This Is Good for All of Us

Henry, 4, sang this prayer at the Paschal Candle:

Mary had a baby, this is good for all of us.

And pray for Mary until the baby, until he dies in the ground, and then he rose on the cross.

He was alive a long, long time ago. I thought he would never die again.

But you can still go where he lived.

Someday at supper he said, "Here's my body and here's my blood. You should drink this until I die."

And if you wanted to go to the land of Israel, you'd have to go across the ocean, and over New York and over the salty sea, and the plane would drop you off where Jesus lived.

Party Time

At the end of the Cenacle work, when I announced that Jesus rose three days after he died, Mari, 4, said, "If Jesus rose, I'd throw a party!"

Transforming

While reflecting on the Last Supper with a group, I asked two children, who had mixed up the Leaven before the Last Supper presentation began, to bring their work over to the cenacle. I asked them how the Leaven reminded them of their work at the cenacle. They responded, "It rose like he rose," and "Jesus makes love, peace and joy grow so that the Holy Spirit can come and there won't be any more wars." Belle, 6, added, "It makes me think it's part of transforming. The yeast makes the flour transform into bread, and he transformed the bread and wine into his body and blood."

Rose

Danny, 4, was working with the Cenacle while I presented the City of Jerusalem nearby. When a child said, "He rose," Danny interjected, "When we get dead we're going to rose."

Broken

When asked, "Why did Jesus break the bread for his disciples?" Beya, 6, replied, "You know, he said the bread was like his body. And he had a broken heart."

Synthesis

Kino, 6, was working with the City of Jerusalem. When I asked if he recalled what happened at the Cenacle, he pointed to the Cenacle material, and then to the altar, explaining, "And that's the table."

During Holy Week Simone, just turned 4, "Poured" the crucifix into the chalice and "drank" it.

I'd throw a party

At the end of the Cenacle work when I announce that we know that Jesus rose three days after he died, Marina, age 4, said, "If Jesus rose, I'd throw a party."

At the end of the scripture reading for the Cenacle work, as we talked about how Jesus was arrested that night and died the next day, Tillie, age 3, placed the model of the crucifix on top of the model of the cup (which Jesus said held his blood). After I wondered if Jesus knew he would be arrested, she replied, "yes."

Dalia, age 3, has been fascinated with the Last Supper (Cenacle) presentation and asked for it on perhaps six successive weeks. When it was presented to her each time, the figures of Jesus and the twelve were taken one by one from their box as they were brought into the upper room and put around the table. Dalia, however, when working alone with the material always carefully lined the figures up behind Jesus and moved them in and out of the room in this way. I finally realized that she was connecting them with the Good Shepherd story and later noticed her move the figures both in the Good Shepherd parable and Cenacle the same way. She had discovered a great theological truth!

Natalie, age 3, joined a group of us to sing "Jesus" at the model of the altar. As we sang "He rose," she exclaimed, "He rose means Jesus came back!" Later on she was working with the model of the Cenacle on her own. I noticed that she had placed the velvet lining from the box on top of the lid from the box and one figure on top of the lining. When I asked her why she chose to do so, she said, "He is on a blanket on a bed. He is baby Jesus wrapped in...what do you call it?" I asked her if she meant swaddling and she said yes and rolled the velvet lining around the figure.

We were just a few....

During the presentation of the Cenacle, wooden figures of the apostles and Jesus are gathered around a table as the catechist reads the story of the Last Supper. As the catechist lit the candle to read the Scripture, Edwin said, looking at the disciples around the table with Jesus, "We were just a few and now we are so many."

Look, Mom. It's Jesus

Nora is the catechist and mother of a four year old boy, Nolan, who generally appears to need more movement than many other children of the same age, verbal, and loud. His work is often in the gray area between work and play. He and his best friend were at the cenacle. Then Nolan started taking things from the cenacle over to the altar. Nora reached a "that's it!" moment and heads over to the altar area with just enough presence of mind to ask first about Nolan's work. He unlocks the tabernacle, opens the door, and says, "Look, Mom. It's Jesus!"