Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a religious education curriculum for children that builds upon a child’s natural sense of wonder and their need to learn through rich sensory experiences in order to help the child fall in love with God.  This Montessori-based approach seeks to create and facilitate a sacred “hands-on” space in which both the children and catechists can hear, ponder, and celebrate the essential mysteries of the Catholic faith as revealed in scripture and liturgy. 

The adult and child immerse themselves in Scripture to ponder who God is, His love for us, His Kingdom, and how we are to live in that Kingdom.  By lifting up specific aspects of the Liturgy for the child, the adult helps them to understand the depth of the Mass and to better participate in the life of the Church that Jesus Himself founded.

CGS catechizes each child individually in a unique and beautiful space called the atrium” which contains simple yet beautiful materials they work with to draw closer to God in prayer.  The children gather with the catechists to listen to God through: 

• Sharing of Holy Scripture
• Learning about the Sacraments
• Exploring the Parables Jesus shared about the Kingdom of God and how we should live in God’s Kingdom
• Learning about the Mass, including the articles used, the priest’s garments, prayers and gestures, and the colors and cycle of the church year
• Understanding the history of the life of Jesus through the Bible and Biblical geography
• Prayer-communal and individual
• Practical Life Exercises- meant for developmental as well as meditative movement
• Art- as an expression of relationship to God

Parish contact information: Molly at molly_jane1@yahoo.com.

Catechists Needed...
For our program to flourish, we would like you to prayerfully consider attending training to be a catechist.  This retreat-like training is a time commitment, but truly allows the catechist to learn not only Montessori methods that are used in the program, but also gives thorough training in the themes and presentations that are an integral part of the Level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. 

We are blessed to have a training scheduled here in Fargo for Part 1 of Level 1 (the 3-6 year old program we will begin Fall of 2023) at St. Anthony’s May 15-20 from 9 AM-04:30 PM.  Sts. Anne and Joachim will be offering scholarships to interested individuals who wish to be trained as a catechist and are willing to make a commitment to our program.

For more information on the training itself, please go to 
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

CLICK the picture below to register for the upcoming training to be held at St. Anthony’s in Fargo.