+Joshua+'s Godfather demonstrates the order of the vestments on our doll-size stand.
This wonderful priest whom we have known since long before he was ordained (we met in college while I was pregnant with Joshua), is wearing the cassock given to me at Joshua's funeral. He commented, "I forgot Joshua was taller than me in the end," because Joshua's cassock is a wee bit too large.
Showing posts with label catechesis of the good shepherd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catechesis of the good shepherd. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Monday, May 20, 2013
A bit of post-atrium fun
What the children do after our Monday atrium - these photos are all of Legoboy from the last day of class. Bittersweet! I would have cried when saying goodbye to the children, but I was distracted by some physical pain. At least I was able to end the year on a note of fulfillment.
Please note - the photos may be redundant, but he is NOT intentionally making a silly face or hiding his face - he actually WANTED his photo taken - and I had to take the opportunity while I could!!!
Please note - the photos may be redundant, but he is NOT intentionally making a silly face or hiding his face - he actually WANTED his photo taken - and I had to take the opportunity while I could!!!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Genesis Chapter 25 - Sons of Abraham!
This post is also being shared on Seeking the Plan of God - a blog I set up as a journal of our atrium experiences. It seems pertinent over here too ;)
This is not specifically atrium - I am adding it here because my son has been in atrium with me for 8 years. This past year being is first in level 3 (a year early) - and he reads the Bible a bit different from your average child. I'm not bragging there ;) He reads the Bible like a child has been in level 1 atrium almost continuously for 8 years (at least once a week; sometimes 4-6 times); in level 2 almost continuously for 7 years (at least once a week; sometimes 3-5); and level 3 for a year. Not to mention all the formation courses he has attended! and even assisted!
We have started a sequence of reading through the Bible in a year. At the time of writing this, we are still in Genesis.
Chapter 25 to be specific.
How many times I've read this passage and only THIS time did I really read it. And he picked up on it too.
We all know that Abraham had two sons: as Abram, he bore a son by his wife's maid (Ishmael); then the covenant was completed, his name changed to Abraham and Sarah bore him a son in her old age: Isaac.
DID YOU KNOW?
After the death of Sarah, Isaac took solace in his wife Rebekkah (Genesis 24:67b).
After the death of Sarah, Abraham took solace in a new wife: Keturah.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ishmael had 12 sons to rule over 12 tribes.
Isaac grandfathered 11 boys; one boy had two sons to replace him; making what we know as the 12 tribes of Israel.
Side note: Joseph had two sons from whom 2 tribes received their names; Joseph did not have a tribe named after him. Benjamin being the younger brother, this means that only 9 brothers (at most because perhaps some were toddlers!) participated in any way in the selling of Joseph to the Egyptians.
(I wish those people who write children's Bibles would at least get the stories ACCURATE.)
Keturah bore 6 sons to Abraham; their ultimate descendants as listed come to 13, so it doesn't fit above; all 6 original sons were given grants and sent away from Isaac (probably because of what happened between Isaac and Ishmael).
DID YOU KNOW?
Abraham, therefore, bore 8 sons. Not 1, not 2. EIGHT.
8. That's an interesting number. 8th day of creation (Easter); 8 people on the Ark.....
Isaac and Ishmael were together at their father's burial. Ishmael was a legitimate son, if not the "first-born" according to the birthright, because his mother was given in place of Sarah - not as a concubine, but as a replacement for Sarah's own womb. When Sarah was then able to bear a child, Ishmael maintained his legitimacy as a child of the Abraham, but lost his birthright as first-born. The other boys were considered to be conceived by "concubinage" despite Sarah being deceased at the time.
Wow.
Just one chapter. And that's not the whole thing!
That same chapter contains the birth of the twins: Esau and Jacob. Interesting that we usually consider Rebekkah to be something of a brat in her preference for the younger son. But indeed -while pregnant with the twins, she felt them wrestling and went to the Lord - the Lord told her that the older would serve the younger; indeed that he would "surpass" his older brother. Hence, she was simply favoring the one the Lord told her would rule.
Hm.
And there's still so much more said in just a few words - the age of the parents involved; how many years would that have been praying for children? the selling of the birthright....
Your turn!
;)
This is not specifically atrium - I am adding it here because my son has been in atrium with me for 8 years. This past year being is first in level 3 (a year early) - and he reads the Bible a bit different from your average child. I'm not bragging there ;) He reads the Bible like a child has been in level 1 atrium almost continuously for 8 years (at least once a week; sometimes 4-6 times); in level 2 almost continuously for 7 years (at least once a week; sometimes 3-5); and level 3 for a year. Not to mention all the formation courses he has attended! and even assisted!
We have started a sequence of reading through the Bible in a year. At the time of writing this, we are still in Genesis.
Chapter 25 to be specific.
How many times I've read this passage and only THIS time did I really read it. And he picked up on it too.
We all know that Abraham had two sons: as Abram, he bore a son by his wife's maid (Ishmael); then the covenant was completed, his name changed to Abraham and Sarah bore him a son in her old age: Isaac.
DID YOU KNOW?
After the death of Sarah, Isaac took solace in his wife Rebekkah (Genesis 24:67b).
After the death of Sarah, Abraham took solace in a new wife: Keturah.
 |
| This one seems accurate - 9 brothers;but what about their ages? |
DID YOU KNOW?
Ishmael had 12 sons to rule over 12 tribes.
Isaac grandfathered 11 boys; one boy had two sons to replace him; making what we know as the 12 tribes of Israel.
Side note: Joseph had two sons from whom 2 tribes received their names; Joseph did not have a tribe named after him. Benjamin being the younger brother, this means that only 9 brothers (at most because perhaps some were toddlers!) participated in any way in the selling of Joseph to the Egyptians.
(I wish those people who write children's Bibles would at least get the stories ACCURATE.)
Keturah bore 6 sons to Abraham; their ultimate descendants as listed come to 13, so it doesn't fit above; all 6 original sons were given grants and sent away from Isaac (probably because of what happened between Isaac and Ishmael).
DID YOU KNOW?
Abraham, therefore, bore 8 sons. Not 1, not 2. EIGHT.
8. That's an interesting number. 8th day of creation (Easter); 8 people on the Ark.....
Isaac and Ishmael were together at their father's burial. Ishmael was a legitimate son, if not the "first-born" according to the birthright, because his mother was given in place of Sarah - not as a concubine, but as a replacement for Sarah's own womb. When Sarah was then able to bear a child, Ishmael maintained his legitimacy as a child of the Abraham, but lost his birthright as first-born. The other boys were considered to be conceived by "concubinage" despite Sarah being deceased at the time.
Wow.
Just one chapter. And that's not the whole thing!
That same chapter contains the birth of the twins: Esau and Jacob. Interesting that we usually consider Rebekkah to be something of a brat in her preference for the younger son. But indeed -while pregnant with the twins, she felt them wrestling and went to the Lord - the Lord told her that the older would serve the younger; indeed that he would "surpass" his older brother. Hence, she was simply favoring the one the Lord told her would rule.
Hm.
And there's still so much more said in just a few words - the age of the parents involved; how many years would that have been praying for children? the selling of the birthright....
