On Hiddenness: The Parables of the Kingdom and our Eucharistic Faith

Victoria Roth

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Like the mustard seed, the Eucharist appears small yet contains great power within it!

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At the beginning of every month, I sit down to write a one-page newsletter for the parents of children in the St. Nicholas atrium. It contains 3-4 brief sections, each focused on a particular CGS topic, presentation, or need in our atrium. This month, I included a discussion of the Parables of the Kingdom, citing the mustard seed, the leaven, or the precious pearl as things the children might be hearing or even talking about at home.

I always like to prepare parents for what their kids might bring home to discuss, but this month, it struck me that many times children do not mention the things they hear without prompting. Even with prompting, they may be reluctant or seem unable to recall. So, I mentioned this to the parents as well:

[O]ne of the things we lift up for the children during this time is that the mystery of the Kingdom of God is a mystery of growth and transformation—one that is often hidden, or hard to see happening, until suddenly one day, you wake up and the seed has sprouted, or the flowers have bloomed, or the fruit has appeared.

I cannot help looking ahead to the seeds I am planting right now to prepare for the Mystery of Life and Death presentation: how for many weeks we have to dig down deep in the dirt to see that anything is growing at all. But it is still happening.

I was also reading through the Thirty-Two Points this weekend and Point Ten stood out to me: "Eucharist is central to the life of the atrium at every level." What greater example of hiddenness and transformation can there be? Like the mustard seed, the Eucharist appears small yet contains great power within it! The bread becomes the very person of Jesus Christ, yet He remains hidden.

When we as CGS catechists say that "Eucharist is central to the life of the atrium," it doesn't just mean that we focus on specific aspects of the Mass: the Altar, the gestures, the Real Presence. It means that every work we do points towards that great Mystery, some more explicitly, and some in more hidden ways.

Even the children themselves point to it, as the life of Christ grows within and transforms them. Even when we can't see it.

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Victoria Roth is a catechist in the Diocese of Spokane, Washington and a member of the Our Lady of Good Help CGS board. She is level one certified and serves as Coordinator of CGS and a lead catechist in the St. Nicholas Atrium at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Spokane Valley. She also serves as a level two assistant at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane.