The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Levels I and II 
December 6, 2011 - Levels 1&2, Issue 06
In This Issue
A Light for All People
Walk the Talk
Christmas Eve Family Mass
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Dear CGS Parent  
The Good Shepherd

It was very gratifying for CGS families to enter into Advent more as a community this year through prayers and masses celebrated together before Thanksgiving and through our work on Advent wreaths. The Plan of God calls for complete communion: people-to-God and also people-to-people. When we journey as a community, we experience a microcosm of the cosmic communion that only God can truly envision. We hope each family has found meaningful ways to continue their Advent journey.

 

The next three presentations for Levels I and II parallel each other; thus, just one newsletter for both levels to share. The children began Advent last week with Advent celebrations (processions, songs, and re-setting of the prayer tables) and by reflecting on prophesies. The next three sessions (two in December and one in January), children in both levels will read and consider various infancy narratives related to the Annunciation (the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus); the Visitation (Mary visits her relative Elizabeth); and the Adoration of the Magi. This newsletter delves deeper into just one of these stories (Magi), but of course, you are always invited to reflect on your own on all the prophesies and infancy narratives that your child also is experiencing. Visit the  archived 11/14/2011 newsletter for lists of these readings.

 

Advent and Christmas are full of opportunities to continue to build community within St. Teresa and to spread the good news of this great community to others who are also seeking God's light. Please keep watch for these opportunities.

 

Peace,

  Lina Hilko (editor)

A Light for All People
A central message that your children will experience in Level III (ages 9-12) is this:

 

A plan has always existed in the mind of God to bring all people, all things, all of creation into the full enjoyment of God in a cosmic communion of love.

 

Recently I was researching "Stations of the Nativity" on the internet, and came across a reflection related to the Magi which seemed so related to the Plan of God for cosmic communion. Below is the meditation (unedited) that went with the fourteenth station found at the site  http://www.stpaulsmishawaka.org/html/stations/stations.html.

 

Meditation

They had been watching the stars for years, for decades, maybe for all of their adult lives. Perhaps as they patiently, carefully, painstakingly watched and kept track of the movements of the heavens, they prayed or hoped that they would be fortunate enough that all their long efforts would pay off: that they would see a sign that actually mattered - a sign of some great change, of something that would break in upon that sad and groaning world of empires and wars and slaves.

And something that they saw, some conjunction or alignment that they noticed quietly in their observatories, signified something earth-changing to them. They may have known little of the long history of God's love for the Jewish people, of the revelation of Moses or the psalms of David. Yet it is certain that they knew that something of incalculable importance was about to happen.

 

How do we know this?

 

Well: why did they come to Bethlehem?

 

We remember them in a season in which we give and receive presents, so it is all too easy for us to think of the Magi merely as the bearers of gifts. We remember the gold, frankincense, and myrrh much more often than we remember them. But if they had simply wanted to send gifts to a new-born child who might eventually become the king- one more king!-of some small and backward tributary province of a foreign empire, they could have sent the gifts without going themselves. If they could afford gold, frankincense, and myrrh, then they could also afford the servants who could deliver them.

 

But they came themselves. Yes, they brought their gifts with them. But then, as anyone who has lived in the Middle East could tell you, you're supposed to bring gifts. Not that the gifts don't matter. But the visit is the reason for the gifts; the gifts aren't the reason for the visit. They came, I think, because they wanted to see in person what they had seen in the stars. Like Simeon and Anna, they had a chance to see what they had waited for all their long lives. What wouldn't they give, to see living and breathing (and crying) the child who, as the stars told them, would bring redemption to humanity and victory over the evil that they could see at work in the world?

 

It is striking that the Magi, who were not even Jews, seem to have understood more about the significance of the Incarnation than Jesus' own disciples did during his life. Jesus' followers could not accept that the Messiah had to suffer and die. Yet the Magi brought not only gold (the symbol of wealth and power) and frankincense (the symbol of wisdom and divinity), but also myrrh, which was used for embalming the dead. And though it took a long time for James or Peter to understand that Jesus had come not only to redeem Israel, but to save the entire world, these outsiders, these foreigners seem to have understood very deeply that Christ's birth would bring a change not only for Jews, but for their own people as well.

 

If, as seems most likely, the Magi came from Persia, they would have been Zoroastrians - believers in a religion that had long taught that there was one good God, perpetually fighting against evil. And if they really did see a sign in the skies, then God must have intended to speak to them too - to reward their patience and their dedication. Perhaps, also, their love.

 

There is a lesson that we should draw from God's willingness to speak to these ancient Persian astronomers: that if we truly seek God, even if we do not fully understand Him- and, after all, who can fully understand God?-then He will speak to us in the end in a way that we understand, if we have in our hearts the kind of perseverance and trust that could bring these patient watchers of the stars to a small stable in a backward town in a foreign country, to see what they knew they could not imagine.

Walk the Talk

"Walk the Talk" is the title of the Level II parent connection articles to emphasize faith conversation through action. ("Feed My Sheep" is the title typically for Level I.)

 

This coming Sunday (12/11/2011), St. Teresa families (particularly those who don't attend Sunday Atrium) have a chance to enter in a small but special way into the Plan of God for greater communion by attending the 10:30AM mass, a special celebration for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Deacon Rivera had invited me a while back, and I'd like to extend that invitation to others. The mass will include Mariachi music and will be followed by a meal in the Parish Center.

 

There's so much to experience when you change routine. Your family can experience a mass in a different language, recognizing first-hand that every Catholic mass follows the same structure. (In working with Level III children, I have found this to be a revelation to some who even think English masses throughout Chicago may differ from parish to parish.) Rather than get discouraged by the foreign language, ask your children if they can point out the similarities. This is where the language of gesture really shines. God calls us to be in communion, not just with our friends and family, but with all human beings. You can recall (particularly for Level II children) the parable of the Good Samaritan. Who was a neighbor in that story? Jesus calls us to love our neighbors. When we open ourselves to other cultures, we are opening ourselves to being good neighbors. It can be awkward to put yourself in a situation where you don't "fit in" or where you feel different or where you don't even understand what is being said. But that is one way to learn empathy. Just think how many people in Chicago feel out of place every day -- young or old; foreign or native; fully able or somehow incapacitated. Realistically, our children will live in an increasingly global world. Here's a cultural exchange experience "with training wheels." St. Teresa's Hispanic community is very friendly, most welcoming, happy to share their love of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and great cooks, too!

 

Here's a chance to be like the Magi - come see in person the Light in a new way.

 

Christmas Eve Family Mass
We are already planning for the Christmas Eve Family Mass at 4PM on December 24th.  There are many ways for children to be involved.  Stay tuned for details, but right now, please note the following:
  • Rita will be teaching children songs to be sung that evening at 10:15AM in the Religious Education Center (the location of catechesis programs) this Sunday and next, December 11th and 18th.  All are welcome (not just Sunday catechesis children). 
  • All children are invited to participate in the opening procession of angels and shepherds.  Children will be asked to come early on December 24th to be prepared for the procession. 
  • If your child would like a reading part at the mass, please e-mail Kate Lynch ([email protected]) to let her know.
  • If you know a parish family that would like to be involved but is not in catechesis, please spread the word about song practice, volunteering for reading, and participation in the procession.  We want to welcome all to participate fully, but we need everyone's help to get the word out.  
Please provide comments about this newsletter to Lina Hilko, the editor, at [email protected] and/or Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education, at [email protected].