The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level II 
May 4, 2010 - Level 2, Issue 15
In This Issue
The Found Coin
Planning for Next Year
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Dear CGS Level II Parent  
The Good Shepherd

This past Sunday, 21 children of St. Teresa Church celebrated their joyful First Communion.  It was a beautiful celebration.  Congratulations to them all.  We thank them and their parents for participating in a year of preparation to receive beautiful sacraments.

 

We are nearing the end of the catechetical year, but we still do meet in May.  Please continue to make catechesis a priority so your child can receive all the richness of the year.

 

This week, Level II children will work with the parable of the Found Coin.  This is similar to the parable of the Found Sheep, and so it helps continue the child's reflection on the Good Shepherd. 

 
Peace,
The Level II catechist team:
   Jane Ott and Liza Bloomer on Tuesdays
  Megan Wallenfang, Vanessa Hernandez, and
     AmyMcCue on Wednesday
  Barb McHugh and Myrna Gomez on Thursdays
and Jane Ott (writer) and Lina Hilko (editor)
The Found Coin (and Much More) 

At the beginning of November, the children were presented the parable of the Found Sheep from Luke 15:4-6 in which they learned of God's boundless love and faithfulness for his people. 

 

"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'"

 

This week we will work with another parable called the Found Coin (Luke 15:8-9) where a woman has ten coins and loses one coin.  She diligently searches for this lost coin and rejoices with her neighbors when she has found it.  It is similar to the Good Shepherd looking for the lost sheep and celebrating when He finds it.  

 

We will begin this week with the vine plant and explore with the children again the parable of the True Vine. Looking at the vine, we see that the vine and the branches are so close. There is no separation between them. In the True Vine of which Jesus speaks, Jesus is the vine and we (the people) are the branches.  We as branches must remain on the True Vine and keep that sap coming from the Vine.   Sometimes in life we feel separated from the sap of the True Vine and our branches do not look so healthy.   God, as the Vinedresser (Vinegrower) always offers greater care when the branch is in distress unblocking the sap that is needed to make the branch healthy again.

 

We will continue to explore God's great care and love through discussion of the parable of the Found Sheep and the Found Coin.  Seeing the Good Shepherd and the woman in the parable seek out what they lost teaches us what incredible love God has for us.  Even though we may experience problems in our life and feel lost and separated from God, God gives us many gifts so we may continue to live "on the True Vine" and remain with Him.  The sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist are both great celebrations where we can encounter being found and loved by God.

 

Oh what joy the lost sheep must have felt when the Good Shepherd was carrying it and bringing it back to the flock!

Planning for Next Year
We are now in planning for the 2010/2011 catechetical year.  Please consider whether you could serve as a catechist or catechist's assistant.  The Montessori method of learning is beautiful but requires adults to listen to God side-by-side with the children.  If you are interested in learning about the opportunity, please talk to Sarah Coles or any catechist. 

 

Please provide comments about this newsletter to Lina Hilko, the editor, at [email protected] and/or Sarah Coles, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education, at [email protected].