This is what satisfies the young child - not Easter Bunnies and badly illustrated Children's Bibles. Children respond to the essential proclamation of the Gospel. As some of you know, I am a Catechist for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It is based on Maria Montessori's approach to the child, Maria's quality of essentiality she observed in children. In my work as a catechist I have seen for myself that children respond most powerfully to the most essential messages of the Gospel.
Patient observation is one of the main works of the catechist, and it is often rewarding.
I was working with a four year old one day, early in Epiphany. The child's mind was still full of the images of the nativity, but we had moved on to present the parable of the pearl of great price. I narrated the story of the parable, then lit a candle and read the parable from the scripture. As I read the parable, I moved the figure of the merchant to enact his search for the discovery of the pearl of great price. The four year old started picking up the candle stick and holding it over the house of the merchant while I read the parable.