Your turn!
;)
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Montessori and Original Sin
One day, I gathered all my notes to write something about Montessori and Catholicism - specifically Original Sin, since this seems to be a huge sticking point - if Montessori sees only the good in a child, what about Original Sin? And what about "breaking the will"? And how could we dare just "follow the child" because their errant ways will only lead to more errant ways if they have complete freedom!
Well, besides issues of the balance of freedom and responsibility which is inherent in all properly Montessori environments, and the fact that we follow the child only within a prepared environment full of only good choices, I might mention that Montessori emphasizes time and again that when once a negative action or behavior shows itself we nip in the bud - no warnings, no 1-2-3-Magic, no "reasoning" with the 3 year old. But no strict harsh punishments either - we simply stop the behavior and move on. Don't LET those bad habits develop! As the child ages, more reasoning can occur, but by then, the child has been formed in many good habits and the negative things that come up can be dealt with as they happen. Anyone who says that a young child cannot then possibly reveal anything beautiful and holy to us adults, is not obeying the Lord's words, "Let the little children come to me, for heaven belongs to such as them." Hm. Original Sin. Yet heaven belongs to the children, not to adults.
But someone else has said all of this so much better than I could! In googling to find more information and supportive documentation, I found the following site (please visit to read the full article) and I LOVE this paragraph in particular:
http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=3541
Montessori held and applied the Catholic teaching that man was not completely corrupt with the Fall. She said that "in spite of the moral disorder brought about by original sin, there still remains in human nature a great potentiality for goodness." Montessori used the analogy of wheat in the field to make a point about the natural goodness latent in all children. (51) Inferior wheat plant can grow in the fields without cultivation. Destroying them does not guarantee a good harvest. If the good wheat is to grow it must be cultivated and if it is, the inferior wheat seed will not be able to grow. Montessori says: "The key to the problem is, therefore, not to destroy evil but to cultivate good." (53) Thus allowing the roots of good to sprout in the child´s soul.
And there are all of her own writings - if you read them in full context, they explain themselves! Be sure to look for older publications as somewhere in the 60s, many of her books were re-printed with huge religious sections removed. So newer printings have been heavily secularized.
........................................................
And then I found these:
http://www.nsmontessori.com/NSMCH2.htm
To ignore the child’s spiritual nature is to ignore the very essence and purpose of education.
It is important, in this light, to make Dr. Montessori’s understanding of the nature of the child clear. She considered the child to be good, but broken. The child is good in that he is created to be good, and broken in that he is subject to the effects of Original Sin – as St. Paul lamented in his own behavior - not doing the things he wants to do and doing the things he does not want to do. Her method, she believed, removed many of the obstacles that result in frustration which causes children to lose focus on learning and therefore display ‘broken’ behavior. By freeing the child from these frustrating obstacles, the child becomes able to develop naturally and normally as God had planned. This process she called ‘normalization’.
“Experience has shown that normalization causes the disappearance of many childish traits, not only those which are considered to be defects but also others which are generally thought to be virtues... The disappearance of these childish characteristics shows that the true nature of a child has hitherto not been understood. The universality of this fact is striking, but not entirely new since from the earliest times a twofold nature has been recognized in man. The first was given him at the time of his creation. The second came as a consequence of his first sin, a violation of God’s law. Because of the fall, man was deprived of the blessings of his earlier state and left to the mercy of his surroundings and the illusions of his own mind. This doctrine of original sin can help us understand what happens to a child.”(3)
http://www2.talbot.edu/ce20/educators/view.cfm?n=maria_montessori
(an article about the development of her spirituality)
Montessori in 1948 is reported to have lectured in London where she stated:
I see it-this Original Sin-who would not see a thing so evident? In the depths of the human soul is the possibility of continuous decadence…In fact, there are innate tendencies in man's soul which lead to maladies of the spirit sometimes even unknown to ourselves, just as the germs of disease may work silently, and unknown. This is the death of the spirit which brings insensibility with it. These tendencies come from the soul itself and not from the environment
Well, besides issues of the balance of freedom and responsibility which is inherent in all properly Montessori environments, and the fact that we follow the child only within a prepared environment full of only good choices, I might mention that Montessori emphasizes time and again that when once a negative action or behavior shows itself we nip in the bud - no warnings, no 1-2-3-Magic, no "reasoning" with the 3 year old. But no strict harsh punishments either - we simply stop the behavior and move on. Don't LET those bad habits develop! As the child ages, more reasoning can occur, but by then, the child has been formed in many good habits and the negative things that come up can be dealt with as they happen. Anyone who says that a young child cannot then possibly reveal anything beautiful and holy to us adults, is not obeying the Lord's words, "Let the little children come to me, for heaven belongs to such as them." Hm. Original Sin. Yet heaven belongs to the children, not to adults.
But someone else has said all of this so much better than I could! In googling to find more information and supportive documentation, I found the following site (please visit to read the full article) and I LOVE this paragraph in particular:
http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=3541
Montessori held and applied the Catholic teaching that man was not completely corrupt with the Fall. She said that "in spite of the moral disorder brought about by original sin, there still remains in human nature a great potentiality for goodness." Montessori used the analogy of wheat in the field to make a point about the natural goodness latent in all children. (51) Inferior wheat plant can grow in the fields without cultivation. Destroying them does not guarantee a good harvest. If the good wheat is to grow it must be cultivated and if it is, the inferior wheat seed will not be able to grow. Montessori says: "The key to the problem is, therefore, not to destroy evil but to cultivate good." (53) Thus allowing the roots of good to sprout in the child´s soul.
And there are all of her own writings - if you read them in full context, they explain themselves! Be sure to look for older publications as somewhere in the 60s, many of her books were re-printed with huge religious sections removed. So newer printings have been heavily secularized.
........................................................
And then I found these:
http://www.nsmontessori.com/NSMCH2.htm
To ignore the child’s spiritual nature is to ignore the very essence and purpose of education.
It is important, in this light, to make Dr. Montessori’s understanding of the nature of the child clear. She considered the child to be good, but broken. The child is good in that he is created to be good, and broken in that he is subject to the effects of Original Sin – as St. Paul lamented in his own behavior - not doing the things he wants to do and doing the things he does not want to do. Her method, she believed, removed many of the obstacles that result in frustration which causes children to lose focus on learning and therefore display ‘broken’ behavior. By freeing the child from these frustrating obstacles, the child becomes able to develop naturally and normally as God had planned. This process she called ‘normalization’.
“Experience has shown that normalization causes the disappearance of many childish traits, not only those which are considered to be defects but also others which are generally thought to be virtues... The disappearance of these childish characteristics shows that the true nature of a child has hitherto not been understood. The universality of this fact is striking, but not entirely new since from the earliest times a twofold nature has been recognized in man. The first was given him at the time of his creation. The second came as a consequence of his first sin, a violation of God’s law. Because of the fall, man was deprived of the blessings of his earlier state and left to the mercy of his surroundings and the illusions of his own mind. This doctrine of original sin can help us understand what happens to a child.”(3)
http://www2.talbot.edu/ce20/educators/view.cfm?n=maria_montessori
(an article about the development of her spirituality)
Montessori in 1948 is reported to have lectured in London where she stated:
I see it-this Original Sin-who would not see a thing so evident? In the depths of the human soul is the possibility of continuous decadence…In fact, there are innate tendencies in man's soul which lead to maladies of the spirit sometimes even unknown to ourselves, just as the germs of disease may work silently, and unknown. This is the death of the spirit which brings insensibility with it. These tendencies come from the soul itself and not from the environment
Monday, September 24, 2012
Remain In Me
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Eastern Orthodox of as the True Vine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"]
[/caption]
Jesus said, "Remain in Me." It said many times within one sitting (the Parable of the True Vine), but He also said it with His actions and other teachings.
