It Only Takes A Spark

by Sister Mary Thomas, DLJC

I had returned for a second summer to an inner-city parish to conduct a Vacation Bible School. I could never forget the first year. It had been a big step in faith for me. The pastor at that time was not acquainted with us, a new community of Franciscan charismatic sisters, and seemed a bit wary. Furthermore, it had not taken us long to determine the type of neighborhood in which the parish was located. The children had talked about finding dirty needles in their back yards and the necessity for all young men to be gang members. The first day attendance had not been very high but as the week progressed the number of children grew and so did the level of praise. Their favorite song became ``His Name is called Emmanuel, God-with-us, Revealed in us.'' It had been the first time that many of the children realized that God was truly with them and loved them. It had been also a word of hope for the parents. One deeply touched mother, who was expecting a baby, decided to name it ``Manuel'' if it was a boy. That year our first fruit from the VBS had been the return to the Church of Jeff. He had been ``volunteered'' to be a helper by the pastor, who had been concerned that he and his family had stopped attending Mass.

So there I was, teaching the first and second graders for the second year in a row. And they were teaching me! The theme was the Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Mystical Body of Christ in the Church. The children in my class had not received their First Communion, so I stressed that even if they could not go up to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, they could still talk to Jesus. I led them into the church and showed them the tabernacle and explained that Jesus was truly present there. I told them that they should come and visit Jesus and tell Him how much they loved Him and to say ``thank you'' for something the Lord did for them. The next day some of the children in my class went to the sister who was helping me. They told her that their friend had disappeared during the break time and that they though she had gone into the church. The sister entered the church in order to find the little girl. As she drew near to where the little girl was standing before the tabernacle. She overheard, ``I love you Jesus. Jesus, I love you.''

On another day, I had felt inspired to make an outline of a human body on the floor of the class room using masking tape. I was supposed to teach them about the Mystical Body of Christ. I was discouraged when the first comment from one of the children was, ``Oh! Somebody was killed.'' I quickly explained that we were going to pretend that this drawing represented the Body of Christ. I was pleasantly surprised when one of the boys grabbed a Bible and a picture of Jesus and laid them down on the floor as the head of my taped outline of the ``Body of Christ.'' He explained, ``It (the Bible) is the Word of God, so I put it at Jesus' mouth, and here is a picture of His head.'' As I sat back to see what would happen next. A girl grabbed the statue of Mary and laid it down on the chest of the taped outline. She explained, ``Oh, I just put Mary in Jesus' heart because He loves her very much.'' This process continued and I was awe-struck at the profound thoughts of the children.

Truly, the Lord is Emmanuel (God with us) and through His mercy, faithfulness and grace, He taught us all that ``it's not by army, nor by might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.'' (Zech. 4:6) Even with our simple methods of teaching, the love of Jesus can be awakened in little hearts. I did not return the following year. The sisters who went the third year told me that my ``volunteered'' helper, Jeff, was still active in the Church. He was also involved in peer to peer ministry giving a powerful testimony to the children that it only takes a spark of God's transforming love to change a life. Praise God!

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