Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, known informally as CGS, is a plan for faith formation that has been in development since 1954.  Sofia Cavalletti, a renowned Biblical scholar, was asked to teach a friend’s children about the church.  With little experience with children, Sophia turned to her friend Maria Montessori for advice.  Their collaboration produced the first children’s centre, or atrium, in Rome.  Sophia is still observing children and refining the program as her understanding of their spiritual needs grows.  CGS Atria can be found all over the world now, although at the moment St. Andrew’s is the only one in Kentucky.

Many of us were first introduced to CGS through a small blue booklet which is distributed by the Association for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  It briefly describes the goals of the program and how they are achieved.  According to the “blue book” the core beliefs of the Association are:

○ That God and the child have a unique relationship with one another.

○ That the growth of this relationship should be assisted by the adult, but is directed by the Spirit of God within the child.

○ That children need their own place to foster the growth of that relationship.

○ That the child’s spiritual growth is best served through tangible but indirect means.

The Atrium is one of the elements that helps the relationship between God and the child to flourish.  In the early church the atrium was the place where catechumens were prepared to join fully in the life of faith.  For the child, too, the atrium is a place of preparation for involvement in the larger worshiping community.  A CGS atrium can be compared to a retreat house in the way it facilitates recollection and spiritual growth.  It is a place for religious life, community and worship, not a classroom for instruction.

Materials in the atrium invite children to explore the history, parables, and liturgical themes that are central to our faith.  The children are initiated into the liturgical life of the church through their work with the gestures and materials of the Eucharist and of Baptism. 

The catechetical material consists of concrete “signs” of a transcendent reality and is a way of letting the child prolong, alone with the inner teacher, the meditation begun together with the adult.
Sofia Cavalletti

For the Child age 3-6

The 3-6 year old child is particularly capable of receiving and enjoying the most essential elements of our faith – the announcement of God’s love – in the person of the Good Shepherd, who died and is risen.

Materials on the life of Christ and his teachings help make the mystery of God concrete for the child.  Selected parables serve as keys to unlock the mystery of the kingdom of God and to nurture the child’s natural sense of wonder.  Through the arranging of the chalice, paten, altar cloth, Cross and candles the child becomes familiar with the articles and movements or our central liturgy.  The prayer corner reflects the liturgical cycle with appropriate colors, prayers, and songs to enhance the rituals and celebrations of the church year.

For the Older Child, age 6-9

While the heart of the catechesis for the child under six revolves around the parable of the Good Shepherd, the elementary age child is captured by the image of the True Vine.  “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.”  The elementary age child has a deep need to understand his/her relationship with God, family, friends, and the larger community.  They seek guidelines that the moral parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son can offer.  

The imagination of the older child, and his or her agility with the concept of time, are powerful stimuli to explore the past and the future.  The first time line, a ribbon fifty yards long, focuses on the high points in the history of salvation –creation to redemption to parousia, the time when “God will be all in all.”  Another presentation focuses on the many gifts we receive from God – rocks, plants, and people – culminating in God’s gift of His own self, a gift which will pervade the whole universe at the completion of history.