He gave us many ways to remain in Him - the most obvious being in the Sacraments, the prime sacrament being the Eucharist and also in Reconciliation.
But how does it work? Really?
In the level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, for the 3-6 year old children, we focus on the Parable of the Good Shepherd - the Good Shepherd who knows our names, loves us - we are in relationship with Him. That is enough. That is more than we need.
In level 2, we work with the True Vine parable, and the history of the Kingdom of God materials. The children come to realize there is a response to this relationship: Remain in Me. And they explore the ways that we simply remain with Christ.
In level 3 the children are coming to awareness of their place in the Kingdom, not just as a gift to enjoy, but as something for which they are responsible. NOW we start asking, "How shall you remain in Him? And how shall you fill your blank page (the part of the story of the Kingdom of the God that is only just now being written in our lives and in our world right NOW)?"
Then they enter into adolescence with the tools they need to make confident choices in their lives.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="182" caption="The Good Shepherd, c. 300, at the Pio Cristiano Museum, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"]
[/caption]
[/caption]Jesus said, "Remain in Me." It said many times within one sitting (the Parable of the True Vine), but He also said it with His actions and other teachings.
He gave us many ways to remain in Him - the most obvious being in the Sacraments, the prime sacrament being the Eucharist and also in Reconciliation.
But how does it work? Really?
In the level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, for the 3-6 year old children, we focus on the Parable of the Good Shepherd - the Good Shepherd who knows our names, loves us - we are in relationship with Him. That is enough. That is more than we need.
In level 2, we work with the True Vine parable, and the history of the Kingdom of God materials. The children come to realize there is a response to this relationship: Remain in Me. And they explore the ways that we simply remain with Christ.
In level 3 the children are coming to awareness of their place in the Kingdom, not just as a gift to enjoy, but as something for which they are responsible. NOW we start asking, "How shall you remain in Him? And how shall you fill your blank page (the part of the story of the Kingdom of the God that is only just now being written in our lives and in our world right NOW)?"
Then they enter into adolescence with the tools they need to make confident choices in their lives.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="182" caption="The Good Shepherd, c. 300, at the Pio Cristiano Museum, Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)"]
[/caption]Friday, September 21, 2012
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori
Wow. I am still in shock.
As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I'd share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.
Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education - for US. In OUR family.
Quote from the acceptance letter:
I appreciate what is said here, but I have some concerns as well.
Some interesting tidbits on the relationship between CGS and academic Montessori - or how Montessori can and SHOULD apply to CGS:
In all other aspects, CGS is separate from the academic Montessori, which includes something good and beautiful (we call it Cosmic Education ;) ), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.
I recognize what I would be doing in a formation course; but I wonder how I would go about assuring that stronger, balanced Montessori foundation.
Again, though, CGS has impacted how I do the academic portion of Montessori far more than my Montessori background will ever impact CGS.
As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I'd share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.
Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education - for US. In OUR family.
Quote from the acceptance letter:
"With your great Montessori background, it's easy to want to include many wonderful materials in the atrium, but especially in an atrium used for training, we need to be true to Sofia and Gianna's understanding of the essential."
I appreciate what is said here, but I have some concerns as well.
- I came to Montessori THROUGH Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Yes, I found Montessori first, but I had levels 1 and 2 formation in CGS before I went to AMI primary Montessori training. The above statement makes it sound as if Montessori came first. Then level 3 CGS and elementary Montessori training overlapped.
- AMI is foundational. It does not participate in "fluff" and it too focuses on the essentials.
- I have full respect for Sofia and Gianna, and I have equal respect for Maria Montessori. All three ladies focused on the essential with the children, yet Sofia and Gianna's work was founded on Maria Montessori's work. This is getting a bit into the chicken/egg syndrome, so the main point is that we canNOT separate the Montessori method from CGS without losing KEY QUALITIES.
- Many of those foundational Montessori principles that are given in CGS formation courses (silence game, walking on the line) are losing their strength in the passing from one adult to the next. But when such exercises are fully present in the atrium, you find children who are centered (normalized), at peace, and working deeply.
- For me personally, CGS informs my application of the Montessori method in the academics far more than Montessori affects my CGS work in the realm of faith formation. I am not necessarily taking the above comment personally, but I do feel it is a blanket statement that reflects a division between the two rather than a recognition of CGS's roots in Montessori - the condition of the roots reveals the condition of the potential flowering.
Some interesting tidbits on the relationship between CGS and academic Montessori - or how Montessori can and SHOULD apply to CGS:
- Walking on the line and the silence activity are being watered down in CGS and the fruits are not forthcoming. These are *essential* Montessori principles that CGS needs to hold onto tightly, or it will become simply a mental exercise in religious education, such as Godly Play has become.
- Evolution and Age of the Earth: The academic materials that inspired such level 2 works as the Fettuccia and Blue Unity and History of the Gifts - has NO MENTION of the specific number of years since the birth of the Earth. Yet originally these CGS materials were made to represent a certain number of years and specifically TAUGHT evolution. I will not get into evolution versus creationism vs something in-between here. I will simply state that it is NOT the place of the atrium to get into this topic either. The atrium's place is to emphasize that God created the world and provided these gifts without mention of length of time. Let the children's imaginations, their schools and parents work it out. These modifications were finally made, but only after the Montessori community looked even further down on CGS for even trying to say that a rib on the grosgrain indicates 1,000 years - pure Montessori has no such material, neither should the atrium.
- I have had SO MANY children struggle with the concept of going from a globe to this flat map of Israel, with little to no connection to where we are now (other than on the globe). This is an area that CGS atriums should be introducing a brief preliminary geography material. Starting with the globe, then a round ball of clay, cutting the clay into two (hemispheres) and rolling them flat to show the two halves of the earth on a flat surface; then showing the puzzle map of the world, with Israel and the atrium's locations marked.
- We have Exercises of Practical Life in the atrium, but so many catechists are NOT focused on the Montessori essentials and they introduce "fluff" into the EPL area, at the same time they ignore what is most essential. Yes, the children need EPL. It fulfills developmental needs that allows the catechist to then get into the theological presentations. HOWEVER, transferring puff balls from one bowl to another is not necessary in the atrium, unless you have the children using tongs to get fresh cotton balls for the polishing work.
 |
| The tray on the left should be glass or hard plastic; I was using it elsewhere the day this photo was taken. |
- Polishing: I have personally streamlined my AMI album pages on glass, metal and wood polishing, so that ONE presentation can be given and the child now has all the polishing available to work on. The only differences are the actual polishes in the bottles, the type of tray, the ring and the dish for the polish and cotton ball - designed to indicate what that polish is to be used for.
