The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Children's Catechesis: Contemplation for Each of Us

Authored by Sophie Galloy in Issue #6.2 of Catechetical Review
Can a businessperson aspire to contemplation? A parent? A teenager? A young child? Don’t we usually see it as a privilege reserved for monks and cloistered nuns? Father Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus would say that each of us is capable of genuine contact with God, including the young child. Blessed Marie-Eugene was a French Carmelite priest born in 1894. He discovered in Carmel the treasure of intimacy with God—not only through a daily two hours of silent prayer but throughout the day—thanks to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of the Child, and Jesus's experiences and teaching. God is always ready to pour out his goodness, his lLove. Marie-Eugene's dream was to help everyone realize that this treasure is within reach. Anyone can live close to God, as God's close friend. Everyone is called to live an intimate friendship with God! Led by his “best friend” the Holy Spirit, and by the Virgin Mary in whom he trusted completely, this wholehearted priest founded the Notre Dame de Vie (Our Lady of Life) Institute, where priests and lay men and women are called to live this intimacy with God in an unconditional consecration, being active through contemplation and contemplative through action, whatever their jobs may be. Today, there are five hundred members all over the world. In the Notre Dame de Vie schools, children can discover this treasure of contemplation as well. Silent prayer is made available to them in theour schools in order that they might live with God the whole day long.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections: Remaining in a Position of Encounter
By Dr. James Pauley
Free I began professional work in the Church at the age of eighteen. I had experienced a profound personal conversion in high school, had taken my first steps as a missionary disciple, and was growing in the Christian life. So, my pastor offered me a job as a parish youth minister. Looking back, this is not the path I would recommend—for a high school... Read more
Catechetical Administration: A Participation in the Work of Jesus Christ
By Dr. Chris Burgwald
The vast majority of catechists today take part in this essential ministry in the life and mission of the Church for a simple yet significant reason: they have a passion for handing on our faith, for doing their part to form vibrant, radical disciples of Jesus Christ. They burn with a missionary zeal to lead and accompany others—men, women,... Read more
Resting to Endure the Race
By Bobby Angel
Free Tiredness. Little support. Overwhelm. Dryness in prayer. Lack of fruit. Anyone who has served in ministry in any capacity for any amount time has likely experienced some stage of exhaustion, disillusionment, or even burnout. The work of ministry in the name of the Lord—be it as a parish catechist, a schoolteacher, a hidden IT worker, or a customer... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now