So Many Questions

Manuel, 5, was receiving the presentation on the City of Jerusalem. When we spoke of Jesus' death, he asked, "Why?” He also asked, "Why did he be risen?" I, too, wondered why, and Manuel responded, "Because he was dead there and God didn't like him dead. I think that's why." Manuel then discussed Israel as part of Asia, the need for bridges, and Galilee as part of Israel. He then wondered what Jesus looked like and if there had been electricity then. He prayed the song, "You Shall Go Out with Joy."

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.

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."

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."

Triple Thumbs up!

Caleb, 5, had meditated at the City of Jerusalem. When asked about his meditation he explained, "God traveled up to my brain to give me more suggestions." When I wondered how that felt, Caleb replied, "A triple thumbs up!"

Wow -- birth and death -- all at once in the same place

Walter, age seven, has been in the atrium for three years. When he received the City of Jerusalem presentation, we lit a small candle next to the empty tomb to symbolize the resurrection. Walter then went to do the baptism work for the umpteenth time. He was about halfway through lighting the small candles from the large paschal candle, when he paused, looked at the paschal candle and the smaller candles, and said, "Wow -- birth and death -- all at once in the same place."