CHARISMA OF THE MASTER

ABOUT CHILDREN

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A) General outline of catechesis by Kiko Argüello
1) The children in the Eucharist of the Neocatechumenal Way

The children who made their First Communion (more than 6 or 7 years old and onwards, that
they have the use of reason

The Eucharist is a serious matter, it doesn't need to be fun.

Minors must attend the Eucharist even if they have to be
thank you for the parents.
They must be given the opportunity to participate normally like adults.
that they give their experience.
It must be the master who asks them, not the elder.
They can be invited to prepare the Eucharist with the adults, one for
team: in each preparation team, a child (without their parents) and has
what to do a monition.
-What the children feel when welcoming another during their first communion at
Community, exceptionally, prepare this only with the Masters.
Eucharist.

Children who have not made their First Communion (under 6 or 7 years old)

They can watch as long as they behave well and are quiet and do not...
raise.
If a child does not stay quiet, they cannot go to the Eucharist.

Placement of Children in the Eucharist:

If the Master is a Psalmist, they sit beside him, but generally beside the
singers.
Masters should be placed with them, they must not be left alone.
The children who made their First Communion are placed separately.
that they did not do, since they cannot commune.
2) The children's coexistence only with the Master (without the parents)

What children?

Those who made their first communion mainly.

They are done by communities or by parish, depending on the number.
of children.

Purpose:
Children struggle to speak during the Eucharists.
Help the parents, especially when they are 12-13 years old, seeking that the
The teacher should be an alternative and complementary figure to the father.

Frequency:

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 Three a year: 1- Preparation for Christmas
2- Preparation for Easter, Easter Vigil
3-Despois da Vigília Pascal ou ao final do curso.

Order of coexistence:
Pray the Lauds together
Separate the children into small groups to answer questions.
like:
How are the Lauds at home?
What problems are coming?
If they are happy
What do you think of the Eucharist?
How are things at school, how are your parents and siblings?
+Etc...
Preparation for coexistence.
The Masters of the parish prepare it with faith.
Prepare the questions, how to foster coexistence.
Prepare the topics or catecheses to be addressed:
The dangers in school, an environment that is not Christian
The dangers with friends.

Monthly gathering of the Community and the children of the community.

Children who made their First Communion

They are in the Lauds, after the psalms and the Brief Reading, there is a
prayer and the Our Father, receive the blessing and leave with the Master.
- The Master gives them a theme, tells them something, then they do a
random reading or one that has already been prepared and ends the Lauds
with him. That it is not something wide.
In the afternoon, the Master or another brother collects them and they say the final prayer.
In each Community, a plan has to be made, organized, alternating the
free time (organizing games) with the Laudes, catecheses, and prayer
final.
The Master takes care of the part of the Lauds and the catecheses. The adults have a
monthly coexistence to share our faith, let us use this coexistence to
that our children who made their first communion also share it
your faith.
Children who have not made their first communion:
They go with the nannies after the blessing.

