The Child, the Good Shepherd, and the Mystery of God
How can we nurture a child’s relationship with God from the very beginning of life?
Who is this child entrusted to our care, especially during the formative years from birth to age six? And what does it mean to offer this child catechesis—the proclamation of our faith?
These questions lie at the heart of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) and invite us to look more deeply at both the child and the God who created them.
What Is Catechesis?
For many of us, the word catechesis brings to mind the Catechism, that rich and detailed expression of Catholic doctrine. While the Catechism is essential, catechesis is also the way we transmit our living faith and invite others into an encounter with God.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd offers a particular approach to this work. Rooted in Scripture and the liturgy and offered through the educational insights of Dr. Maria Montessori, CGS recognizes that children are not simply learning about God. They are being invited into a living relationship with Him.
St. John Paul II emphasized the importance of considering both the message of Jesus Christ and the person receiving that message. In the atrium, adults and children listen together to the Word of God, recognizing the Holy Spirit as the primary teacher.
This changes the way we approach faith formation. Rather than feeling anxious about whether a child has learned everything we think they should know by a certain age, we can trust that God is at work in the child’s heart. We proclaim Scripture, offer the essentials of our faith, and allow the child time and freedom to respond.
That response may be expressed through silence, contemplation, wonder, or prayer. Our task is not to manufacture a response, but to prepare the conditions in which the child can encounter God.
Who Is This Child?
When God looks at us, what does He see?
He sees His image reflected in us. We, too, are created in His image and likeness, made for relationship with our Creator. Our children share this same dignity. They are children of God, known and loved from the very beginning.
To understand who we are, we must also consider who God is. Throughout the history of Israel, God reveals Himself through a story of love and covenant. He is our Creator and Father, the one God in three Persons. God is love, and He invites us into the fullness of life with Him.
We are made from the dust of the earth and given life by God's breath. Created in His image and likeness, we are called to participate in His creative work and to care for the world entrusted to us. As parents, we have a particular responsibility to guide our children as they discover the world and their place within it.
Our task is something like that of a matchmaker: we prepare the child to encounter the mystery of God while respecting the mystery of the child.
From the very beginning of life, a beautiful relationship unfolds. Parents are often the child's first reflection of God's love, while the child, in turn, can become a profound reflection of that love to the parents.
For infants and young children, love is first experienced through relationships. The tenderness of our touch, the security of our embrace, and the patience in our voices are among the first tangible expressions of care and love. When we practice kindness, forgiveness, and presence, we offer the child a glimpse of the love God has for us.
And children give something back to us. Their joy, trust, openness, and capacity for wonder can renew our own appreciation for God's simple and profound love.
The Absorbent Mind and the Spiritual Life of the Child
Maria Montessori described the young child's remarkable capacity for learning as the absorbent mind. During the first six years of life, children take in the world around them through their senses, relationships, and experiences. From birth to age three, this learning is largely unconscious; from three to six, children increasingly engage with their environment consciously and intentionally.
These early experiences leave lasting impressions. The atmosphere we create—the way we speak, the beauty we offer, the relationships we model, and the rhythms of our daily lives—helps shape the child's developing understanding of the world.
This is true of the spiritual environment, too.
The young child has a profound capacity for relationship, including a capacity for relationship with God. Our role is not to force this relationship or rush it along, but to recognize the child's spiritual life and offer an environment rich in love, beauty, gentleness, and the essential truths of our faith.
The child is already receiving something from the spiritual atmosphere of the home. Our prayer, our relationships, and our response to the ordinary events of life all become part of the environment we prepare.
How, then, can we help the youngest children encounter the presence of God?
Preparing an Environment for Prayer
Especially during the first years of life, we can nurture a sense of the sacred through the ordinary experiences of home. This begins with the relationships we model: our kindness toward one another, our respect, our communication, and our willingness to listen.
It also includes our own prayer life. We can pray aloud with our children, include them in family prayer, and allow them to become familiar with the prayers and seasons of the Church. Even before birth, a child is surrounded by familiar voices and sounds. After birth, these familiar experiences can continue to provide a sense of connection and security.
We can also prepare a simple environment that makes room for prayer and reflects the life of the Church. A prayer table, a crucifix such as the San Damiano Cross, and a place for Scripture can help establish a natural connection between family life and the liturgical life of the Church. The family dining table, where we gather to share meals, can become another place of communion and gratitude.
A few simple elements can help cultivate this atmosphere:
Space and time. Create a peaceful place for prayer and establish gentle, predictable rhythms that allow moments of quiet to become part of daily life.
Light. Welcome natural light and, when appropriate and safely supervised, the gentle light of a candle. Even the familiar sound of a match being struck can become a signal that it is time to pray.
The natural world. Time outdoors, the sound of rain, the feel of the earth, and the beauty of plants and flowers invite children to encounter the wonder of creation. The natural world offers countless opportunities to recognize God's creativity.
Silence and breathing. Our own calm presence, gentle breathing, and willingness to pause can help establish an atmosphere of peace. Silence is not an absence to be filled; it can become a space in which we learn to listen.
