The presentation in the atrium this week relates to the second reading from this past Sunday's liturgy. St. Paul speaks about the transformation of the body in this life on earth to the glorification of the body in heaven: "He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified body, by his power to subject everything to himself." (Philippians 3:21)
From their earliest time in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, children have listened to the Christian message in which "death and life are tightly bound to the announcement of resurrection: Life is stronger than death. ... In this way the discussion of death/life is presented in a positive context." (The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old by Sofia Cavalletti, page 4-5) Cavalletti goes on to write, "Nevertheless, the reality of death also involves the issue of decomposition of the body, and this is also a deep concern of the children. The problem is not resolved by merely saying that the loved one 'is in heaven.'"
The presentation this week helps children satisfy their need (or at least begin the process) of knowing what happens to the body at death. We address the children's concerns by showing an example of a seed that when planted in the ground is transformed to new life.
The presentation to the children on the "Mystery of Life and Death" begins with Jesus' words found in John 12:24:
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much wheat."
We show the children some materials that help us understand these words. We display a jar of wheat seeds and 3 pots of plants. With the pots, we show the progression of what the seeds looks like after 2 weeks, 8 days and 4 days in each of the pots. We dig up the different pots and see if we can still see the seed at the root of the plant. This is a time where the children are encouraged to feel the dirt and touch the roots and/or the remnants of the seed. The children discover that, when the seed is planted, it is totally transformed from a seed to a growing plant. We wonder together what must be in the seed to make this transformation occur. If the plant continues to grow, it will develop a full head of grain. We show the children (and have them touch) the wheat sheath that has many seeds. What a wonderful realization that one seed produces many seeds. Once again, in the Kingdom of God, there is a movement from less to more.
Here is another excerpt from Religious Potential (page 6) giving a glimpse into the possible thinking that can result from this presentation:
"After the presentation we have just described, Cecilia (age 4�) drew a flower. The catechist asked her, "Where is the seed?" and Cecilia answered, "You can't see it because it's dead. It has given its life to the plant." After a pause, she continued, "Without the seed the plant can't grow. The seed isn't dead though; it's just that its life has gone into the stem and roots."