Chicken Nuggets in the Atrium ??? Yes - and Butterflies too!

If the reality of a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium is to aid the children in connecting with the Holy Spirit, providing the essentials and the depth and lots of time for nurturing that relationship....

then we have a God with one seriously *awesome* sense of humor. 

The atriums I have the privilege to be the catechist of tend to bring out the weirdness in all of us:
(some of the following samples are not necessarily "weird" as much as "what typical non-atrium child even has the opportunity to THINK of this stuff?" and/or are definitely out of the usual for the particular child at hand)

adapting a presentation: the people have turned their backs on God
they go to Reconciliation and come back to the Eucharist

replacing the History of the Gifts - with FOOD

The Bible is SO our favorite book ever! 

chilling with the Bible

spending hours, VOLUNTARILY, copying Scripture

squeezing level 3 legs under a level 2 table - OWWW!!!
(but they refuse to adjust their positions)

1st chance these L3 girls get = mad dash for the miniature altar

caught in action! Setting up the gestures work

still torturing themselves with the too-low table

what is SO funny about the Origin of the Liturgy of the Word !?

general antics

begging for a photo op
they were trying to hide their joy ;) 

yeah, we carry flames
a lot

yelling at the camera - and dancing by the baptism shelf

do NOT take photo-taking too seriously ;)
because seriously, that would be SO boring! 

atrium is NOT complete without the CHICKEN DANCE!

Tebow
because we can
they have 5 photos of variations on this pose
so they could get JUST the right one. 

Our God IS indeed an awesome God
but really - how many times do we need to SING it ;)
(in another atrium group, it is "All God's Critters"

Internalizing the Atrium:
if you can't walk on the line yet, eating is definitely the next best thing

nap on the large prayer table
(he's not really napping - but he wants us to believe he is)

the Mommy-"HUH"-look
us adults use these a LOT in the atrium

so what prompted the "Huh" look?
the merchant knew how to use his head ;) 

he is SO capable of smiling
he was smiling before the photo
he was smiling after the photo
he even gave me permission to take his photo
But do NOT smile! ;) 

making butterflies
(I heard these are actually centipedes?)

we're never sure what she's doing...
...at any moment

beautifully bright!

the butterfly sprouted more wings!!!

panting for the Life of Christ

just because she can

L3 children taking off with the catechist's camera...
and taking VERY cool photos!

roly-polies in the atrium!

singing 'Blunt the Knives' and 'Under the Lonely Mountain'
while creating an altar scene.
Sure, they're connected. Really.
Altar - Mountain
damaging the dishes - Jesus changing Passover
Yeah. Sure.
Longing for, even fight for, HOME.
That one I can buy. 

Explaining why a sheep was crying
(one of the sheep has a gray spot under his eye - it looks like a tear)
the explanation got pretty elaborate and I don't recall enough details
to be coherent - it included being lost and found though!
And he was OH so serious about it! 

Ta-DAH! Our beautiful prayer table! 

singing silent opera on the line
(because the line is silent)

tight-rope walking! 

So with all this FANTASTIC personality, how could I possibly even bat an eye at, much less question, the fact that the BOYS (just the boys - not the girls) walk around the atrium with our Bread from "The Story of a Bread" - silently and seriously processing around the room with it held in two hands like it is Jesus Himself being taken for the Sacrifice. When asked, no matter the actual question asked, the only answer they will give while the Bread is in their hands is a very quiet, "It's a chicken nugget."

what they typically do:
hold it
and walk around
serious faces

They call it a chicken nugget.

Yes, I'll be adding some wheat grain parts - gluing and polyurethaning.

But really. A chicken nugget. I'm not just batting an eye - I'm batting them both - multiple times.
A chicken nugget.
And they're SERIOUS.

Well, maybe not just SO serious: 

on display for this post
Catechist: What is it boys?
Boys: It's BREAD!
Catechist: Good answer! 

