A Pearl of Great Value
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." ~ Matthew 13:45-47
Rose Red listens attentively to the scripture reading during tonight's Atrium session (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd).
Rose Red: "This is my father ~ he lives in mass."
Mommy: "Yes. Yes, he does my love."
Rose Red: "I love my Shepherd"
Mommy: "And he loves you, very much"
Today we introduced Rose Red and 'Romeo' to the Good Shepherd parable work for the first time. Just a sneak preview as they will both be entering into the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atriums next fall. Romeo's mother and I haven't quite decided yet if we will be homeschooling their Atrium sessions or taking them to the church Atria. There are benefits to both.
This is just one of my projects for this week ~ creating three more 'Fettucia' works for our atriums. You would not believe how much ribbon we wind around these wheels ! The Fettucia is a work we introduce to our 6 -9 year olds in which we introduce the three moments of God's plan; creation, redemption, and parousia and take a look at 'time' and our place within God's plan of salvation. It's usually a favorite with the children. It's not necessarily a favorite material to make however ~ Needless to say it is now down to the crunch time as our Atrium sessions begin in just two weeks! Eeekkk!
Today I leave for our annual catechists retreat. It is a three day retreat held at a monastery in which we take time together to prepare ourselves spiritually and materially for the year ahead. It is a wonderful experience. This year I will only be leading one Atrium session. It will be a Level Two session (6-9 year olds). I took last year off since we had to live overseas for two months for Rose Red's adoption. I'm really looking forward to being back in the Atrium again this year. Fortunately the retreat is held locally so I won't have to spend the nights this year when Rose Red really needs me home with her.
I love this idea that Helen shares with us. I think I'd like to keep a small basket in the house of paper crucifixes (of some kind) that we can write our 'cross' on the back of and give it to Jesus in either prayer or adoration. What a wonderful visible reminder that we've handed it over to Him and that we share our cross with Him. Good for kids and adults as we all need reminding ~ some of us daily!
We are trying to begin our days together with a morning prayer. Rose Red enjoys this time together and I have begun to incorporate a few song prayers into our prayer time as she seems to really enjoy that. In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we encourage the children to have a special place in their home to pray. It becomes a very special place for them and a lovely reminder for them to come and pray. While the children aren't old enough to enter into the atria (specially prepared environments for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) until they are three years of age I thought a little home prep would be just the thing!
This is our prayer space. My father made us this beautiful shrine from brazilian cherry wood. It is here in our hallway that we gather together for prayer.
