OUR STORY

“All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

God the Almighty Artisan and Engaged Father 

God, the Almighty Artisan comprehends the History of the Kingdom of God from its beginning,  Creation, progressing unto its end, the fullest realization when God will fully reign. (Cavalletti)  At the very same time, He sees each of His beloved children who He meticulously created.  Because God desires to have an ever-deepening communion with each one of us, He prefers to progress His plan by depending on our ongoing contribution.  One way to understand this dynamic is through the following analogy: “He is the Author but writes in the human hand.” 

The Tapestry of God’s Plan and God’s Invitation to Participate in His Plan

We can imagine God’s plan laid out on a vast tapestry and God as the Master Weaver.  To begin a tapestry, a weaver sets the warp, the longitudinal and foundational strands on the loom.  We can imagine the warp as individual people, each created by God at a fixed point in time and developing in parallel to one another.  A weaver knows that the strength, cohesiveness, and harmonious beauty of the tapestry is dependent on the strength and formation of each of these individuals, or strands. 

Once the warp is set, a weaver begins to thread the weft, the horizontal strands, into the shuttle.  It is the weft that creates the image of the tapestry that is in the mind of the weaver.  We can imagine these horizontal strands as the stirrings that have been placed by God within our hearts.  In His perfect time, God activates these stirrings, or strands, within individuals, inviting them to participate in His plan.  If we accept His invitation, God begins to intertwine our lives, unifying us in a common task for the purpose of His Kingdom.  

The Weaving of Blessed Family Montessori School

Blessed Family Montessori School story begins with the Weaver tending to the individual formation of some women who He envisioned becoming Montessori educators and catechists.  The women responded to God’s call - first getting certified as Montessori educators and then being formed as catechists.  Individually, the common threads/stirrings planted deep within their hearts were activated, the common strands of: Montessori education, and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd faith formation, as well as the importance of the role of the parents as the first educators and catechists of their children. 

As God continued forming them individually, He began to weave these women’s lives together at Catechesis of the Good Shepherd formation at St. Barnabas in Glen Ellyn.  Throughout the formation, the women kept seeing how the Montessori environment could even more fully support each child’s development with the incorporation of this catechetical approach.  

They began to imagine and discuss what it would look like if both methods were fully integrated.  This seedling of an idea became deeply affirmed when eventually they read something Dr. Montessori herself “put on record... as one of the results of her experiments….her own method could only find its fullest expression when applied to the teaching of the Catholic Faith.  In fact, she was convinced that this new method, by peculiar and providential concatenation of circumstances, placed in her for the advancement of the Kingdom of God through its application to teaching the truths of the Catholic Faith.” (Standing, ii)  

After completing the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) formation, independently the women carried on with educating children while furthering their Montessori and catechesis formation.  They also gained professional experiences at a variety of schools: Traditional Parochial, secular Montessori, a Christian Montessori, a Catholic Montessori, a lab school, and a teaching institute.  Within these schools the women took on different roles which included: teacher trainer, administrator, and integrator of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials within Montessori environments.  The women reconnected periodically at continued professional development where the dream of fully integrated CGS faith formation within a Montessori school was clarified and advanced.  God’s call continued to be revealed and as the women were privileged to witness the children naturally and joyfully live out their relationship with God, their desire to make this kind of school a reality was set aflame.  

The revelation of this vision began getting committed to paper when God inspired a reuniting of the women through the prompting of a mutual colleague.  All of them were awestruck at the alignment and harmony of their individual visions  - from the implementation of high caliber Montessori education and the full integration of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to the ideal location.  With this confirming alignment, they were now ready to allow the Master Weaver to weave their individual dreams into one vision and step forward in the creation of the school’s mission, vision, and values.

As these seasoned educators continue to heed the collective call on their lives, they look back in gratitude to God and to all those who came before.  They often think about the many collaborators who freely chose to say yes to God’s invitation and worked with Him to weave forward the threads of Catholic Montessori education.  As they look forward toward the future, they realize the strength, sustainability, and beauty of the school’s fabric requires the interweaving of additional and diverse strands of people.

They may even be wondering if you, too, are being called to be one of these strands…..

Reference:

Garrido, Ann. (2007)   A Theology and Spirituality of Collaboration. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Journal Number 22

Cavalletti, Sophia (2015)   History of Salvation. Level Two Formation Handout, National Association of Catechises of the Good Shepherd, USA

Standing, E.M. Foreword.  In: Montessori, Dr. Maria. The Child in the Church.  1965.  Minnesota: Catechetical Guild Educational Society, ii.