Preparing families for personal change

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of leading a group of about 15 families in a catechetical session as we prepared to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance next weekend.  Having had the experience of teaching children in the past, I remembered that most children consider themselves “artists”.  You give them an opportunity to be creative and they run with it.  Also, most children are not comfortable yet verbalizing spiritual concepts.  So I planned that after a large group reflection on the gospel from this Sunday, I would give them the opportunity to express what God was saying to us through papers, markers, and crayons.

After  small group discussions at their tables, which included at least two different families, the children which ranged from ages 8 to 15, they all began to translate what they heard onto their paper.  After some time, each family shared their reflection and the child presented their creative work.  What became so unexpectedly wonderful was the variety of expressions and the detailed craftsmanship! Sitting at different tables, three boys created origami hearts and doves, others created beautiful graphic illustrations using repetitive patterns and iconic symbols such as the cross and hearts. One wrote a profound and personal reflection using strongly colored strokes across the paper. 

 

The adults were touched by the expressive art that resulted from the gospel reflection at each group.  It became an opportunity to share with the children how God gives us talents and gifts so that we may glorify him in our work.  In our artwork, in our poetry, in our songs,  we have the opportunity to share the hopeful and challenging messages that we hear in God’s word.

Here are some a few highlights of what was shared by the children and how they interpreted what was heard:

1. "God is freedom. When we love God, we are free to love others and to do what is right." (This boy made a detailed and carefully folded dove origami sculpture which upon the wings he drew symbols and put the word “freedom” and “peace”)

2. "God created us out of his love. Although we may all be different, we are all created by God and we must love everyone and accept everyone for who they are. God chooses us to be born the way we are. We must love and serve him by loving others" (This girl drew a big heart with many people that symbolically represented different cultures, different races, different languages, etc., all were included within the large heart shape)

3. "Loving God means we love and obey him, but most important, we are to love him with our mind, heart, soul. "(This boy drew a very colorful drawing of many hearts and a big golden cross in the center, which he said represented God).

4. "God loves us, so we love him back and we love everyone because God made us the way we are born, so we must love who God made us to be and we must love others and how God made them too." This girl drew abstract images which were very conceptual and illustrated a pattern along the border of her paper, and provided decoration around her writing, reminded me of calligraphy found on  old illuminated manuscripts.)

5. "God loves us and he wants us to love him back." (This boy was the youngest one, about 7 years old, he drew a smiling robot figure that took up the entire paper and colored it with bright colors. He drew a robot because that is what he is passionate about.  Our passions can be ways we can glorify God with.)

After this time of reflection, the focus of the session became directed to the Rite and what it will mean when they go in front of our community to ask for prayers on their faith journey. We spoke about being open to God’s grace and that means that we prepare ourselves prayerfully for this new step that we all will all embark on. This Rite becomes a bridge to the the catechumenate.  They now become a “catechumen”.  A  Greek word which means, “the one who is learning”.  The catechist is the Greek word for “instructor”. These are ancient words (still in use today by our church) which St. Paul used to refer the unbaptized Christians who were not yet initiated into the sacred mysteries of the Christian faith. The early church recognized that Christians are formed through discernment and a process that takes time.  Time that would allow them to understand why we worship the way we do and why being a disciple of Jesus calls us to a change of lifestyle as well as a dying to ourselves, so that we can best serve others. The early Christians understood that when a person was baptized, they are baptized into a church community, a community where they will find support, encouragement, guidance, and challenge.

 We went around the room and each child was given some time to think about what they are preparing for.  What do they seek from our community? 

Again, the children touched us with their answers. “I want to know how to love God more”.  “I want to be baptized and be part of God’s family”.  “I want to learn how to have more faith”.

Are we ready for the Rite next Sunday?  Yes, I believe we are.  A very spirit filled morning where I walked away feeling blessed and thankful that God gives us the opportunity to recognize his grace through our children and their families!

I am convinced that God calls each one of us by name, how are we responding?