Mystery of the Mass

towards the people

I have children of both forms of the Western Rite:
(the Eastern Rite has the Divine Liturgy)

TLM - currently referred to as the "extraordinary form" which is actually a historical misnomer, in that there are two main Masses: High Mass and Low Mass - High Mass is the ordinary form, Low Mass is the extraordinary form

Novus Order (NO - currently referred to as the "ordinary form" - but it was designed based off the Low Mass of the TLM - so a form of the extraordinary form...).

The children don't care about semantics. They just want the facts. So I present a quick intro to both forms of the Mass in all the atriums I lead; and in atriums where I know I have children of both forms, we really get into exploration of both.

When I present such materials, I present both forms (overview-only if I have no children from the other form in any particular atrium).

Of course, in the Novus Ordo, the priests CAN (and are actually rubrically encouraged to) face ad-orientem:
     facing the East - towards the sunrise - towards Christ our Light - bringing the people to Christ as the shepherd the priest is for us, his flock

Most Novus Ordo priests don't face ad orientem - instead choosing to focus on the communal aspect of our Church and face the people. Ok.

I show both to the children. Until 3rd grade, they tend to be good with it. After 3rd grade, hostilities arise and we work through those issues towards a place of respect.

But I don't understand the hostilities in some of the children. With ONE exception in the last 8 years, it has been Novus Ordo children with the hostilities; the TLM children quietly and respectfully accept the NO presentation and choose to work on the TLM materials or simply find other work to do in their free time. Now, to be fair, most of the NO children, when introduced to the idea of a difference in the TLM form, just accept it and choose to work with their own Mass form.

towards Christ

I had one boy last year, whose parents have never discussed the TLM Mass - have no hostilities one way or another (don't even know that much about it anyway and certainly wouldn't judge) - VERY strongly tell me that the priest facing away from the people is wrong; even if he's leading us to Jesus, he should be facing us so that we can see everything he does. He was quite angry when I quietly and with genuine interest suggested there may be more to the story that we could discuss (he refused to discuss).

Which is an interesting insight. There is certainly comfort in knowing what our leaders are doing. And while God lets us know what He is doing - we certainly don't understand it (the great Mystery of our Faith) - and we certainly don't "see" everything He does even in our own lives when we are hurt or suffering and can't see what God is doing to guide us to the path He has laid for us.

So does the Liturgy have to be "all things known to us" - or can we have some mystery? We explore these mysteries in the atrium from the child's earliest days - yet we leave the atrium 9 years later without fully understanding them - because we are not meant to fully understand. Only to appreciate - and to accept.

Eucharistic Presence BECOMES Reconciliation

Mostly letting the photos tell the sequence, I'll point out that I have children of both forms of the Mass: Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo.


Here is a beautiful example of how the children lead the work, when it is something they have explored on so many levels over previous years and months:


First things first: the children did not want to put away the local people. They too belong to the Church - if Jesus came to give Himself to ALL peoples of ALL times and ALL places - well, then we need all the people out. The children even pointed out: there will be ONE flock and ONE shepherd.

2 sheep (then changed to people) are placed behind
the altar - as the altar servers (Novus Ordo)
(yes, only boys were used because the children
with the server idea are TLM children familiar with NO -
only boys are used in the TLM - and some NO)
The third figure might be an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. 

Then we adjusted for the Traditional Latin Mass
(or an ad orientem Novus Ordo)

Some people are facing away from God.
They have sinned and refused to accept God's gifts.
(on an adult note: those of us in sin should consider
these children's words - and not receive when knowingly
NOT in a state of grace...)

The children announced that these people need RECONCILIATION!
So they go to Reconciliation and now they return to Jesus. 

As they return, the seem to be arranging themselves more neatly...
orderly fashion...
God is a God of Order - not chaos.....
hmmm.... 

