Jesus said:
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
~John 10:27-30
The Fourth Sunday of Easter draws our attention to Jesus as the Good Shepherd, which of course draws me (and many others, no doubt) to a special gratitude for the gift to the Church in our time which is the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
It has been a great grace in lives of our children and to us. It extends the pedagogy of Maria Montessori into a child's experience of the Church. It involves them from a very young age in an environment that corresponds to the grace they have already received in baptism. It allows the child to engage the reality of the life of faith, and allows room for the Holy Spirit to draw out the mysterious depths of awakening hearts.
Here are a few pictures from the CGS environment (classroom) which is called the Atrium.
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| Scrolls with hand-written prophecies from the Old Testament |
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| Timeline of Salvation History shows the Incarnation and Redemption as its central point. |
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| Josefina works on drawing the timeline. |
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| Map of the Holy Land at the time of Jesus. |
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| Cabinet with books of Old and New Testaments with length of each book indicated by its height. Removable. |
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| The sanctuary. All of these things are also available as child-sized models for activities to learn about the Mass. |
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| Models of the monstrance, thurible with censer, chains, stand, etc., and incense holder. |
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| In this work, Josefina explores the features of the Last Supper and its connection to the Mass. |
Some of the materials of the Last Supper/Mass work.
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| Easter & Pentecost are key moments. Above: catechists and children put together a prayer service using Easter Vigil themes. |
