The Kingdom of God: The mystery of the Kingdom of God is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith. It was such an important part of what Jesus wanted to communicate during His time on earth. There are over forty parables about the Kingdom of God in the Gospels. When Pope St. John Paul II gave the Catholic Church the Luminous Mysteries, he summed up the majority of Jesus’ ministry in the mystery he entitled “The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God.” In honor of the greatness of this mystery, and the depth of joy that the children take in pondering it, the season of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent, in both the 3-6 year old and 6-9 year old Atria, is often spent in pondering the parables of the Kingdom of God. There are five Kingdom Parables which are given special attention in the Level 1 Atrium (the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Growing Seed, the Precious Pearl, and the Hidden Treasure). In looking closely at these parables (the Mustard Seed and the Precious Pearl) two themes emerge which reveal Jesus’ most essential teaching regarding the Kingdom of God. In the words of Sofia Cavaletti, “The mystery of the reign of God is the mystery of life itself: the mystery of a marvelous energy at work that causes growth and transformation, a movement from the ‘lesser’ to the ‘more.’ And this mystery carries within it all that is most beautiful and precious” (The Religious Potential of the Child 6-12 Years Old, p. 2).
The Children’s Response: As the elementary children ponder in the Atrium they share some of the fruits of their conversation with God both through their verbal responses and also through their artwork. When asked “Where is the Kingdom of God?”, one of the preschoolers said “God is everywhere.” At times the depth of their love for parables of the Mustard Seed or the Pearl come up in unexpected contexts. This fits with the way their minds are moving towards synthesizing the information they have received and have pondered. When I asked a small group of our First Graders from St John School, “I wonder what is inside of ‘things’ that cause them to grow?”, one of the girls said, “God’s love”. Another younger 5 year old in our Thursday morning group drew an image of the mustard seed. From the small seed planted in the ground she drew a tornado like cloud and then the mustard tree growing out of the “tornado.” When I asked what the image was, she said “the power of God making the tree grow”.
In our Level 2 Atrium the children learn to pull all of the Level 1 parables together and “synthesize” the themes. Further parables of study for the 6-9 year old child include parables The Ten Bridesmaids, The True Vine, The Good Samaritan, The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. These parables help develop a child to notice acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. At this stage of development we are preparing the children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. The moral teachings of these parables coincide with the child learning about their own behaviors and moral teachings of the Bible or what we call the Maxims. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, “Love your Enemies”, “Let your yes mean “yes”. These help the child ponder or examine their behaviors. One child in our Level 2 when presented with the “Let your yes mean ‘yes’” said Tthat means you can’t change your mind when something gets too hard.”
Our Response: How might we answer the questions, “What is the Kingdom of God?” • What brings growth and transformation in our lives? • What is most precious to us? • In what way are we part of the Kingdom of God? • How is the Kingdom part of us? • How might the Holy Bible and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, help us to ponder the Kingdom of God? (CGS Parent Pages September 2023)