This week marked our last Catechesis sessions of 2014/15. As I considered an end of year e-news, my thoughts were drawn to the parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45-46). This is a parable we present throughout all three levels of the Catechesis. Each year, the children hear something more or something different.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

As I thought about it this past week, I wasn't drawn to the obvious characters: the merchant and the pearl. I was drawn to thinking about the "hidden" characters in the story. There must have been a pearl diver and some middlemen and maybe people in a caravan and some camels. And then my thoughts settled on one, particular, hidden character: the oyster.

This pearl of great price didn't just appear. It was formed in a physical space by a living being, the oyster. That environment and that organism created the pearl of great price from a mere grain of sand. It took a lot of time and the coming together of all the right conditions to create this particularly precious pearl.

As we close out the year, I want to honor the physical and living organism - the community of St. Teresa of Avila - that has created for all of us a very precious pearl. I hope we will all take time to think in gratitude of the physical and living community which brings together all the right conditions for our children and families to grow precious.

I remember in summer of 2009 when we were first given this beautiful, sunny, spacious building to dedicate to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Before that, the program had really struggled - more like tumbleweed than oyster. With the dedication of space, the program grew, our materials became ever more beautiful and plentiful, our sacrament preparation programs blossomed, and news of our parish spread. Ours is truly space in keeping with the needs of a Montessori learning environment and space that conveys to our children their importance to this community and the importance of sacred time and space to meet and know God. The community which provides the space, staff, volunteers and funding is truly a living organism in which each part works toward the nurture of the whole, believing that - whether we have children right now or not, whether we are young or old, struggling or secure - God's Kingdom is built when we "sell all" to secure a pearl of great price.

I hope you'll join me in praying for the community of St. Teresa of Avila, for each individual and for the whole, in gratitude for another memorable and precious year of learning and growing. And always we encourage all families to "remain" in Jesus and in community through the summer until we meet up again in the Atria in September!

Peace,

Lina Hilko, Editor