Page 5 - Fruit of the Vine issue no. 1

During “Covid-time”, catechists, children, and parents of our atrium community commiserate regularly that we cannot be
present to each other in the atrium. Although we have maintained some connections through email and Zoom, we keep hoping and praying that the fall will reunite us in the atrium once again.
To encourage myself through this dark time, I have spent much time reflecting on and being thankful for the beautiful moments of past years in the atrium. Here I share one of them:
Several years ago, R. was a five year old experiencing her first year in an atrium. At the conclusion of an individual presentation of the Annunciation to Mary, she sat in silence with a troubled look on her face.
Allowing her some time, I then asked her what she had heard in the scripture. Almost in dismay she
answered, "The angel left her!” I had never heard that before! It seemed that she was struggling to reconcile the great news of the announcement with an abandonment of Mary to carry its weight alone. I felt unequipped to deal with this response.
But fortunately the Holy Spirit kept me in my weakness with lips sealed. I watched as R. visually searched the materials. Finally her eyes lighted on the dove which had been positioned over Mary's head. Her features relaxed as understanding dawned. She turned to me with joy on her face and announced with satisfaction, "But the Holy Spirit didn't!"
When I am feeling troubled and alone in the midst of this current crisis, I treasure R's announcement to me that day. His Holy Spirit
has not left us, either!
Dale Balkovec (Nepean, ON)
children were restoring the materials before going home. Adrien had just put the rug back into the bin and came up to me with a big smile saying, “Do you know what rolling the rug reminds me of? It reminds me of the Mustard Seed, that grows from small to large just like
when I unroll the rug!”
I was blown away.
Through the fall and winter, as Adrien repeated this task, his movement led to self- control, and a deep sense of self confidence calling him to repeat the exercise and to greater concentration as he mastered the task. His concentration and deliberate movements led to his beautiful meditation on the Mustard Seed!
Therese Wright (Guelph, ON)
When five-year-old Adrien wasintroducedto“rolling
the rug” for the first time, he watched
carefully as the catechist, with both hands, reached out to the tightly bound rug. Slowly, with controlled movement, the catechist unrolled the rug towards her knees.
Adrien sat in silence focussed on the presentation in front of him. He was eager to try this himself. Many times that fall and winter, Adrien used the rug to work with materials on the floor. He quickly mastered the rolling of the rug and restoring it to its place. I didn’t think any more about this until one day in February, after we reflected on the Parable of the Mustard Seed. At the end of our two hours together, the
Fruit of the Vine | June 2021
for through your goodness we have received...
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