The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level III 
October 21, 2008 - Vol 1, Issue 2
In This Issue
The Plan of God
Continued Conversations
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Dear CGS Level III Parent,  
The Good Shepherd
We got off to a good start in our new space at Church of Our Savior last week.  Thank you for everyone's commitment - we had 100% attendance in Level III!  The children and I talked about the new year and the new space and discussed rules we feel we should follow in the Atrium.  We also listened to a meditation about the Plan of God.  Now this week the children will begin their work with the Plan of God strip.  This very long timeline is always displayed on the Atrium wall in order to support a variety of Level III works.  We enjoy a second copy (St. Teresa's copy) that the children can work with on the floor in another room.
 
Peace,  Lina Hilko
The Plan of God 
The Plan of God strip is a long time-line focusing on the role of human beings within God's history.  The strip begins at the time that humans realized they could use their hands to work with and transform materials around them, such as rocks, wood, or bones.  The strip ends at the Parousia, the time when God will be all in all.
 
The Plan of God strip helps children reflect upon the many bridges joining one person to another.  For instance, when you take off in an airplane, do you think about the wheels and about the person or people who first invented the wheel?  We are connected to that person's works.  Did that person know he was working for us?  No.  But he was.
 
Over time, we can identify large groups of people sharing a common location and traditions.  We refer to these as "the Peoples," cultures such as the Sumerians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, etc.  Each of these cultures was born of small beginnings, rose to its greatest splendor, then declined and even disappeared.  But the works of each People are handed off to another People forming inheritances that are never lost - again, horizontal bridges, now from People to People.
 
This timeline helps children reflect on a special People - not the biggest or greatest, but special because they are God's chosen People:  Israel.  The People of God are the people to which God chose to first reveal Himself as the One God.
 
A great moment in the Plan of God strip is the time of Redemption, the time of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection.  In Jesus Christ, true human and true God, we experience a new kind of bridge, a vertical bridge uniting Heaven and Earth.
 
The timeline continues all the way to Parousia.  But between the present and the Parousia, there is blank, white space.  This is the "Blank Page," the part of God's history that is still being written.  It is being written by all types of people, all around the world, of all ages.  Just as so many people have worked up to now toward the fulfillment of God's plan, we are all called to continue the work, to write a page in God's history.
 
So far, the description sounds pretty positive.  But we know - and certainly children of this age know - that the world isn't all rosy.  The Plan of God meditation and its related works communicate that all divisions, all wars, every act of ill will, every lack of love is against the Plan of God.
 
But I must say that the Level III children often bring me to a state of peaceful awe and joyful hope because, despite all the messes they perceive or experience around them, it is clear to me from some of their prayers that they crave order, peace, and communion.  So, it is good news indeed that, "Every effort that strives toward union, every action that seeks to create peace, every work of love is a 'yes' for the Plan of God and prepares for Parousia, the time in which God will be all in all."
Continued Conversations 

One parent commented after last week's newsletter that it, "will enable us to continue conversations at home."  Yeah!  That was a key aim of the newsletter.

 

I encourage you to keep the conversation going with your children.  And I encourage you to take time now to think about how that can happen.  If your true desire is to connect with your child and deepen both your spiritual lives, then think it through.

 

Think about how you sometimes pass an acquaintance in the hallways at work or wherever.  Do they ever say, "Hi, howyadoing?"  In that phrase, is there really a desire to know how the other person is doing?  Typically, no.  The expected answer is, "Good.You?"  And the other says, "Good.Seeya."  And that's that.  Very efficient, very hygienic.  No chance of getting deep.  And that's okay in the circumstance because you have exactly four seconds, maybe less, in which to accomplish that exchange.  However, no one is fooled.  We know that in such an exchange, there really isn't a desire for any response other than "good."  If you're not good, you kind of need to keep it to yourself just then.

 

But be careful of inadvertently teeing up the same exchange with your child.  It may not be what you truly intend - it likely isn't.  But depending on the phrasing, you may convey that the correct answer is, "Good."  Careful with questions like, "How was it?"  Or "Did you have fun?"  My sincere hope is that, when you read of the complexity and richness of the presentations, you'll know that it's pretty hard to boil-down an answer - for anyone, much less a nine-year-old.  And so, sometimes, the child might just opt for, "Good."  Or, "It was okay."

 

Try perhaps an opener like, "I was reading in the parent newsletter about the Plan of God strip.  I was really interested in what it said about horizontal bridges.  It reminded me of ...."  In that kind of exchange, you have already conveyed your interest and ownership because you read the newsletter.  You have conveyed an interest in continuing the conversation with your child.  You have opened up by sharing something from your personal experience, thus extending an invitation for mutual, personal sharing.  And yet, you have also left room to respect that your child may not be ready to talk about his or her thinking.  Some of this material is really hard to contain within words, especially those readily available to children 9 - 12.  The fact that they can't yet communicate their thinking, doesn't mean they're not thinking.  And also, know that their thoughts are personal, and they may not want to share them.  Have you ever had a spiritual insight that you thought wouldn't be well-received by a given audience?

 

Also, look for connections later on.  You don't necessarily have to talk about the Plan of God in the car ride home.  But maybe it comes up really naturally two days later when you're brushing your daughter's hair or helping your son with a school project.  The beauty of bringing up a connection at such an off time is to underscore that what goes on in Atrium actually has a place in real life.  Only you, the parent, can help convey that point, because a catechist isn't going to be around in that "ah-ha" moment.  The space between Atrium meetings is yours to enrich!
Please feel free to talk to me or email me ([email protected]) if you have questions or comments or concerns about this information. 
 
Sincerely, Lina Hilko