And so the people have returned to the Sacrament of the Eucharist:
both  the SOURCE
and the SUMMIT
of our Faith

Sing Alleluia!!!!

What have the children NOT taught me in this lesson? I stick with the essentials - and look where they GO!

;) 

The Proud, the Eager and the Reluctant

The Proud

The Eager

The Reluctant

he was definitely happier than this, I promise ;)
he gave me permission to take his photo - he had a choice ;) 

tracing - only tracing
comes for presentations on his own terms ;) 

And he didn't want to touch ANYthing 2 weeks ago.
Hm. Can't resist the enticement of the atrium! 

Yup - resistance is futile.
Reluctance doesn't last long, when the adults are supportive. 

Participation in the Liturgy: Peace

1. Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

2. Love before us, love behind us, love under our feet.

Love within us, love over us, let all around us be love.

3. Light before us, light behind us, light under our feet.

Light within us, light over us, let all around us be light.

4. Christ before us, Christ behind us, Christ under our feet.

Christ within us, Christ over us, let all around us be Christ.

5. Alleluia.

6. Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Source

An indirect aim of so much of our atrium work is "fuller participation in the liturgy" - but what is the liturgy? 

The general consensus is that the original Greek word from whence we obtain the word Liturgy refers to the "work of the people" on a variety of levels - all of which seem to imply a "great work" or "great service" (it costs something in some regard).

Within Catechesis of the Good Shepherd album pages, we are of course referring to the Liturgy of the Church: the Holy Mass and all the sacraments.


What is "fuller participation"? 

An understanding, an appreciation for the mystery of what we can't fully understand, praying the appropriate portions of the Mass with the priest (some of us attend Masses where the servers pray all the responses for the people - but the people can pray them in their hearts). Fuller participation opens us up to more fully offer ourselves to God, opening ourselves up to the gifts He wishes to bestow in us primarily through His Son through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, but also in all the graces of the Holy Spirit through all the sacraments, all the methods of prayer, truly being with Him and living for Him.


Local Background: 

The local parish where I serve as the sole level 3 catechist is part of a 4-parish cluster, rurally located, served by one priest. The archbishop has made a decision to merge the 4 parishes into one, effective the first Sunday of Advent this year.

For the time being, this means nothing direct for the atrium spaces I utilize each week (level 3 and level 2) nor for the children I serve (I only have children from 2 of the 4 parishes - the two that were originally clustered when I first moved here to establish the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in these two parishes). The current priest intends to maintain and grow the CGS the atriums - I learned this morning (as of the day I am actually typing this) that he has mentioned to the DRE about building a second level 3 atrium in the near-ish future.
Yeah. We have multiple atriums - in addition to multiple sessions in each! How awesome is that!? (and how confounding for those of us trying to keep up!)

Within the 4 parishes, there is one parish school, utilizing two of the parish's school buildings; but each church has its own "old school building" where they used to have their own school. The operating school has a level 2 atrium on-campus, with their level 1 atrium located at the other parish who has the pre-k/K classes. The atriums I use are located in the biggest of the "old school buildings" - we have levels 1, 2, and 3 here. Some of the most beautiful atrium spaces in the country, if I can so give such credit to the dedicated catechists, families and parishioners who have made it happen.

These atriums serve the non-parish-school children of all 4 parishes in levels 1 and 2; in level 3, I still only have the children of the original two parishes - at some point in the near future, the remaining children will join us as well; for now, the 4th-6th graders at the other 2 parishes still receive book-based faith formation along with the 7th-9th graders.

If that doesn't get zany enough, there's more - I leave it there though ;)

See why we need to be one parish?
All Saints - announced this past week as the new parish name. Beautiful.

The last Sunday of this liturgical year is the end of the Year of Faith. The 4 parishes will be celebrating ONE Mass only for the weekend (ordinarily each parish gets one Mass each - 2 are on Saturday and 2 are on Sunday) - and utilizing the local high school auditorium to make it happen. The weekend liturgies the week before will be the last ones as separate and unique parishes; the following week (first Sunday of Advent), the liturgies will be celebrated as they have been for the last many months of the 4-parish cluster - but the parishes will have new names, named "the (original name) campus of All Saints" or something along those lines.

