Recently the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd made it possible for members to subscribe and view our material manuals online instead of in print format. These material manuals include clear directions for making the materials and now have pictures of the original materials from Rome. They are really incredible! I've been visiting every material in the manual before presenting it this year, and have learned so much! The manuals represent a tremendous amount of work, very thoughtfully done, and I am so grateful. 
While looking through the manual for the True Vine Atrium, I came across these cards which present pictures of the articles of the altar and their significance. I had to make them right away! Somehow I missed these cards in my training, and as soon as I saw them I knew that they would meet a real need in the children, and allow them to synthesize what they have learned about the altar in a new way. I offered the cards to several groups of children last Sunday and I could almost see the connections being made in their minds as they worked. After matching all the cards, the children asked if they could add the articles from our sacristy cabinet to the work. They were very satisfied with the material!
I can't count the number of times that the "rightness" of the materials has been proven to me since I began working with the Catechesis. Sometimes, the way a work is presented or made doesn't make sense to me and I am tempted to change it. But I consistently find that the wisdom of the materials comes to light when I see the children at work. Other times, I'll find that something I have sensed is not working is actually being done wrong! Or, as in this case, I'll find that a need I am only vaguely aware of has already been addressed with a material I have yet to discover! I've come to trust the wisdom of the Catechesis and the 50+ years of observation, experimentation, and prayer that it represents. I'm so blessed to be a part of it!
love the online manuals, they are so helpful in getting a real picture of what you are trying to create! finished making our altar cards a few weeks ago - and did them all by hand - I really am beginning to see the benefits to eliminating computer generated lettering in the atrium
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, I agree! I wrote mine out as well and I do think it encourages the children to try writing them out themselves when they see a model of something handmade. They seem more beautiful to me somehow. I saw your cards on your blog and they are beautiful! Your pictures are lovely!
DeleteThere's a need for humility and patience, isn't there? "I've come to trust the wisdom of the Catechesis and the 50+ years of observation, experimentation, and prayer that it represents."
ReplyDeleteAnd isn't that true of so much more than CGS as well. I am studying theology in the Church of England this year. As someone who grew up with "sola Scriptura", it was initially shocking to read about the importance of "tradition" as well... and yet to think of it as listening to tyears and years of the prayers and experience of other Christians, to think of it as the opposite of arrogant individualism - that puts a very different take on it.
So true Storyteller! How wonderful that you are experiencing that in your studies. In this time in history distrust of the institutional Church comes more easily than humility. And yet what a blessing to be aware and a part of faithful Christians through time, and to be the beneficiaries of their wisdom. Its so nice to hear from you -- I've been feeling out of touch with our blogging community!
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