He Likes to Share

After attending the Liturgy of the Light, Celia went home and said to her Mum, "You know, Mum, Jesus is the Light and he likes to share his Light with us, to you and me, because he loves us so much."

50,000 to 1

Yun, 6: See that candle? (the Paschal Candle) It's Jesus and God. There's at least 50,000 darkness out here and only one light. And that light challenged the darkness and won.

Sam: When Jesus was killed on the cross, his light got snuffed. But when he rose, it was like his light lit up a pile of firewood--and the light was MUCH stronger. Everyone was amazed!

Yun's response to Sam: It doesn't matter how big the darkness is, it can't put out the light. But even one little candle can light up this dark room.

Light and the Red Sea

Drawn as a response to the story of the parting of the Red Sea. The caption reads "In Him there is no darkness at all: the night and the day are both alike."

This Little Star of Mine

After the reading of the Adoration of the Wise Men, Ben asked to sing, "This Little Light of Mine," and he did so holding the star from the work. For the verse where we sing, "Hide it under a bushel? No!" he hid the star behind his back.

Bad Guys

Eric, age six said, "The people are happy to see God's light, even the bad guys." The two on the right without smiles are the bad guys.

The child said of his drawing, "The sheep is full of light--Jesus' light. It sparkles as it walks." He made a sparkle gesture with his hands.

Afraid of the Dark

Jenae told her catechist she was afraid of the dark.

Lead all your flocks to peace

Prayer by a group of 10-11-year-olds:
Shine your light on us, oh Lord,
So that we may worship you in happiness.
Oh Lord, our Shepherd, lead all your flocks to peace.
Guide us through our journeys with love and life,
So we may serve you wholeheartedly,
Until one day when there is one flock and one sheepfold. Amen.

Risen!

A ten-year-old who had been in the atrium for years, painted this reflection on Resurrection. He chose to cover the cross in the true vine.

Risen!

A ten-year-old who had been in the atrium for years, painted this reflection on Resurrection. He chose to cover the cross in the true vine.

Pour Goodness into Herod

Flora, age 7, was working with the Leaven. She had prepared two bowls of flour and water--one with yeast and one without--in order to meditate on how the Kingdom of Heaven is like the leaven. Her catechist wondered how the dough with the leaven in it could be like the Kingdom of God. Pointing back and forth between the two bowls, she said:

(bowl with leaven)“Power, (bowl without leaven)No Power;
(bowl with leaven)Love (bowl without leaven)Less love;
(bowl with leaven)A big heart, a big family;
(bowl with leaven)“Bright, like God;(bowl without leaven)Dark, like Herod” (earlier in the day, she had had the presentation on the Flight into Egypt)
(bowl with leaven)Big world;(bowl without leaven)Tiny, tiny world
(bowl with leaven)Bread and wine;(bowl without leaven)Water and candy, cause candy’s not good for you.”
The following week, she asked about Herod, “Why would he kill a baby?” Flora was again working with the Leaven. She said, “I wish I could pour this in [the leavened dough into the unleavened]…pour goodness into Herod.”

After reading the Adoration of the Wise Men scripture booklet with Nadia, age 4, I wondered why this baby was so special. She responded, “because he’ll bring peace to the world.” She asked to sing, “This Little Light.” When I wondered what the light was that we sang about, she responded, “God.”

This is Jesus and this is his Light

This is Jesus and this is his light. And this is Mary and she's very happy. And this is Joseph and the shepherd with his stick. And this is the angel." by Olivia, age 5

"The People who Walked in Darkness"

After giving a lesson on the Nativity, I asked the children, "What do you think the shepherds said when they saw Jesus?" Elijah, age 3, answered, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Natalie, age 3, said that if she was a shepherd who came to see Jesus, she would sing a song to Him.

Oscar, age 8, was at home with his mother. She was creating a flyer on connecting the atrium, home, and church for families. Oscar shared some of his ideas:
1. Light a candle at dinner and think/talk about comparisons with light
and Jesus.
2. Say Grace at every meal. Think about God's gift to us and us saying
thank you. Think about how we can say grace always. (Silently at a friends
house or at school). If you didn't say grace you wouldn't be saying thank you to
Jesus for the wonderful food.
3. For older group: At church - listen to the words the priest is saying
and "connect all the parts together in your mind".
4. For older group: Notice all the symbols of light in the church (ie.
sunlight shining through the window onto the cross, because that to me is
like God shining in upon us during mass - and sometimes you can even see
a shadow of Jesus from the cross within the sunrays and that is Jesus and
God together as they are together, - shining down upon us.

What could the treasure be?

The catechist was giving a lesson centered on Jesus' parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who found a treasure hidden in a field (Mt. 13:44)." Noting that Jesus didn't say what was in that treasure, the catechist posed the question: "I wonder what the treasure could be?" The group of 3-6 year-old children answered in turn: "Gold...A bright shining light...the Word...Yep, the book the Shepherd wrote...The Lord...I know it's Jesus...the Cross...A mustard seed...God's hat!"

Do not be afraid for he is near

Another prayer from Julie, written in her missal when she was 8:

He is our place of rest.
His power is in us.
He is our shield.
He helps us in making peace.
The kingdom of God is all around.

Do not be afraid for he is near. (surrounded by crosses and lit candles)

Parousia

Tessa, age 13, drew the Earth, from the beginning until parousia. In parousia, the people are bathed in light.

Moses and the Light

Kyle, age 10, drew an illustration of Moses. He included the words, "In him there is no darkness at all. The night and day are both alike."

Who in our world needs the light?

These words of 9-12 year old children reflect both their global awareness and that the light of Christ illuminates moral questions. For older children, the Risen life we celebrate during this season of Easter extends to all people and all concerns:

During the bombing of Yugoslavia a catechist asked a group of 9-12 year olds, "Who in our world needs the light?" A fourth grade girl, Dana, answered, " The Serbian people need the light so they can stop. The Albanian people need the light so they can hope."