Collages and inclusive catechesis
I thought i’d just write a short post about the collage kits we’ve recently added to the shop and how you cna use them for inclusive catechesis.
When I was designing these, I didn’t intend for them to be used for this purpose but i’m SO glad that they have turned out to be pretty fantastic for teaching quite complex theological ideas to a wide range of children and young people. The idea was first sparked by the Feast of Corpus Christi. The cathedral near to where I grew up always created a carpet of real flowers for their Eucharistic procession to process along and I wanted to recreate this in paper form, paying particular attention to the use of bright colours. I shared this on social media, which was when the lovely Rosie from Remarkably and Wonderfully Made Catechesis contacted me to let me know of the potential of these designs to be used for inclusive catechesis. You cna read her review of the collages here: https://remarkablyandwonderfullymade.wordpress.com/2022/06/20/collage/
Below, I am going to quickly describe an example of how you could use our Corpus Christi collage kit for teaching children about the Real Presence and the Sacrament.
For a simple session: you could explain that the Blessed Sacrament is truly Jesus' Body and Blood, despite it still having the appearance of bread and wine (you know, that SUPER easy and straightforward topic of transubstantiation!!). You could then go on to ask the child why they think we are making a blanket/carpet of flowers to place the Blessed Sacrament on within the collage. This could open up a chance to have a lovely conversation about why the Eucharist is so special and why we have so much reverence towards it as Catholics; that Jesus loves us so much that He gives himself to us in this unique and tender way. Flowers honour Jesus in the Eucharist.
For a more in depth session, each flower or piece of foliage could be used to look at certain Bible verses or Church teachings relating to the Eucharist (think John 6, the supper at Emmaus, the Last Supper, etc).
Similarly, if your child or young person is able to, this could be used as a prayer activity where each collage piece is used to contemplate a certain characteristic of Christ.
I hope you enjoyed reading about these ideas!
Emma x