- There are a few ways that the Exercises of Practical Life within the atrium can be freshened up, so as to focus on the essentials, while meeting children's developmental needs, and leading more fully into the life of the atrium, the family and the church.
- Last EPL thought: consider how the children are to be responsible for the atrium and the church; provide those materials (polishing, flower arranging, cleaning, sweeping, folding cloths (ie for the altar)). Consider what preliminary work they need in order to accomplish those works (eyedropper transfer for polishing, introductory cloth folding, carrying trays and mats). If you need a few more preliminaries at the beginning of the year, fine! Then pull them out by the second month of atrium so the children are not matching colors or transferring puff balls all year when they have other work that more fully meets their developmental needs.
- Language: Some people add far more 3-part and 4-part cards than are entirely necessary. I fully agree with CGS's current materials manuals in how much they provide, with one exception: it is nice to have the 3-part cards for the cities of Israel for the level 1 children. But I have seen some people go much, much further and label *everything*. It gets to be too much.
- Summary: So in many areas, the Montessori influence is not balanced. Too much or too little and both to the detriment of the potential of the album.
In all other aspects, CGS is separate from the academic Montessori, which includes something good and beautiful (we call it Cosmic Education ;) ), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.
I recognize what I would be doing in a formation course; but I wonder how I would go about assuring that stronger, balanced Montessori foundation.
Again, though, CGS has impacted how I do the academic portion of Montessori far more than my Montessori background will ever impact CGS.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori
Wow. I am still in shock.
As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I’d share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.
Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education – for US. In OUR family.
Quote from the acceptance letter:
As I reflect on the letter I received today (I am typing this on Friday afternoon), I thought I’d share some thoughts that answer some private questions I receive from time to time.
Basically, these questions center around the relationship between Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori education – for US. In OUR family.
Quote from the acceptance letter:
“With your great Montessori background, it’s easy to want to include many wonderful materials in the atrium, but especially in an atrium used for training, we need to be true to Sofia and Gianna’s understanding of the essential.”I appreciate what is said here, but I have some concerns as well.
- I came to Montessori THROUGH Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Yes, I found Montessori first, but I had levels 1 and 2 formation in CGS before I went to AMI primary Montessori training. The above statement makes it sound as if Montessori came first. Then level 3 CGS and elementary Montessori training overlapped.
- AMI is foundational. It does not participate in “fluff” and it too focuses on the essentials.
- I have full respect for Sofia and Gianna, and I have equal respect for Maria Montessori. All three ladies focused on the essential with the children, yet Sofia and Gianna’s work was founded on Maria Montessori’s work. This is getting a bit into the chicken/egg syndrome, so the main point is that we canNOT separate the Montessori method from CGS without losing KEY QUALITIES.
- Many of those foundational Montessori principles that are given in CGS formation courses (silence game, walking on the line) are losing their strength in the passing from one adult to the next. But when such exercises are fully present in the atrium, you find children who are centered (normalized), at peace, and working deeply.
- For me personally, CGS informs my application of the Montessori method in the academics far more than Montessori affects my CGS work in the realm of faith formation. I am not necessarily taking the above comment personally, but I do feel it is a blanket statement that reflects a division between the two rather than a recognition of CGS’s roots in Montessori – the condition of the roots reveals the condition of the potential flowering.
- Walking on the line and the silence activity are being watered down in CGS and the fruits are not forthcoming. These are *essential* Montessori principles that CGS needs to hold onto tightly, or it will become simply a mental exercise in religious education, such as Godly Play has become.
- Evolution and Age of the Earth: The academic materials that inspired such level 2 works as the Fettuccia and Blue Unity and History of the Gifts – has NO MENTION of the specific number of years since the birth of the Earth. Yet originally these CGS materials were made to represent a certain number of years and specifically TAUGHT evolution. I will not get into evolution versus creationism vs something in-between here. I will simply state that it is NOT the place of the atrium to get into this topic either. The atrium’s place is to emphasize that God created the world and provided these gifts without mention of length of time. Let the children’s imaginations, their schools and parents work it out. These modifications were finally made, but only after the Montessori community looked even further down on CGS for even trying to say that a rib on the grosgrain indicates 1,000 years – pure Montessori has no such material, neither should the atrium.
- I have had SO MANY children struggle with the concept of going from a globe to this flat map of Israel, with little to no connection to where we are now (other than on the globe). This is an area that CGS atriums should be introducing a brief preliminary geography material. Starting with the globe, then a round ball of clay, cutting the clay into two (hemispheres) and rolling them flat to show the two halves of the earth on a flat surface; then showing the puzzle map of the world, with Israel and the atrium’s locations marked.
- We have Exercises of Practical Life in the atrium, but so many catechists are NOT focused on the Montessori essentials and they introduce “fluff” into the EPL area, at the same time they ignore what is most essential. Yes, the children need EPL. It fulfills developmental needs that allows the catechist to then get into the theological presentations. HOWEVER, transferring puff balls from one bowl to another is not necessary in the atrium, unless you have the children using tongs to get fresh cotton balls for the polishing work.
|
| The tray on the left should be glass or hard plastic; I was using it elsewhere the day this photo was taken. |
- Polishing: I have personally streamlined my AMI album pages on glass, metal and wood polishing, so that ONE presentation can be given and the child now has all the polishing available to work on. The only differences are the actual polishes in the bottles, the type of tray, the ring and the dish for the polish and cotton ball – designed to indicate what that polish is to be used for.
- There are a few ways that the Exercises of Practical Life within the atrium can be freshened up, so as to focus on the essentials, while meeting children’s developmental needs, and leading more fully into the life of the atrium, the family and the church.
- Last EPL thought: consider how the children are to be responsible for the atrium and the church; provide those materials (polishing, flower arranging, cleaning, sweeping, folding cloths (ie for the altar)). Consider what preliminary work they need in order to accomplish those works (eyedropper transfer for polishing, introductory cloth folding, carrying trays and mats). If you need a few more preliminaries at the beginning of the year, fine! Then pull them out by the second month of atrium so the children are not matching colors or transferring puff balls all year when they have other work that more fully meets their developmental needs.
- Language: Some people add far more 3-part and 4-part cards than are entirely necessary. I fully agree with CGS’s current materials manuals in how much they provide, with one exception: it is nice to have the 3-part cards for the cities of Israel for the level 1 children. But I have seen some people go much, much further and label *everything*. It gets to be too much.
- Summary: So in many areas, the Montessori influence is not balanced. Too much or too little and both to the detriment of the potential of the album.
In all other aspects, CGS is separate from the academic Montessori, which includes something good and beautiful (we call it Cosmic Education 
), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.
), but is separate from CGS in that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is theology at its richest and deepest.
I recognize what I would be doing in a formation course; but I wonder how I would go about assuring that stronger, balanced Montessori foundation.
Again, though, CGS has impacted how I do the academic portion of Montessori far more than my Montessori background will ever impact CGS.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The Merchant Retires
8 years ago I quick-created a cardboard merchant for the Parable of the Precious Pearl - to use the next day in our brand new Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium at my then-current parish.