B) The role of the Children's Master

Children need the figure of the Master as an alternative figure and
complementary to the father. Alternative while the child begins to have a little of
rivalry with the father at 11 or 12 years old, and it is very good that instead of seeking this
an alternative figure to the father in a child's master, better than to an atheist or in another
person, who seeks a child Master from their community to befriend them;
an adult with whom I can be a little honest.
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 Through the interactions with the children, what do we intend? Well
we intend a very simple thing. That the child needs a Master, needs
to see a figure different from the father. Why? Because the child may one day say to the teacher:
I don't get along with my father and such... and the master can tell you: don't worry, I
I will talk to your father... In other words, the teacher has to be a friend of the child, you have to
make friends with the children. And when the child is having a crisis, they can talk to the master
as a child of your community.
If the master begins to give catechesis to the children in the gatherings and they stay
interested parties, your figure is important in the community; if not, the master does nothing
in the community. In other words, the figure of the master is important, even if it signifies a
small sacrifice. What is lacking in seeing that you have the calling of a master is lacking.
find a true one who loves children and is capable of sacrificing for them
them, being with them and giving them a word of faith.
One must consider the master's mission, that is, whether the master is important or not. If the master...
it is only important for Easter or for some gathering, so it is nothing more than
Nothing. But we believe that the teacher must be a person who has authority with the
children, who respect you, who are serious when it is time to be serious. And moreover,
It should be taken very seriously; a word must be prepared before the coexistence, and
give love to the children.
The usual meetings with the children give authority to the teacher who leads them. If you...
took them home, or took them to the zoo, or to a movie, or to grab a snack, they start
Loving you, they have authority, they see that you give them content. So, not in the Eucharist.
It's a toy that makes you say: boy, be quiet! You have a content, you
they want to have a friendship with you.
But there is still a calling, a vocation for this, because the master is born, not made;
A master is like an artist. They can improve by studying psychology and all that, but this
It is not for just anyone. The master must have creativity, an invention.
I ask them if you have a vocation, this calling, because it is a line that we have to
opening up. Let's try. To one that truly weighs on you, that you don't feel this
I wish, let it be said: Kiko, I believe that what I have discovered is very important.
at this meeting; I think it would be good for my community to elect someone else who
could do this, at best a woman, or a man who knows how to do this, that
know how to provide content and accomplish this mission with the children.
Or the best of you cannot do it because you do not have time, or because you have another
charisma, another mission. So, it is very much about your children and the children of the community you should
to inspire the emergence of a true Master in the community.

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Manual of Masters for Children
Meeting with the children's teachers from the neocatechumenal communities.
At the Neocatechumenal Center February 3, 1985

Kiko's Prayer:.....

KIKO:

The itinerary of the master, or if you will, his mission within the Path
Neocatechumenal is something that is still emerging, I have few meetings because
we also don’t want to do something excessively loaded and prefer to give space
in time. Anyway, today we can carry the experience of what is being done
in Italy and see what you are doing.

Experiences of what the masters are doing in the different parishes...

KIKO:

I bless the Lord who has been ten years a teacher in a school and
there is a lot of contact with the children (There are a number of mistakes, of topics, that seem
apparently positive and, however, in my opinion and the experience we have
on the way, they are negative.
Let's start by talking about the Eucharist of the children who have already made the
First communion. In this sense, you must have very clear ideas because you, as
Teachers sometimes have to struggle with certain emotional attitudes of parents; in this sense
You must have authority. You are a master of children, and it is supposed that if the community,
The Lord has given you a mission, you have a charisma and in this sense, you must be respected. If
Do you have any problems with the parents? For that, you have the catechists who can clarify.
things. Because whenever there are parents who are a little neurotic or have an attitude
sentimental, they cannot bear that the child suffers anything and make many mistakes.
About the Eucharist, I will tell you one thing, the conclusions we have
arrival. We have to start from the basis that until now the issue of children throughout the
the world, especially in Italy and Spain, are doing very well. With respect to youth in
everyone is the noise that children make, we can say that we have a great
success, from one to a hundred, almost eighty percent of success rather than failure in all
aspects. Which means that the Lord is blessing us in this area.
We consider about the Eucharist: First The Eucharist should not be
fun for the child, because the Eucharist is a very serious thing and serious things
never are fun and that does not have something of suffering, that does not surpass something of
sacrifice. School is a serious matter and it takes hard work, it is not about having fun
always.
The masses they hold for children with guitar and all the noise of things,

