Current Registrants

Family of Faith Formation

The "Weekly Family Mission" is a guide to help families pace the at-home catechesis. Click the button below.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Welcome Letter
CGS 2024-2025 Schedule
OUR WEEK AT CGS

Week Fifteen | The final week of the Christmas season, the oldest children in the atrium meditate on The Presentation. They hear the scripture passage directly from the Holy Bible while watching the story acted out with the figures. Afterwards the catechist and the children meditate on who this Child is, the obedience of Mary and Joseph, and the response of Simeon and Anna.
.

Week Fourteen | Near the end of Advent, the older children meditate on the story of the Adoration of the Magi from Scripture. First we revisit the map of Israel, reminding the children that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that the Holy Family lived there for a while after Jesus' birth. Then the children hear the story directly from Scripture, while it is acted out with the figures. Afterwards, we meditate together on the gifts of the Magi, Mary and Joseph's response, King Herod's actions, etc. The materials and story are then available for the child to use or hear again anytime they come to the atrium.

Week Thirteen | The third week of Advent the older children meditate on the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. They revisit the topographical map to review that Mary lived in Galilee in Nazareth. On the map, the children are shown how Mary traveled four days down to the land of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Then they hear the story from the Holy Bible and see the story acted out with the figures. Afterwards, they meditate on the two women and babies meeting each other and their response to each other.

FALL 2024 | Week Twelve The second week of Advent, the children hear the story of the Birth of Christ and the Adoration of the Shepherds. We read the Scripture to them directly from the Bible while using the figures to act the story out. Afterward, we meditate together on the experience of Jesus' birth, asking the child to imagine what various people in the story experienced. The children are then invited to work with these materials anytime they come to the atrium. The story is also available to them anytime they would like to hear it again.

FALL 2024 | Week Eleven At the beginning of Advent, the youngest children meditate on the Annunciation. We read the Scripture to them directly from the Bible while using the figures to act the story out. Afterward, we meditate together on Mary's yes to the angel. The children are then invited to work with these materials anytime they come to the atrium. The story is also available to them anytime they would like to hear it again.

FALL 2024 | Week Ten Every year, right before Advent begins, the children use our topographic map of Israel to learn about the three most important cities in Jesus' life: Nazareth (where Mary lived), Bethlehem (where He was born), and Jerusalem (where He died and rose). The map helps the children to concretely know that Jesus is a real person, who actually walked and lived in a specific place.

FALL 2024 | Week Nine Last week in the atrium the children learned how the sacristan prepares the cruets for Father to use during Holy Mass. After learning how to prepare the cruets themselves (mastering the cruets), the children will learn about how Father prepares the chalice.

FALL 2024 | Week Eight: This past week the children toured the church! They saw many of the things they learned about in the atrium, such as the altar, tabernacle, sanctuary lamp, ambo, lectionary, missal, chalice, paten, cruets, chasubles, cinctures, albs, candle, extinguisher, and more.

FALL 2024 | Week Seven: Over the last few weeks the older children have been learning about the liturgical year using our liturgical calendar.

FALL 2024 | Week Six: This past week in the atrium the older children learned the names of some of the vestments of the priest.
Pictured above (from left to right): amice, alb, cincture, stole, chasuble.

FALL 2024 | Week Five: This week in the atrium the children learned the gesture of the Sign of the Cross. A gesture is a movement that means something, for example, waving hello. The Crucifix is a sign of God's great love for us. The Sign of the Cross is a sign of how close that great love is to us! So close that we can make the sign right on our bodies! Anytime anyone needs to feel the closeness of Jesus, they can make the Sign of the Cross. From now on in the atrium, we will always start our prayer time with the Sign of the Cross.

FALL 2024 | Week Four: This week in the atrium the children learned the names of the basic articles used at Holy Mass: altar cloth, paten, chalice, candles, and crucifix. A few children had these names memorized, so they learned ambo, lectionary, missal, tabernacle, ciborium, and sanctuary lamp. Once the children have memorized these names, they will learn corporal, purificator, credence table, cruets, lavabo, bells, and extinguisher.

FALL 2024 | Week Three: This week in CGS the children learned the most common liturgical colors and their meanings!
- Purple: Preparation, Father wears this before the Feast
- White: Celebration, Father wears this on the Feast
- Green: Growing Time, Father wears this after the Feast
- Red: Pentecost and Feasts of Great Love
The children will be watching at Holy Mass to see what color Father is wearing!

FALL 2024 | Week Two: This week in the atrium we enthroned the Holy Bible on the prayer table with a procession! The children learned that the Holy Bible is the most important book in the world because it is God's Word written down. It is written for each of the children and everyone in the whole world. The children will be watching at Holy Mass to see how Father reverences the Holy Bible by kissing it after reading the Gospel. They also had the opportunity to reverence the Holy Bible themselves.

FALL 2024 | Week One: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) started this past week! The children were welcomed back to the atrium (classroom) after having the summer off. The atrium is a place of prayer, where they talk to Jesus and listen to hear what He says to them. They learned how to quiet their bodies and voices in order to hear Jesus while at the prayer table (pictured) whether individually or as a group. It's going to be a wonderful year!