He resided there for 2 years before coming home for the summer, then moved across the country with me for one year, used in our home atrium before making another cross-country trek to our current residence; where he took up residence in a local atrium which I set up 4 years ago.
This past week the parish hosted a level 1 formation course and as the formation leader presented each material, the current CRE and I would make corrections, additions and other adjustments to the materials present. To both of our surprises, it never dawned on us that a Merchant environment had *never* been created! The catechists would pull other temporary materials when giving the presentation and the children just didn't reciprocate - they look at the pearl, utilize the tracing packet and move the merchant around a bit.
Yep. Time for a merchant environment.
But then I got to looking at the merchant. He looks so tired. His upheld hand is loose at the wrist; all corners and edges are curling.
Really. He was created 8 years ago, out of cardboard; there is a slit in the bottom base cardboard to hold him in with glue. He was GREAT! He is STILL great!
But it is time for retirement. There were wooden merchants already available (just not finished tracing the outline; nor painted), so replacing him was easy.
It is just sort of bittersweet to see this precious figure, 8 years old and still going. I admit to having difficulties just throwing him away. I want to give him a proper burial. Is that sad? Or is that a beautiful testament to the fact that this material has been utilized as a tool to draw a child - many children - deeper into the mystery of the Kingdom of God?
Simple words. Simple material. Profound depth.
He resided there for 2 years before coming home for the summer, then moved across the country with me for one year, used in our home atrium before making another cross-country trek to our current residence; where he took up residence in a local atrium which I set up 4 years ago.
This past week the parish hosted a level 1 formation course and as the formation leader presented each material, the current CRE and I would make corrections, additions and other adjustments to the materials present. To both of our surprises, it never dawned on us that a Merchant environment had *never* been created! The catechists would pull other temporary materials when giving the presentation and the children just didn't reciprocate - they look at the pearl, utilize the tracing packet and move the merchant around a bit.
Yep. Time for a merchant environment.
But then I got to looking at the merchant. He looks so tired. His upheld hand is loose at the wrist; all corners and edges are curling.
Really. He was created 8 years ago, out of cardboard; there is a slit in the bottom base cardboard to hold him in with glue. He was GREAT! He is STILL great!
But it is time for retirement. There were wooden merchants already available (just not finished tracing the outline; nor painted), so replacing him was easy.
It is just sort of bittersweet to see this precious figure, 8 years old and still going. I admit to having difficulties just throwing him away. I want to give him a proper burial. Is that sad? Or is that a beautiful testament to the fact that this material has been utilized as a tool to draw a child - many children - deeper into the mystery of the Kingdom of God?
The Kingdom of God is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds one pearl of great value, he goes and sells everything he has and buys the one precious pearl.
Simple words. Simple material. Profound depth.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thanksgiving All Year
One of the things I briefly touched on with the children yesterday is the importance of being thankful no matter our life circumstances - in every struggle there is always God's grace for which to be thankful. That each day we should find something to feel thankful for.
Today I am grateful for the sunshine and for NOT working outside my home today. I am also thankful for leftover turkey ;)
There are a few things that make me sad or uncomfortable today, but I find comfort in (and have gratitude for) the fact that God's plan is bigger than these situations; bigger than us; bigger than our hang-ups.
And so I am thankful for the all the life circumstances that have brought me to that understanding.
All the crosses, graces from the Holy Spirit and heavenly guidance.
[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Symbols of God's Plan of Salvation"]
[/caption]
Today I am grateful for the sunshine and for NOT working outside my home today. I am also thankful for leftover turkey ;)
There are a few things that make me sad or uncomfortable today, but I find comfort in (and have gratitude for) the fact that God's plan is bigger than these situations; bigger than us; bigger than our hang-ups.
And so I am thankful for the all the life circumstances that have brought me to that understanding.
All the crosses, graces from the Holy Spirit and heavenly guidance.
[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Symbols of God's Plan of Salvation"]
[/caption]Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Two Dimensional Wooden Figures
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atriums use 2-D wooden figures to portray parable figures. Why not 3-dimensional? Because 3-dimensional figures represent real people who lived in a real time in a real place - parables represent many situations, while describing one particular situation, they actually have many levels of truth and can be universally applied; so we leave them 2-dimensional without facial details to leave room open for those other layers of reality to shine through.
And we never reveal to the child what those truths are - we may guide them along a path towards proper doctrine, but the child almost always come to a deeper truth than we could have told him or explained to him.
For a limited time only, the 2-dimensional wooden figures of the atrium will be available at 2-Dimensional Wooden Figures. Available additional items include the liturgical calendar, the Cosmic Cross puzzle and more. If you don't see something you'd like to order, send a request and it can be probably be done! :) Figures will need to be painted by you and inserted into their (included) bases.
And we never reveal to the child what those truths are - we may guide them along a path towards proper doctrine, but the child almost always come to a deeper truth than we could have told him or explained to him.
For a limited time only, the 2-dimensional wooden figures of the atrium will be available at 2-Dimensional Wooden Figures. Available additional items include the liturgical calendar, the Cosmic Cross puzzle and more. If you don't see something you'd like to order, send a request and it can be probably be done! :) Figures will need to be painted by you and inserted into their (included) bases.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Modest Boys Clothing ?????
Who ever heard of such a thing? Aren't boys' clothes usually modest and just not something to worry about???
Well....
Actually, boys' clothing can be and is fairly immodest. When it is too tight; when it is paid advertising for some company, whether characters or a clothing company; when it is so loose that unnecessary skin is shown; when (ahem) waists of pants hang somewhere mid-thigh (when WILL that fashion go away????? the kids of the kids who were wearing pants like that when I was a kid are doing it now and thinking they thought of something thoughtless from the thoughts of another generation!).
Anyone who could follow that last comment of mine is welcome to a 5% coupon off of total purchase - even modest boys' clothing! at Garden of Francis
Boys clothing is specifically here: Boys Clothing
Actually, our product line is ever-expanding, faster than I can even post photos, but the MIA are coming soon ;)
Our boys' line will also include solid color socks (white for everyday and black for dressy) and items for cooler weather. All items available now are for warmer weather, sun protection and modesty. We're considering a few other garments and will post as we decide.
Our ladies' line is soon to be adding modest scrub tops and long skirts (modest scrub skirts) for medical assistants and nurses.
And a separate area for female underclothing, including feminine products.
Our diaper line is adding a set of contour diapers that can be used stand-alone with pins or other fasteners - or can be covered with a cover of some sort. We are also tweaking the training pants pattern before posting it as available - training pants for young children with snaps on the sides for those *messy* accidents. Reusable pull-ups! What could be better?
As always, homeschool Montessori materials are in the works. We'll take **special requests** for anything that someone needs in the near future. Current turn-around time on Montessori materials is less than a week. And the person who requests the Montessori (or other homeschool) material receives a coupon for 75% off that product.
Homeschool/Educational
Montessori
Last but not least is our homemaking section. We have aprons for children, an upcoming fasting cookbook (pre-orders being taken now!), cotton and mesh produce bags, and pure soap.
