 2 and 3 (E1 and E2) children then gathered materials from the Atrium which have helped them to know and enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit. Finally, all of the children were invited to choose a particular gift - having received all seven of them in Baptism - to ask the Holy Spirit to stir up within their hearts and souls. Come, Holy Spirit, and stir up in us all that we need to live well in your Kingdom. Amen. What a beautiful day of time away for our 2nd grade children! Last Friday the 2nd graders spent the entire day in the Atrium - except for their beautiful Agape meal followed by a bit of time outside - and it was a day filled with many blessings. After spending time pondering the gifts which have helped them to prepare for this day as well as for their continued journey with the Good Shepherd, each child decorated a cross filled with these gifts. While they also spent time with materials and enjoying silence, their work on their crosses took the majority of their morning as they captured this moment in their life of faith in words and images. It was, as always, such an honor and privilege to witness the focus and concentration of these children as they took to this work with such great reverence. Five of our eight second graders will be preparing to receive the Eucharist for the very first time in the next few weeks. Please keep them in your prayers! Each year at The Way of the Shepherd we take a moment at the beginning of Lent to ask God’s blessing on the 2nd Year children who will be taking extra time away to grow even closer to the Good Shepherd over the next few months. Some of these children are also preparing to meet Jesus in a new way as they prepare to receive His Body and Blood for the first time during the Easter Season. On Ash Wednesday as we began this special time of preparation, by inviting all of the 2nd Year children to come forward at the end of Mass, carrying a cross which will accompany them in their time of deeper reflection on God’s many gifts. These crosses, after being blessed, were hung in the Atrium where they will remain until Easter as a reminder to all who spend time in that space to support these children in prayer. On the day of the 2nd Year Retreat these crosses will be decorated with images and words by each child as they synthesize how they have been fed and strengthened in their relationship with God through this time.
While the work of the older children in the Atrium continues to utilize sensorial materials, they are also moving into working directly in God's Word in Scripture and in the Roman Missal which contains the prayers of the Mass. In welcoming their parents to the Atrium, the elementary children, paralleling their younger siblings, also found work of great variety to share. It is always such a joy to witness the children showing their parents and families the work that they do in the Atrium. The choices they made this year crossed all subject areas and may have even brought some tears to adult eyes as they encountered the children enjoying this place of prayer which is their own,
While the 2nd graders were few in number this year, they were not lacking in creativity nor in depth when it came to their representations of those materials and truths which have helped them in their preparations for their First Communion. Enjoy!!
In our continued celebrating of the Easter Season, the WOS 2nd graders had the gift of gathering for a day of retreat last Friday. Taking time away to enjoy the many gifts of the Atrium which have assisted their journey towards First Reconciliation and First Communion was a great treat for all involved. The 2nd graders were joined by their 3rd grade prayer partners for a simple yet beautiful lunch in the middle of the day. The 3rd years have been praying for their 2nd year prayer partners in a particular way since the beginning of Lent. On the morning of the retreat they took time to choose a Scripture verse for their prayer partner and decorate a name card for them which the 2nd graders received at the Agape meal when they first found out who their prayer partners was as they were served by them during during the meal. Here are the Scriptures chosen by the 3rd years: - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (John 3:16). - "He said to them, 'Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him'" (Mark 16:6). - "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and giving it to his disciples, said, 'Take and eat; this is my body'" (Matthew 26:26). - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me" (John 14:1). - "Jesus answered, 'I say to you not seven times but seventy-seven times'" (Matthew 19:22). - "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in different tongues" (Acts 2:4a). Alleluia! He is Risen! This week we had the gift of celebrating the Risen Light of Jesus through the Liturgy of the Light. For the first time we enjoyed this beautiful celebration outside in order to provide space sufficient for all of our elementary children and adolescents to gather. While the symbolism of the light overcoming the darkness was not as clear, the sacrifice was well worth it in order to have so many of us together to celebrate the great solemnity of Easter. Truly, God is so very good!
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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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