Holy Week with Children

As we approach Holy Week, when we experience the Paschal Mystery—Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, a question might be, how do we present this most important (but also at times troubling and dark) event to the youngest in our community? 
Sofia Cavalletti, a Hebrew Scripture Scholar who co-developed the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, noted,  “The proclamation of the death of Christ should never be disjoined from the announcement of His resurrection. ‘Christ has died’ is always followed immediately with, ‘and Christ is risen.’ At the Last Supper, Jesus anticipates the events of the coming day for his disciples. He tells them, “This is my body which is given for you,” and “this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:19-­20). In these words, Jesus explains that “what will happen on Good Friday will be the gift of his whole self; Jesus will give himself completely as an offering to the Father and to all of us”, a tremendous act of love. 
Our greatest gift to our children can be to initiate them into this mystery, the mystery that life is stronger than death and light overcomes darkness. We can affirm with the child that indeed, the love evidenced in Christ’s passion and death is the love that brought about the resurrection—the love that continues to cover the whole world. 
(Adapted from All about the atrium paschal mystery in the home - CGSUSA. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://www.cgsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/All-About-the-Atrium_Paschal-Mystery_In-the-Home.pdf)