Gift Certificates are always available too! (no discounts on these, but you can use them to buy discounted items!)
So what is that code? It will work one time per customer: stblogmodest5
Happy Shopping!
Well....
Actually, boys' clothing can be and is fairly immodest. When it is too tight; when it is paid advertising for some company, whether characters or a clothing company; when it is so loose that unnecessary skin is shown; when (ahem) waists of pants hang somewhere mid-thigh (when WILL that fashion go away????? the kids of the kids who were wearing pants like that when I was a kid are doing it now and thinking they thought of something thoughtless from the thoughts of another generation!).
Anyone who could follow that last comment of mine is welcome to a 5% coupon off of total purchase - even modest boys' clothing! at Garden of Francis
Boys clothing is specifically here: Boys Clothing
Actually, our product line is ever-expanding, faster than I can even post photos, but the MIA are coming soon ;)
Our boys' line will also include solid color socks (white for everyday and black for dressy) and items for cooler weather. All items available now are for warmer weather, sun protection and modesty. We're considering a few other garments and will post as we decide.
Our ladies' line is soon to be adding modest scrub tops and long skirts (modest scrub skirts) for medical assistants and nurses.
And a separate area for female underclothing, including feminine products.
Our diaper line is adding a set of contour diapers that can be used stand-alone with pins or other fasteners - or can be covered with a cover of some sort. We are also tweaking the training pants pattern before posting it as available - training pants for young children with snaps on the sides for those *messy* accidents. Reusable pull-ups! What could be better?
As always, homeschool Montessori materials are in the works. We'll take **special requests** for anything that someone needs in the near future. Current turn-around time on Montessori materials is less than a week. And the person who requests the Montessori (or other homeschool) material receives a coupon for 75% off that product.
Homeschool/Educational
Montessori
Last but not least is our homemaking section. We have aprons for children, an upcoming fasting cookbook (pre-orders being taken now!), cotton and mesh produce bags, and pure soap.
Gift Certificates are always available too! (no discounts on these, but you can use them to buy discounted items!)
So what is that code? It will work one time per customer: stblogmodest5
Happy Shopping!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cosmic Education
Cosmic Education
Cosmic education is that education which opens up for the child a vision of all that the world was meant to be, through collaboration of man’s efforts with God’s. “This is what cosmic education for the child entails: the image of God as He functions in the cosmos to create the earth and of man, who from his beginnings in nature evolved to create the supranature in which we live today… to bring about the spiritual union of a humanity that materially is already one.” To the child is revealed a united vision of sometimes seemingly disparate parts, of disciplines, life efforts, ways of life; indeed nothing happens in isolation – all things come together for some purpose. True cosmic education can only come about when “education is understood as a help to life and development.” Even “more than education, gratitude to God and Man should form part of Man's psychic formation. It should accompany him from birth to death.”
The child’s work in the casa is built upon, expanded and crystallized in the elementary environment where the child receives the Great Stories; the child delves into various aspects of each story, uniting himself with the work of 4,000 year old man and the man of tomorrow into whom the child is constructing himself.
Mario Montessori discusses the interconnectedness of the corals, the forests, the insects who pollinate, and others. What is interesting is the loss of the coral reefs due to various conditions which prevent them from doing their tasks, and the ensuing consequences to the earth. What Mr. Montessori wrote about is happening right here and now – the balance has been upset. The children of today will be the ones to solve the issue or to face its consequences. Balance will be restored – the question is how and when?
Man has been endowed with specific gifts which place him above nature; he is still part of nature, but is a steward over it. Man has the capability to build up and to destroy, sometimes in the same deed. Man has the capability to take nature and make it something greater than it is in and of itself: this is man’s cosmic task – to work as co-creators, with God and with mankind, to develop relationships, establish and strengthen connections, sharing with the present and future generations, by building upon the gifts given us by previous generations. The key premise: real work.
Real work ensures that the experience of each child provides for the greatest exploration of mankind’s current knowledge and power such that each child’s potential is maximized; his contributions, in conjunction with others, will continue to be built upon and expanded upon, until such a time as the work is complete.
But as each child is pursuing his own efforts, should he always be mindful of the contributions he is making for others? Not necessarily. Just as the wind, the corals, the insects, the plants, all carry out their seemingly selfish pursuits for their own preservation, they are unconsciously serving a greater purpose. As man takes these components of nature and utilizes them in a way that brings about further benefit to other inhabitants of the universe, each component becomes greater than its own nature. While mankind, beginning with the child, strives for that connection with others, it is sometimes in the seemingly selfish pursuits of self-construction of the young child and pursuit of personal interests of the elementary child in which lay the foundation for the discovery of the adolescent’s and adult’s personal cosmic task. “Each takes something from the environment, but each gives much more than it takes.” But the child is different from the rest of creation – he is aware of a greater purpose beyond his own self and he yearns to make a connection with that purpose, wondering what is his place within the cosmos; even as he cannot make out all the details, he is aware of something outside of himself, greater than himself. It is through real work and proper guidance that the child grows in his understanding and appreciation.
Through the child’s work in the elementary environment, provided in a manner which fulfills his psychological characteristics of imagination, wonder and awe, intellectual thirst, and sense of justice, he comes to a sense of gratitude: “Not by preaching, said Dr. Montessori, but by fitting them into the various expressions of activity peculiar to their tendencies of the children of this age, experience to help imagination, possibility of research of concentration, of active assimilation. They will arrive then, by themselves, to the realization of the contribution of God and Man and gradually develop not only appreciation but gratitude.”
It is through this gratitude that the child will be encouraged, invited, enticed to continue the work of mankind through the ages, uniting his efforts to all those who have come before, all those who are here with us now, and all those who are yet to come – until such a time as the work of mankind reaches its final perfection: peace among men.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Musings
I am both happy and sad to see this final CGS weekend come up - happy because I LOVE the training (always have!) and this is the last of the last.
There is talk of an atrium for the younger ones, but I’ve had my son in the 3-6 year old atrium since he was 1, and have had other 1-2 year olds join us, so I’ve seen those modifications – I’ve made them! I’ll be interested in learning others’ experiences and insights, but the training itself, if ever offered, I likely will not take.
And for older kids, if they have gone through the entire atrium, they know how to study Scripture and church teaching at a much deeper level than the norm and each parish and each class have to make their own adjustments from there. There will likely never be an adolescent training.
So this is it. I'm sad to see it end in a way. This is the one thing for which I have routinely sacrificed my child with very few qualms. I am a mom above all else and it has been difficult to give up that role for a day or for a weekend. But the fruits reveal the root – and the fruits of this work are beautiful.
I can't say I've learned too much MORE while in this training (I have a degree in theology, studying at two well-to-do, reputable Catholic universities), though I have certainly learned some new things; I have been able to go much deeper with it; study teachings with children (and adults); importance of so many key aspects that so many people think are frivolous to a child's upbringing, but are actually so essential.
Obviously, I'm still not a purist, but the lovely thing with CGS is that I don't have to be - CGS is not meant to be a "complete" religious ed program, meaning that when parents come and ask, "well when do they learn these particular prayers?" we can say, "You're doing those at home right?" Because while all prayers are used in potentiality, only particular ones are lifted up for meditation on specific lines, exploration of origin, etc.