As you can imagine, the merging of the parishes has caused a serious loss of peace amongst many of the parishioners - and yes there are appeals being filed - but we will be one Church - we ARE ONE CHURCH.

The children from all 4 parishes will be singing a song of peace at the combined liturgy. For some reason I simply cannot get this tune INTO my head, so we invited the level 2 catechist (also the musician for 2 of the parishes) to please-please-please work with us, because I am so slacking on this task!

Our work in the atrium focuses on fuller participation in the liturgy - the liturgy of the WHOLE CHURCH.

I pray for the needed peace in these rural communities, each with their own identity and culture and history - and I pray the children in our atriums can take all that they discover about themselves and their relationship with the Holy Spirit into their families and into their own futures.

1. Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

2. Love before us, love behind us, love under our feet.

Love within us, love over us, let all around us be love.

3. Light before us, light behind us, light under our feet.

Light within us, light over us, let all around us be light.

4. Christ before us, Christ behind us, Christ under our feet.

Christ within us, Christ over us, let all around us be Christ.

5. Alleluia.

6. Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Through the eyes of the children: What happens when...

...I hand the camera over to level 3 young ladies: 

They pose with the work they just finished - as if they were still working with it, each selecting one of their favorite moments:

Posing with their next chosen work:

planning Communal Prayer.

Pictures of ME!?

Maybe there's a reason I hold the camera ;) 

The children started out all sitting around our small table.
Wigglies got them scooted around! 

And all of our silliness

(we are never entirely serious in the atrium):

LOVE that smile! 

  

Roly-Poly!

The all-time coolest photo of the Blue Unity Strip in the history of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd - EVER: 

Since this IS supposed to be a reflection blog and not just sharing - let's consider what I have learned here: That I am seeing the atrium through the eyes of the children - 

what is important to them; what strikes them when no adult is hovering. 

How the adults appear to the children 

(helps or hindrances? Involved (observing or interacting on the child's level) or hovering?).

I think I will hand over the camera more often. See what the children reveal to me that mere observation on my part doesn't entirely reveal. 

The Great AMEN

We had a discussion about the Our Father in both combined atriums (level 2 and 3 together) early in the school year - discussing each line, contemplating each word or phrase's meaning, the different colors of ink and what the color indicates... in both groups, a small group of level 3 ladies offered to create a beautiful Amen to add to the Our Father prayer lines.

These ladies accomplished a simple VERY beautiful Amen in one atrium session. 

And these ladies took a month; with two in tears they would miss a day
and have to wait to work on it! 

I so love to see the creative expression of the children - it's not about their abilities or talents - it is about what is in their hearts.

Going back to the prayer tables - I again experienced the satisfaction of a choice well-made this morning when I had a pair of boys set up the prayer table - a work of art - a creation of beauty. They THOUGHT and discussed each detail, even asking about the purposes or design of some of the items they used. This was not busy-work for them, although it may have begun that way.

These children love to CREATE.

What a strong reminder to me that the children need "keys" - tools - and the space to truly create.

Some of the children reviewed the Creation timeline this morning, along with the Hebrew word "bara" - to create through God's own power. Most of the children in this atrium will grow up and become parents, participating in that "bara" form of creation in one tiny aspect. In the meantime, and for the rest of their lives, they will continue to take the things of this earth, these gifts of God, and re-create for themselves: works of beauty, works of function, solutions to problems, songs of joy and sorrow, offerings of their lives to their Creator.

Provide the keys - get OUT of the way. Let the Holy Spirit do the real work with the children.

And with myself.

AMEN: So be it. 

Or as the children in the atrium sing: 

Yes, we agree, we believe it so.