When is our “Official” Ribbon Cutting & Dedication of our completed Atrium?
TODAY! OPEN HOUSE! AFTER MASS! Please join us for a few minutes after all the Masses this weekend for a special “self-guided” tour of our completed first atrium. Fr. Joe will lead us in a prayerful dedication of the space to the children of Christ the Redeemer following our 11AM Mass. The self-guided tour features several “stations” that explain, in brief, things like: The History of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, What is the purpose of an Atrium?, a typical outline of what time spent in the atrium looks like, and such. The experience ends with a silent tour of our atrium.
For those of you still scratching your head, a couple years ago our staff started researching and establishing a different method of Faith Formation here at Christ the Redeemer called “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.” CGS was founded over 50 years ago by two Italian laywomen, one a scriptural scholar and one an expert in Montessori education. Together they conceived of a simple and exceptionally effective method for sharing the richness of our Faith with children. The curriculum is presented in three levels for ages 3-12 years old. Central to this CGS method is what is called the “atrium”: a sacred, prepared space containing beautiful homemade materials that focus the child's attention on key scripture passages or liturgical moments. Our Pre-K, Kindergarten, and elementary students have benefitted from a rich CGS-inspired curriculum over the past year! After two-years of intense training, creating and study we have just completed the first of what we hope will eventually be three atriums.
It is believed that young children learn best through the work of their hands. Fashioned after a Montessori educational environment, the atrium includes hands-on materials such as small models of various objects they would see inside the church, dioramas and figures to accompany the Scripture readings, prayer cards, maps of ancient Israel, timelines of the history of salvation and resources for further study of Scripture and liturgy. Research shows that through their engagement with these three-dimensional materials, children are better able to absorb the Christian message and explore the themes they find most vital to their spiritual life.
Our deepest gratitude to Fr. Joe for giving a rather “newbie” team the go ahead for such an ambitious effort – we continue to appreciate your confidence and support. We hope that we are able to communicate our great excitement and confidence in this program in just a few minutes after Mass today. All are welcome! Bring the kids! We will have some donuts back by the atrium too!
We will have a second open house preceding a brilliant presentation on the CGS method by Sr. Nancy Ayotte, IHM on Weds, May 25th at 6:30PM in Bethany. The kindness of an RSVP for this presentation is deeply appreciated to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org.
Also, with enough interest, we would love to have a book discussion of the seminal work by Sofia Cavalletti on the CGS method entitled The Religious Potential of the Child sometime this coming year. Again, contact Lisa if you are interested (childcare provided).
Here is a link to a TERRIFIC article on the CGS method: http://americamagazine.org/issue/667/article/faith-child
No RSVP is needed for the OPEN HOUSE today! Just follow the bright yellow signs and arrows as you exit Mass. You may also invite friends and family who may be interested via our Facebook event here: facebook.com/events/1648505518747714
What does Jesus mean when he says “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:43-48)?
The definition of Perfectionism: “A disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable; especially: the setting of unrealistically demanding goals accompanied by a disposition to regard failure to achieve them as unacceptable and a sign of personal worthlessness.”
Hi, my name is Lisa and I’m a recovering perfectionist. I know some people wear that label like a badge of honor, but I don’t. Perfectionism is an ailment; the enemy of the good; an evil taskmaster that keeps us stiff and always feeling not quite good enough. Individual perfectionism is not of God. I agree with Anne Lamott who says “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. Perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.”
But, what then does Jesus mean here? Dr. Brene Brown says “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.” Alone, we are not the Messiah, we are not perfect, we - as individuals - are not the whole enchilada, so to speak. But, we are also not powerless or expendable. Each of us – warts and all - are unique and important pieces of God’s puzzle; an irreplaceable part of the body of Christ, equipped and called to make a special contribution to the on-going revelation and redeeming action of Christ in our world. Odd though it may be, we are the vehicle of choice for God’s grace.
We are “made perfect” by loving and accepting our limited, human, selves and others in their imperfection and in doing so we are bringing about God’s kingdom. “God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9) God’s perfection is found in US not ME. As Martin Buber wrote: “When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.”
In context, when Jesus instructs us to “be perfect" he means "love as God loves: without partiality.” Jesus said “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Jesus is clarifying, despite popular opinion, that the intent of this commandment is that we make the decision to love everyone - even our worst enemies. If we love those who love us, big deal? Who doesn’t? We are to love as God loves, without partiality. God takes care of (“makes the sun shine on the wicked as well as the good”) and shows mercy to all. We are to be perfect, as our God is perfect, in the way in which we embody – together - this indiscriminate, caring, nonjudgmental, lavish, undeserved, unearned love. This is the stuff of God.
Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35). The apostles back this up too in Rom 13:8, Gal 5:14, Jam 2:8-9, and the list could go on...This is all to show that in scripture - perfection, completeness, spiritual maturity, fulfilling the Law, and loving others are all synonymous AND are most definitely a team sport. WE are the body of Christ.
Every year we gather for an entire weekend, from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday, to read together our ancient sacred texts, pray, remember and ritually celebrate the suffering, death & resurrection of Jesus. Why is this important?
I offer this little story from Elie Wiesel in answer to this question:
The great Rabbi Israel Baal Shem-Tov saw misfortune threatening the Jews it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted. Later, when his disciple, the celebrated Magid of Mezritch, had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say: "Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to say the prayer." And again the miracle would be accomplished. Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib of Sasov, in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say: "I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, but I know the place and this must be sufficient." It was sufficient and the miracle was accomplished.
Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: "I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is to tell the story, and this must be sufficient." And it was sufficient.
Christianity is a story. As Michael Himes rightly points out it is a story about a particular person and set of events in a particular place and time in history. “Christianity is not a series of conclusions that any one of us could have reached by simply sitting down and thinking about them very seriously and carefully for a long time. Christianity is a report that requires that someone bring us the ‘good news.’ We need to hear it from someone else.”
During our sacred Triduum we tell the story that in its simplest form says “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” This retelling is a deep part of our calling as believers – so as to both share with others and to remind ourselves of the source of our hope. We live this paschal mystery each day when we love with no expectation of return (Christ has died), we rise above all that threatens to bring us to despair to follow Jesus’ example of service (Christ is risen) and when we somehow, mystically know deep within ourselves that each of our stories are intrinsically and irrevocably linked to God’s story - our creator, our beginning and our end - and in that strange, indefinable “knowing” we all taste and touch eternity (Christ will come again). Don’t waste a minute in sharing with your children and those you love what you find meaningful and life-giving about the story of Jesus. This story is what our faith is all about…and it is sufficient.
