- "No one would listen to the devil."
- "Our families would pray together."
- "There would be no rain."
- "But there would be snow! I like snow!"
- "It would be the best place to be!"
Each week I have the privilege of presenting many different materials to many different children. Sometimes I present the same work to several different individuals and groups. Each child responds in his or her uniquely beautiful way. It is such a gift to see what materials speak to their heart, engaging their mind and soul. Their responses in the presentation and the work they choose to engage in during their time in the Atrium speak to their personal, unrepeatable relationship with the Good Shepherd. One of the materials that is frequently used by the Level II and III children is a set of tablets called "The Maxims." The Maxims are a collection of short sayings of Jesus that help us to live well. They include: "Love your enemies," "Do to others as you would have them do to you," and "I did not say forgive seven times seven but seventy times seven times." There are twelve Level II Maxims with an additional six in Level III. The children enjoy discussing them, looking them up, copying and illustrating them and memorizing them, sometimes with their citations. .After having worked with the Maxims for at least a year, the children are invited to "sort" the Maxims by whether they help us to love God or our neighbor. This is one of those moments when each experience is different! It is beautiful to see the children working together - sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing! - and articulating why they feel a particular Maxim fits more with how we love God or how we love our neighbor. This discussion helps me to see their understanding of the Scripture passages and often brings me to new insight as to what Jesus is telling us. Whenever we speak of the Maxims we think about what our Atrium or our family or our classroom or our world would be like if we all lived just one of the Maxims. The first response is almost always, "Parousia!" Most recently several 2nd graders added... - "No one would listen to the devil." - "Our families would pray together." - "There would be no rain." - "But there would be snow! I like snow!" - "It would be the best place to be!" Comments are closed.
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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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