And there is plenty of room for doing the Baltimore Catechism or other religious ed programs outside of the atrium. It's not part of it, but it's not exclusive either. They complement one another – one with a heart experience that leads to words and the other with a more or less strictly intellectual experiments that feeds the longing of the heart to understand.
I look forward to being a trainer, so I know this is not the last training for me; it’s simply the last one on which I’ll be a participant only. In many ways, being a trainer will help me to continue to grow in this work, always learning from one another, addressing questions, exploring Scriptures and church teachings in another light.
I am happy because I get another weekend of CGS training! I am sad because this is the last of the trainings. I am happy because this starts a new chapter in my CGS experience and my walk with God, but sad and a touch scared (nervous anticipation???) at the same time. It’s new territory. I am sad because I will be leaving my son, but I am satisfied that he will be in the care of cherished loved ones. I am both happy and sad that the full-effort album page writing and material making is coming to and end (I still have materials to make though!), but I know that in an effort towards ever-increasing simplicity, these things will continue on some level – and now I can be there to help others on their first steps.
Pray for me, please.
There is talk of an atrium for the younger ones, but I’ve had my son in the 3-6 year old atrium since he was 1, and have had other 1-2 year olds join us, so I’ve seen those modifications – I’ve made them! I’ll be interested in learning others’ experiences and insights, but the training itself, if ever offered, I likely will not take.
And for older kids, if they have gone through the entire atrium, they know how to study Scripture and church teaching at a much deeper level than the norm and each parish and each class have to make their own adjustments from there. There will likely never be an adolescent training.
So this is it. I'm sad to see it end in a way. This is the one thing for which I have routinely sacrificed my child with very few qualms. I am a mom above all else and it has been difficult to give up that role for a day or for a weekend. But the fruits reveal the root – and the fruits of this work are beautiful.
I can't say I've learned too much MORE while in this training (I have a degree in theology, studying at two well-to-do, reputable Catholic universities), though I have certainly learned some new things; I have been able to go much deeper with it; study teachings with children (and adults); importance of so many key aspects that so many people think are frivolous to a child's upbringing, but are actually so essential.
Obviously, I'm still not a purist, but the lovely thing with CGS is that I don't have to be - CGS is not meant to be a "complete" religious ed program, meaning that when parents come and ask, "well when do they learn these particular prayers?" we can say, "You're doing those at home right?" Because while all prayers are used in potentiality, only particular ones are lifted up for meditation on specific lines, exploration of origin, etc.
And there is plenty of room for doing the Baltimore Catechism or other religious ed programs outside of the atrium. It's not part of it, but it's not exclusive either. They complement one another – one with a heart experience that leads to words and the other with a more or less strictly intellectual experiments that feeds the longing of the heart to understand.
I look forward to being a trainer, so I know this is not the last training for me; it’s simply the last one on which I’ll be a participant only. In many ways, being a trainer will help me to continue to grow in this work, always learning from one another, addressing questions, exploring Scriptures and church teachings in another light.
I am happy because I get another weekend of CGS training! I am sad because this is the last of the trainings. I am happy because this starts a new chapter in my CGS experience and my walk with God, but sad and a touch scared (nervous anticipation???) at the same time. It’s new territory. I am sad because I will be leaving my son, but I am satisfied that he will be in the care of cherished loved ones. I am both happy and sad that the full-effort album page writing and material making is coming to and end (I still have materials to make though!), but I know that in an effort towards ever-increasing simplicity, these things will continue on some level – and now I can be there to help others on their first steps.
Pray for me, please.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Story of God With No Hands
God With No Hands
From the very beginning people have been aware of God. They could feel Him though they could not see Him, and they were always asking in their different languages who He was and where He was to be found. "Who is God?" they asked their wise men.
"He's the most perfect of beings," was the answer.
"But what does He look like? Does He have a body like us?"
"No, He has not got a body. He has no eyes to see with, no hands to work with and no feet to walk with, but He sees everything and knows everything, even our most secret thoughts."
"And where is He?"
“He is in heaven and on this earth. He is everywhere."
"What can He do?"
"Whatever He wishes."
"But what has God actually done?"
"What He has done is all that has ever happened. He is the Creator and Master Who has made everything, and all things He has made obey His will. He cares and provides for them all, and keeps the whole of His creation in the most wonderful harmony and order.
In the beginning there was only God. Since He was completely perfect and completely happy, there was nothing He needed. Yet out of His goodness He chose to create and all that He willed came into being; the heavens and the earth, all that is visible, and all that is invisible. One after another He made the light, the stars, the sky, and the earth with its plants and animals. Last of all He made man. Man, like the animals, was made out of particles of the earth, but God made him different from the animals and like Himself, for into his body which would die He breathed a soul which would never die."
Many people thought this was just a tale. How could someone with no eyes and no hands make things? If God is a spirit who cannot be seen or touched or heard, how could He have made the stars that sparkle overhead, the sea which is always astir, the sun, the mountains, and the wind? How could a spirit make the birds and fishes and trees, the flowers and the scent they shed around them? Perhaps He could make invisible things, but how could He make the visible world? It is all very well, they thought, to say that God is everywhere, but who has set their eyes on Him? How can we be sure He is everywhere? They tell He is the Master whom everybody and everything obeys, but why on earth should we believe that?
And it really does seem impossible. We who have hands could not do these things, so how could someone who has no hands do them? And can we imagine animals and plants and rocks obeying God? The animals do not understand when we talk to them, so how could they be obedient? Or the winds and the sea and the mountains? You can shout and scream and wave your arms at them, but they cannot hear you for they are not even alive, and they certainly won't obey you.
Yes, that is how it seems to us. But, as you will see, everything that exists, whether it has life or not, in all that it does and by the very fact of its being there, actually obeys the will of God.
God's creatures do not know that they are obeying. Those that are inanimate just go on existing. Those that have life move and go on living. Yet every time a cool wind brushes your cheek, its voice, if we could hear it, is saying: 'Lord, I obey.' When the sun rises in the morning and colors the glittering sea, the sun and the sunbeams are whispering, 'My Lord, I obey.' And when you see a bird on the wing, or fruit falling from a tree, or a butterfly hovering over a flower, the birds and their flight, the tree and the fruit and its fall to the ground, the butterfly and the flower and its fragrance are all repeating the same words: 'I hear, my Lord, and I obey.'
At first there was chaos and darkness was on the face of the deep. God said: 'Let there be light', and there was light. Before that there was only the deep, an immensity of space with no beginning and no end, indescribably dark and cold. Who can imagine that immensity, that dark and coldness?
When we think of dark, we think of night; but our night would be like brilliant sunshine in comparison with that darkness. When we think of cold, we think of ice. But ice is positively hot if you compare it with the coldness of space, the space that separates the stars: as hot, you might say, as a blazing furnace from which no heat can escape. In this measureless void of cold and darkness light was created. There appeared something like a vast, fiery cloud which included all the stars that are in the sky. The whole universe was in that cloud, and among the tiniest of stars was our own world; but they were not stars then; as yet there was nothing except light and heat. So intense was the heat that all the substances we know - iron, gold, earth, rocks, water - existed as gasses, as insubstantial as the air. All these substances, all the materials of which the earth and the stars are composed, were fused together in one vast, flaming intensity of light and heat - a heat which would make our sun today feel like a piece of ice.
