This week several children returned to the Our Father materials while others looked at additional prayers set up in the same style.
During the past few weeks, one of the "materials" that has been presented in the Atrium is the beautiful prayer that Jesus taught us, the "Our Father." Instead of emphasizing its memorization, we focus on the content of the prayer, looking at it line by line, sometimes in order, sometimes with phrases at random. We lift up the fact that by saying "Our" Father we are acknowledging that we are all brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ. This prayer unites us beyond our families, our school, and even beyond our Catholic faith to all those who call God Father. After pondering the content of this prayer we pray these beautiful words together, seeking to hear what it tells about God, ourselves, and those around us. There is so much that we proclaim and ask in this prayer we raise with one voice to our Father. The first graders were introduced to the text of the Our Father in the Atrium for the first time last week. In both groups of children that it was presented to, a similarity in their understanding of the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread," stood out. The children immediately talked about the bread that becomes the Body of Christ, the Bread of the Eucharist, or the Bread that is Jesus. Even after a few, "Do you think this might be talking about anything else as well?" attempts on my part, the children (in separate groups on separate days) had no thoughts beyond the Eucharist. This week several children returned to the Our Father materials while others looked at additional prayers set up in the same style. The fifth and sixth graders also worked with the Our Father this week as a way of pondering how we can grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus this Lent through prayer. After ordering and talking through key phrases in the prayer, the children took a few minutes to find work in the Atrium that related to a particular phrase or word. This type of Synthesis work allows the children to make connections and, hopefully, "own" this beautiful prayer in a new way. I was struck by these older children in their response to the phrase, "Give us this day our daily bread," which they initially defined as meaning, "Give us the things we need each day," but which they surrounded with images of both bread and Eucharist. One child brought the "Great Amen" card from the Synthesis of the Mass work to conclude the "Our Father." You can see a variety of connections made in this picture of their work including references to the Prophecies and Infancy Narratives, Good Shepherd, Kingdom. and Moral Parables, Salvation History, Baptism, and Eucharist.
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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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