The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level II January 22, 2013 - Level 2, Issue 09 |
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| Dear CGS Level II Parent | 
This week marks the second session in which the Level II children are listening to and thinking about some Level II moral parables, including the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35) this week and the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-12) last week. One purpose of the Level II moral parables is to provide children with a "cast of characters" to help them think through moral choices and behaviors. Read more on moral formation as related to the 6-9 year old child in the first article below.
In the third session of January, Level II children will consider the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32). In Level I, the focus is primarily on how God uses the very small to create the very great. In Level II, we add a conscious consideration of growth from less to more, the tendency of all creation toward higher fulfillment. The children will connect this parable to a Maxim which states, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." The seed and tree are no longer so external. We begin to consider a personal connection. Can we see ourselves as a "character" in this parable? Peace, Lina Hilko (editor)
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Level II Stage of Moral Formation
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The 6-9 child develops a strong sense of social justice and fairness. A unifying goal in Level II is to help the child remain in Jesus' love. This is a time to deepen and build the relationship with God through the child's own joyful responses to God's gift of love and God's many gifts of Creation. In Level II, the image of the Good Shepherd, originally introduced in Level I, is integrated with the image of Jesus as the True Vine (John 15: 1, 4-5, 9), including the words "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing."
The 6-9 children are often seeking to know rules and to define right and wrong. At times, it may appear that a child is tattling on others when really the child is simply trying to learn whether an action was right or wrong or to learn the consequences that are associated with a particular wrong. In this age group, the child generally is more comfortable identifying or measuring wrong within others. For this reason, Level II presentations include various moral parables which build a "cast of characters" against which the child can measure right and wrong. The 6-9 child is reticent to turn the yardstick on himself, however. So, there does exist a certain moral uneasiness in this period. A solid foundation in the love and protection of the Good Shepherd, and if needed a return to these fundamentals, should help ease this initial uneasiness.
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Parable of the Good Samaritan
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The parable found in Luke 10:30-35 addresses the question, "Who is my neighbor?" This parable is so well known by adult society that we have the common colloquial phrase "good Samaritan" and even Good Samaritan laws. The story can be so ingrained in us that we forget that at one time it was new. Maybe for your child it is still brand new. Parents can help their child remember this story just by linking it to events and actions you see today. This doesn't have to be big. Just a simple noticing, "It's like the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible..." can help your child remember and connect the parable to every-day life.
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Walk the Talk
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At St. Teresa, as children process out to Children's Liturgy of the Word, we sing, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." In the Atrium, we also profess the words of this song in various ways. One way is that we consistently light a candle before reading from the Bible. It is a persistent, visual sign that God's Word is a light for our life.
As is so often the case, the messages communicated in Atrium, or even in church, are probably not enough on their own. Parents, as the first and best teachers of the faith, have such amazing opportunity to connect the Word to everyday life. In Fr. Tony's sermon last Sunday at 9AM mass, he spoke of seeing through the eyes of faith. When we look at everyday events through everyday eyes, they may just appear as random events. But when seen through the eyes of faith, we see the miracles and the works of God that are constantly occurring. Rather than random events, we start to see an intentional and beautiful series of events, like a string of pearls, offering us a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.
We sing, "Thy Word is a light unto my path." Do our children hear these words as simply a song that fills time as they process? Or do the words convey a truth? When we see the words of the song connected with life outside the church doors - and when we see such connections time and again - then they become a solid foundation for the structure of our lives.
The opportunity to connect the Word of God to everyday life is the privilege of parents because parents are there in the ordinary, possibly quite small, moments when connections manifest. It begins with seeing through the eyes of faith so we recognize those moments and connect them to a parable or a story or a Psalm. We, then, pass on this light when we share our perceptions and experiences with our children, when we directly connect the Word of God with everyday events. We finished out the Christmas and Epiphany seasons last week. Now we are in the liturgical season called "Ordinary Time." Let us continue to look, through the eyes of faith, for the very real times in ordinary life when the Word becomes flesh.
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Please provide comments about this newsletter to Lina Hilko, the editor, at LHilko@aol.com, and/or Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education, at kolynchdre@gmail.com.
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