By: Sr. M. John Paul
“Shh! We need to be quiet to listen to Jesus!” Isaac exclaimed as other 3 year old voices could be heard disturbing the silence which had settled upon the room. I smiled as I sat observing the scene; it reminded me of the words of the prophet Zechariah: “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He is aroused from His holy Heaven.” (Zc. 2:13) In these holy seasons of Advent and Christmas we are called upon to “keep watch” (Matt 25:13) and be vigilant in seeking the Lord and welcoming Him into our hearts whenever He comes knocking. “There was no room for them in the inn,” (Luke 2:7) scripture tells us, do we have room in our hearts? If so, is a place prepared and ready for our King?
This year I have been given the great gift of making room and preparing a space for God to speak to His people, the littlest people, to whom the Kingdom of God belongs… In March, I was asked to begin making preparations for starting the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at our Carmelite Child Development Center, our daycare in Kirkwood. Based on the methods of Maria Montessori, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd seeks to unveil the truth of the Gospel to children through a blending of Sacred Scripture and Liturgy. Children are very tactile learners and love to be independent in their environment. This method uses tangible materials through which children are enabled to integrate the mystery of life and the Incarnation more deeply. This means that we have figures for select passages in the New Testament that highlight the main events of redemption history which the children can work with (we use the word ‘work’ rather than ‘play’ because these are true avenues of prayer in the child) and materials that help bring alive the parables as well as the Holy Mass.
Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me and do not prevent them for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” He didn’t say to show them the way, He said “let” them come. This one word speaks volumes… The human person is a body and soul composite, and children in their innocence are naturally receptive to God’s voice in their lives. Just as I told in the story above about Isaac, he naturally desires to seek communion with God, the living God. He was reminding the other children that in the atrium we keep silence because we want to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and Isaac desired to listen to that voice. That story was just one instance of many that have happened within these two months that we have been bringing children to the atrium. All great things start small, so we only have a handful of three year olds coming once a week in small groups to the special room (atrium) prepared for this sacred work; but as time goes on we will incorporate more and more children into the program.
St. John the Evangelist tells us: “Beloved, what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and touched with our hands … what was with the Father and was made visible to us…” (1Jn 1:1-3) “God came into the world! What does this mean?” St. John Paul II asked the crowds in his Christmas Homily of 1968. I wondered with the children this Advent how our great God chose such a little place on our planet to live, die, and rise. Such a little place and all of redemption happened there! The reality is that God comes into this world every day, but do we take the time to notice Him? His healing hands touch our hearts through the sacraments, we hear His voice in the Scriptures, and He reveals His love for us in all those around us and in creation. But let us not pass by the original question: “What does this mean?” What does it mean for humanity? The Saint answers this question by saying: “It means, my dear brothers and sisters, that he came to meet the aspirations imprinted within man to move beyond himself, to obtain more, and to always be something more. … Man can transcend himself through becoming a son of God …” And what does this mean but to accept our identity as children being held in the arms of our Father? Sometimes we are even called to trust when He tosses us up in the air or flies us around like an airplane. Do we have confidence that His hands will never drop us? And even more importantly, can we laugh and smile as He takes us on a crazy ride? Then we can respond to our Father’s caresses with contentment and joy “I love you soooo much!” (As one of the children in the atrium repeated over and over in prayer...) Let us ask Him to shatter our blindness and open our eyes to see His love and providence in all. “See God in all, serve God in all, love God in all!” ~Bl. Mother Maria Teresa of St. Joseph