Music and chant. The beauty of Gregorian chant offers another way to prepare the heart for prayer. Its connection to the rhythms of language and the human voice can draw us into a deeper attentiveness to the Word of God, even when we do not understand every word.
These are not complicated additions to family life. They are invitations to notice the sacred in what is already around us and to make room for a relationship with God to grow.
Listening: A Beginning of Prayer
Listening is an important part of our relationship with God. Before a child can understand the words of a prayer or a passage of Scripture, the child can experience the presence of a loving voice, the rhythm of music, and the quiet attention of another person.
Gregorian chant has a particular place in this reflection. Its melodies arise from the words of Scripture and are shaped by the language being proclaimed. Chant does not simply decorate the Word; it helps us attend to it. Through its beauty and rhythm, we are invited to become present to the events, relationships, and sentiments expressed in Scripture.
Scripture tells the great story of our Creator, His creation, His relationship with His people, and our response to His gifts. We do not need to grasp every detail of that story at once. We can begin by listening.
This posture of listening also shapes our relationships with our children. We prepare, wait, notice, and receive. We learn to be present rather than rushing to fill every silence or direct every response.
The earliest relationship between parent and child offers a particularly beautiful image of this attentiveness. During pregnancy, birth, and the early weeks after birth, mother and child undergo an extraordinary transition. Oxytocin, often called the love hormone, plays an important role in labor, breastfeeding, and bonding. These biological processes remind us of the profound connection between the physical and relational dimensions of welcoming a new life.
The period immediately following birth is a time of adjustment and bonding for both mother and baby. Sometimes described as an external pregnancy, this period allows them to become acquainted outside the womb and begin establishing the rhythms of life together.
In these early days, familiar voices, gentle touch, attentive care, and opportunities for closeness can help nurture a sense of safety and connection. There is wonder and anticipation in this waiting and receiving—a posture that can also teach us something about prayer.
We listen. We prepare. We wait. And we welcome the life entrusted to us.
The Atrium: A Meeting of Two Mysteries
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd rests on two pillars: Scripture and liturgy. Through the method given to us by Dr. Maria Montessori, children are introduced to the living Word of God and invited into the prayer life of the Church.
The space prepared for this work is called the atrium. It is a meeting place of two mysteries: the mystery of God and the mystery of the child.
In the atrium, we do not begin by asking how much information a child can absorb. We begin by asking what God has revealed and how we can offer that revelation in a way that respects the child's capacity for wonder, contemplation, and relationship.
For the youngest children, one of the most profound starting points is the parable of the Good Shepherd.
“I Am the Good Shepherd”
When the people of Israel wondered who Jesus was, He revealed something essential about Himself:
“I am the good shepherd.” — John 10:11
Read John 10 slowly, allowing the words to speak for themselves. Notice the relationship Jesus describes between the shepherd and the sheep. The shepherd knows his sheep, calls them, leads them, and lays down his life for them.
For a young child, this is not merely a story to understand intellectually. It is an invitation to encounter a relationship of love, belonging, and trust.
The parable of the Good Shepherd speaks to several characteristics we observe in young children:
They are drawn to what is essential. The love between the shepherd and the sheep offers a simple, profound truth.
They are oriented toward reality. The relationship between a real shepherd and real sheep provides a concrete point of connection.
They are filled with awe and wonder. Who is this shepherd? How does he know his sheep? What does it mean to be known and loved?
They are attracted to beauty. A simple, beautiful presentation can help the child attend to the beauty of the Scripture itself.
They respond to relationship. As they encounter the love of the shepherd for his sheep, children can begin to recognize themselves within this relationship of care and belonging.
In the atrium, we offer the Scripture and a simple, beautiful material, then allow the child time to reflect. We do not need to explain every detail or supply every answer. We can trust the richness of the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in the child's heart.
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and calls them by name. What a beautiful foundation for a child's growing understanding of who Jesus is—and who they are in relationship with Him.
Parents as the First Catechists
Ultimately, understanding who the child is shapes how we share our faith.
The child is created in God's image, possesses a remarkable capacity for relationship, and learns through the people and environment surrounding them. Children need our loving presence, the authentic example of a lived faith, opportunities to encounter God through Scripture and the senses, and the freedom to respond to the Holy Spirit.
As parents, we are our children's first catechists. We do not need to have every answer or create elaborate lessons to begin sharing our faith. We can start with the way we live: praying together, celebrating the liturgical year, reading Scripture, welcoming beauty, caring for creation, and making space for silence and wonder.
Above all, we can trust that our children are already known and loved by God. Our calling is to help prepare their hearts and their environment for an encounter with the One who created them and cherishes them beyond measure.
Questions for Reflection
As you consider your child's spiritual life, take some time to ponder these questions:
How might you cultivate a sense of the sacred and a connection with God for your child, even before birth, through your own prayer life and the sensory experiences of daily life?
How does the idea of the absorbent mind influence the physical and spiritual environment you prepare for your young child?
In what ways has your child become a reflection of God's love to you? What qualities in your child have surprised you, deepened your wonder, or changed your understanding of God?
May we approach the mystery of each child with reverence, trusting that the Good Shepherd is already at work, calling each one into a relationship of love.