This raging fiery cloud of nothingness, too huge to imagine, moved in the immensity of freezing space, which was also nothingness, but infinitely vaster. The fiery mass was no bigger that a drop of water in the ocean of space, but that drop contained the earth and all the stars.
As this cloud of light and heat moved through empty space little drops fell from it. If you swing the water out of a glass, some of it holds together and the rest breaks up into separate drops. The countless hosts of stars are like these little drops, only instead of falling they are constantly moving round in space, in such a way that they can never meet. They are millions of miles from each other.
Indeed, some stars are so far away from us that it takes millions of years for their light to reach us. Do you know how fast light travels? (the children might answer: 100 mph, 200mph...?) No, much faster. It travels 186,000 - not per hour, but per SECOND. Imagine how fast that is! It means that in one second it can travel 7 times around the whole world. And do you know how big the world is? If we were to drive at 100 mph continuously, all day long and all night long, without stopping, it would take us more than 10 days to cover that distance. And yet the light covers it 7 times in one second! You 'click' with your fingertips, and it has gone around the earth 7 times already!
You can imagine how far some of these stars are that it takes their light one million years to reach us!?
Then there are so many stars that scientists have calculated that if each of them were a grain of sand, all the stars together would cover up the entire state of Indiana up to the height of 200 meters! One of these stars, one of these grains of sand among those thousands of billions of grains of sand, is our sun, and one millionth part of this grain is our earth: an invisible speck of nothingness.
One wouldn't think so. The sun doesn't look so big. But that is because it is so far away. The light from it takes about 8 minutes to reach us and if we were to travel the same distance at 100 mph it would take us a little more than 106 years to reach the sun. In fact, the sun is one million times bigger than the earth. The sun is so big that just one of its flames could contain 22 earths.
CHART 1A: |
|
[caption id="attachment_92" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Earth Compared to the Sun"]
[/caption]When God's will called the stars into being, there was no detail He had not planned. Every scrap of the universe, every speck which we might think too tiny to matter, was given a set of rules to follow. To the little particles which were like smoke, like vapor - which could only be distinguished as light and heat – and were moving at a fantastic speed, He said: 'As you become cold you shall come closer and become smaller.'
And so, as they cooled they moved more and more slowly, clinging closer and closer to each other and occupying less and less space. The particles assumed different states which man called the solid, the liquid, or the gaseous state.
(DEMONSTRATION 1: Three States of Matter)
Everything we know is either a gas, a liquid, or a solid, and which of the three states it is at the moment depends on how hot or cold it is.
Then God gave some other instructions. Each of the tiny little particles was given a special love for certain particles and a special dislike for certain others. Some were attracted to each other and some were not. Just like human beings, they like some, and refuse to have anything to do with others. So they form themselves into different groups.
(DEMONSTRATION 2: Forces of Attraction)
In this way, the particles combined and formed themselves into different groups.
In the solid state, God has made the particles cling so closely together that they are almost impossible to separate. They form a body which will not alter its shape unless one applies force. If a piece is broken off, the particles will still cling together. If, for instance, you start chipping a flint, the flint and the chips still remain solid pieces of stone.
When it came to liquids, God said: 'You shall hold together also, but not so very closely, so that you will have no shape of your own and will roll over each other.'
(DEMONSTRATION 3: Model of a Liquid)
'Thus you shall flow and spread, filling every hollow, every crevice in your path. You will push downward and sideways, but never upwards.' That is why, though we can put our hands in water, we cannot put them inside a rock.
And to the gasses He said: 'Your particles shall not cling together at all. They can move freely in all directions.'
But as the particles were all such different individuals, they did not become solid or liquid or gas all at the same time. At certain temperature some remained solid, others became liquid and still others became gaseous.
(DEMONSTRATION 4: State of Matter and Heat)
And so, while obeying these laws, the little drop of nothingness that was to become our world, the blazing mass, went on spinning and spinning around itself and around the sun in the tremendous cold of space.
And as time went on, the outer ring of this mass began a dance, the dance of the elements. The particles that were at the outermost edge became cold and shrank. Huddling together they hurried to the earth, but as soon as they approached the hotter part, they became hot and up they went again. Like little angels, they carried a bucket of hot, burning coal into space, and returned with some ice.
CHART 3A: |
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[caption id="attachment_91" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Dance of the Elements"]
[/caption]How marvelous it is! And how simple! If you become hot you expand and as you expand, you become lighter and soar upwards, like a bubble of air in the water. But, if you become cold, you shrink and fall as a grain of sand sinks to the bottom of a pond.
Because of this law the earth gradually changed from a ball of fire to the earth we know. This was the law that the tiny radiant particles obeyed as they danced their dance; particles too minute to be seen or even imagined, yet numerous enough to have produced the world.
In fully obeying God’s will, this dance went on. Finally, the particles settled down, like tired dancers, and one after the other, they became first liquid and then solid and as they became liquid or solid some of them joined others to which they were attracted, forming new substances. The heavier ones went nearer to the heart of the earth and the lighter ones floated above them like oil floating on the water.
(DEMONSTRATION 5: Liquids Settle According to Their Weight)
A thin scum was formed, like the skin which forms on milk when it is boiled and left to cool. It seemed as though the earth had taken some shape. But the elements inside this skin were still very hot. They felt trapped. They wanted to get out. What could they do otherwise? They had to follow the law of God: 'If you are hot, you expand.' There was no place to expand and so they burst out. They broke the skin and it was like a terrible fight.
(DEMONSTRATION 6: Volcano)
The water that formed on the surface turned immediately into vapor and went up as the hot stuff came out from inside the earth.
CHART 4A: Volcanoes and Cloud |
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[caption id="attachment_90" align="alignright" width="199" caption="Veil Covering the Earth"]
[/caption]There were also ashes. A veil of clouds was drawn to cover the earth so that nobody could see what was going on. The sun could not yet shine on the wonder of what was taking place! Even the sun could not witness God’s work happening in the creation of the earth.
Eventually, the fighting ceased. As everybody cooled down, more and more gasses became liquid, more and more liquids became solids. The earth itself shrank and became wrinkled like an old apple that has been left in a cupboard. The wrinkles are mountains and the hollows are the oceans.
For, as the rocks had cooled down, water was able to return to the earth and it rained and rained. And the water, being liquid, filled every hollow and crevice found in its path. Thus the oceans were formed. Above them was the air, the air that we breathe. The cloud had disappeared.
CHART 5A: Volcanoes and Water |
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The veil had withdrawn and the sun could once again smile upon its beautiful daughter, the earth.
Rocks, water, air: solids, liquids, gasses. Today, as it was yesterday and in the beginning, God's laws are obeyed in the self-same way. The world spins round itself and round and round the sun. And today, as it was in the beginning, the earth and all the elements and compounds it is made of, as they fulfill their task, whisper with one voice:
"Lord, Thy will be done; we obey."
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