A Variety of Things

During our Pentecost celebration, our 6-12 children brought a plant to represent Creation, when the Spirit moved over the waters, and the following to correspond to the gifts of the Spirit:

- The Good Samaritan for Understanding (He understood the traveler's pain)

- The Good Shepherd for Knowledge (He knows the Sheep and the Father)

-  The Mustard Seed for Fear of the Lord

-  Simeon and Anna for Piety

-  A prophet for Counsel

- For Strength, a variety of things, including the oil of baptism, the woman who looks for the coin, and bread and wine

- For Wisdom, the Maxims

Celebration

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."

God is a gift to us

Robbie, 6, during a conversation about epiclesis and offering and the meaning of the priest’s hands going up and down: “God is a gift to us; we are a gift to God.”

We are all together in the chalice

While reflecting on the parables, an 8-year-old commented. "The mustard seed is like when the priest adds a drop of water to the wine and it all grows, because we are all together in the chalice to celebrate the Last Supper."

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."

The whole universe!

The catechist was presenting the gestures of peace and breaking of the bread from Mass to a group of 9-year olds. A low round table covered with a white cloth held a plate (model paten) and unbroken bread (model host). After reflecting on the gesture of peace, the catechist invited everyone to stand around the table holding hands. He remarked, “Our standing like this is a way of representing the unity of the peace we experience from Christ. Is this peace just here in our atrium or our own church?”

Several children immediately replied, “No, it’s over the whole world.” Blaine exclaimed, “The whole universe!” Chris wordlessly brought a model of the sun and solar system and placed it beside the prayer table. (He brought this model from the Montessori classroom connected to our atrium).

Listening sooo carefully

In a conversation with 5-year-old, I asked: "How do we know when the Gospel is read in church?"
Kyle: Because I am listening sooo carefully to hear what Jesus wants me to do.
(The answer I had been expecting was, "Because the big gold book gets carried down the aisle.")

Dinnertime

Working alone with altar material, with the paten and chalice in place, Bryan turned toward the center of atruim and called out, "It's almost dinner time." When the altar was "set", he called out to all, "Dinnertime!"

That's Where we Put the Bread!

As I was reviewing with a small group the names of the items at the altar, Blaine, age 4, pointed to the paten and exclaimed, "That's where we put the bread!" He then pointed to the ciborium and said "And here too!"

Jesus' Heart was Broken in Two

After a presentation on the Breaking of the Bread during Eucharist, as five-year-old said,
"Jesus' heart was broken in two. Then he shared it with everybody. Not just one or two people. EVERYBODY."

Eucharistic Presence

Daniella, age 5, was familiar with a material representing the parable of the Good Shepherd. It had figures of a shepherd and ten sheep she could move in and out of a sheepfold. Next, she received a presentation which uses the image of the Good Shepherd to introduce the Eucharistic Presence. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls the sheep around a small altar. Then bread and wine replaces the shepherd, because Jesus is present in the bread and wine, not the statue. Finally the sheep are replaced with people. The words of the Last Supper are repeated, and the catechist says, "With these words, Jesus feeds the sheep with himself in the bread and in the wine." After the presentation, she worked with the material for over an hour, and drew this picture.

A few months after my mother's death my daughter Felice, who was not quite three at the time, asked, "Mommy, where is Nonnnie?" I replied, "Where do you think she is?" We had often discussed Nonnie's presence now in heaven with Jesus. Felice most profoundly responded, "She is in heaven." She paused slightly then continued, "That means she is in the body of Christ, the Bread of heaven." There was another brief pause then she proclaimed, "And so am I."

"It’s all made of pearls"

From Catechist Dan Teller's Journal:
The priest makes the gesture of epiclesis during the Eucharistic prayer at Mass, by lowering his hands over the chalice and paten, and praying over the gifts, “And so Father, we bring you these gifts…” This gesture is presented to the children as an indication of the first part of an exchange between God and people: God sending the gift of Himself in the Eucharist; people responding with the gifts of themselves, through the prayer of Offering that the priest makes in elevating the host and precious blood (“Through Him, with Him…)

Uri, age 4: “It’s all made of pearls.” (as the glass chalice and paten are brought out, a week or two following a lesson on Jesus’ parable, “The Pearl of Great Price”, which indicates the value of the Kingdom of God)

Rowan, age 6: During conversation of the priest’s hands being held down, and the meaning of this: “God is a gift to us; we are a gift to God.”

After the Eucharistic Presence presentation, Henrik worked with the material. He had the Good Shepherd go out and find the lost sheep, and when the lost were found, the altar was set for a grand celebration, to mark their return. Henrik said that the people around the altar "couldn't believe it," so amazed were they at what the Good Shepherd had done. The people were "so surprised" to have a celebration like this.

The Good Shepherd invited them.....

Submitted by catechist Mary Lennard:

Following the presentation of the Found Sheep, two four-year old girls were working with the sheepfold. After a time they burst into joyful laughter. I looked over to see that the sheepfold was empty. No sheep were in sight. "Where are the sheep?" I asked. Confidently
they showed me the altar. They had arranged the sheep around it.
"The Good Shepherd invited them to eat bread and drink wine," they
explained. The catechists rejoiced in awe that the Shepherd had led
them to a new pasture.

Mary Had a Baby

Hayden's (age 4) sung 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."

The Lost Sheep

After the Eucharistic Presence presentation, Henry worked with the material. He had the Good Shepherd go out and find the lost sheep, and when the lost were found, the altar was set for a grand celebration, to mark their return. Henry said that the people around the altar "couldn't believe it," so amazed were they at what the Good Shepherd had done. The people were "so surprised" to have a celebration like this.

Feasting on love

During a discussion of the words said at the Breaking of the Bread: "Therefore let us keep the feast, Alleluia", Nicole, 8, had this to add: "Therefore let us keep the feast--don't you understand? We've been feasting on love! It's a feast! That's the kind of feast you WANT to keep in your heart. So much love."

Jesus' Heart was Broken in Two

After a presentation on the Breaking of the Bread during Eucharist, as five-year-old said,
"Jesus' heart was broken in two. Then he shared it with everybody. Not just one or two people. EVERYBODY."