The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level III
January 20, 2009 - Level 3, Issue 8 |
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| Dear CGS Level III Parent, |
Happy Inauguration Day! I am just sure the kids are going to pray about this. They were very excited back on Election Day, too. Catechesis is turning out to be pretty political. We already have Obama's inauguration written down on our "My Century" timeline.
Level III continues this week with its series on Creation Typology (1/20 and 2/3 left to go). This week we will read and discuss the second account of Creation in Genesis.
Level III children continue to pray for Isabella Feliciano, a seven-year-old, Level II child who is very sick. Some children have chosen to use their work time to make cards for Isabella - really beautiful ones! And her name resides on a card on our prayer table. Soon you should see information about another way we can help Isabella's family - by cooking dinners. Keep a watch for this.
Families are invited to a special mass this Sunday, January 25th at 9:00 AM in celebration of our wonderful children and their spiritual growth. Please come to mass with a joyful heart and recognize your child's dedication and commitment to growing in relationship with God.
CGS mothers are invited to join the St. Teresa's Mothers' Spiritual Reflection group in January and February as we reflect on Jesus' parables of the Kingdom of Heaven. These are the same parables that your child has received and worked with throughout the three CGS levels. This offers a great way for CGS moms to grow spiritually, while connecting to their children's journey. I bet your Level III child will be thrilled to find out that you spent two evenings thinking about the same stuff they've been working with for the past seven years. (Way to catch up, Mom!) All mothers are welcome on Tuesday, January 27th and/or Tuesday, February 24th from 7:30 to 9:00 PM at church.
Peace,
Lina Hilko
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| Creation - The Second Account |
This week we continue to ask ourselves, "Who is the God we meet in these pages of Genesis?" And we ask, "Who are we? What is our relationship?"
The second account of Creation is recorded in Genesis 2:4-25. In this account, God begins His work by creating man. Everything else is created for man's sake. We'll read, "the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life." These words remind me of a song we sometimes (not often) sing at mass that says, "Abba, abba Father, you are the potter; we are the clay, the work of your hands." This God appears almost as an artist, and He is very intimate with us. He holds us quite close and breaths life into us.
We will compare and contrast the two Creation accounts, which are really so very different from each other. Why were these two accounts preserved in the Bible? If they are so different, one from the other, can we be learning about the same God? The same humanity?
In the first account of Creation, we meet a very powerful God, so very high above us. In theology, this quality of God is termed "transcendent." In the second account, we meet a God that is very near, inextricably related to us. In theology, this quality is termed "immanent." It means "existing or remaining within, indwelling." Two weeks ago on Sunday the First Reading (Is 55:1-11) stated of God, "As high as the heavens are above the earth so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts." And then last Sunday the Second Reading (1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20) stated, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? ... Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" How can God be both transcendent and immanent? Well, what were those words in the first account about the creation of humankind?
Typology is like the silk thread on which pearls are strung. If we are looking and listening, we can hear a unifying thread throughout scripture, and we experience a unifying thread throughout history.
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| Continued Conversations |
I just want to highlight again the opportunity CGS mothers have to connect with their children's catechetical experience by participating in the January and February Mothers' Spiritual Reflection gatherings. On January 27th, we will work with various Kingdom of Heaven parables which children typically receive in Levels I and II. This session will include a fair amount of quiet, personal reflection time. It should really be a treat for moms, especially when daily routine can be anything but quiet. Then, on February 24th, we will listen to and discuss some parables that are presented to Level II and III children. These are sometimes more complex to work with and challenge us to think and question. Please join one or both Tuesday sessions, from 7:30 to 9:00 PM in the church.
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Please feel free to talk to me or email me ( LHilko@aol.com) with your questions, comments or concerns. Sincerely, Lina Hilko |
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