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they talk about them and talk to them about everything, and everyone gets along very well, it is
anti-pedagogical in our opinion. We are not judging, there is no remedy anymore that can do
in this situation that exists at this moment throughout Europe, what would they not bring or
the parents wouldn't go and then, as a lesser evil, better a Eucharist than nothing,
no?
Therefore, these masses that are held in the parishes have some things
positive, first that through the children come the parents, etc. But it is not ideal for us.
E isto a Igreja também sabe; temos falado com o Monsenhor BUGNINI que foi o
creator of the whole ritual for the children and told us exactly: The mass is not for the
children, neither for the young, nor for the maidservants, nor for the old, the Mass is the
"little people of God". But in the face of an urgent situation, there is no remedy that can help.
this.
Of course, this has come with reasons, and it is assumed that it is for people who do not have faith, or
that has very little faith, people who are very secularized.
But this is not the situation. I say this because the children of the Path
Neocatechumenal preparing for first communion with the parish (we do not
we make a separate preparation) there is a mass for the First Communion children
Communion and how our people participated in this mass, with which we are not in
agreement. Because our children do not live the situation of other children who go to the
catechesis, absolutely, is completely different. It would be to pass them from one thing
what is worth a hundred to something that is worth like twenty.
A mass for children we do not believe is an education for the child,
because you will stop being it and then, as an adult, you won't go to Mass anymore because you already eat
As an adult, this Mass does not interest you. So, without getting into judging because there is no more
medicine that does, given the situation of the parishes, as I said before and the situation of
secularization, we believe that the most positive thing is for children to participate in our
Eucharists.
I remember when we were little we used to go to the sung Mass and we were two.
an hour and a half standing in the presbytery, and I don't have a bad impression of those Masses, that
todos nós vivemos. E nem sequer estávamos sentados; não abríamos a boca, nem
we sang, we didn't participate, or anything. And I don't believe that this has been for me
no negative thing.
Second: We do not agree that parents, without any exception,
Allow the children not to come to the Eucharist. They must absolutely come to the
Eucharist. Because, besides that, we have discovered many things. We have discovered that the
a child tells you that they get very bored, that it is very long, and since they are very intelligent,
it turns out that it wasn't exactly that (I'm mainly talking about Italy) but that they have already looked at each other
TV program and knows what time a movie airs. And they give you any excuse.
but the thing is they stay at home and when the parents leave they watch television and
they watch the movies they cannot see. Imagine that in Italy there are one hundred television channels.
and sometimes even puts on pornographic films. There are three channels that are on every night.
retransmitting movies, one after the other, and all kinds, which is a very
grave.
The Americans conducted a study on the problem of children spending so much time
hours in front of the television, and they are trying a campaign for parents to stay
for a while watching with the children because they are creating a series for them
psychological problems. Another problem with television is the amount of violence that the
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children receive; psychologists draw the parents' attention not to let the
children watching violent movies alone, if not then try to watch with them and then
try to talk to them about the scenes of violence to take away their connections that they
it can stay. There are tremendous movies with a large amount that always leave something in the
children, do as adults do. A child always imitates, man is an animal.
mimetic, we always imitate, so the child thinks that when an adult does this, they have
his reasons, and this will justify him when the child becomes an adult, he may commit violence
because this makes them men, etc.
So, returning to the Eucharist, there are some things that are basic for us. We
we have been angry with many parents who, because the child was bored, did not
I took her to the Eucharist because the child needs to understand the importance of it.
Eucharist, because the father has to establish a hierarchy of values in the house: God is the
first and it shouldn't be joked with. If the child sees that the father and mother united are serious
in this sense (and it is anti-pedagogical for the mother to give in in this sense) never ever
they already know they have to go to the Eucharist, and they go to the Eucharist. If someone allows
that they do not come to be causing harm to your children, according to what the Lord inspires us.
It is absurd that parents go to the Eucharist Saturday after Saturday and the child stays in
I sell television all the time, and then I go to a children's Mass on Sunday.
without your parents, etc. The child has to discover, first that the Eucharist for the parents is
fundamental, and for him as well, as long as he has use of reason it is very important since
faith is lived familiarly. That faith is not lived at the level of a child, nor of a teenager,
so there would also have to be Eucharist for young people, for married couples, and for seniors. This is
what is being sown unconsciously, and this is not the case.
That's why there was a reaction against the children's Masses at the Conference.
Episcopal of Italy, because it did not agree; because the bias in pastoral care has
always been detrimental and negative. The youth ministry, the women's ministry of
Service, the pastoral of workers, has always been to create classes. In France, they are back.
completely of all this pastoral. The specialized Catholic Action that operates in
the parish margin was fatal, it has emptied the parishes in France, because it has been leaving
people from the Church and there is no way to return to the parishes.
So, I put this as an axiom so to speak, that the most important thing is
those who come to the Eucharist, the rest is of lesser importance; that is, their participation,
have fun, etc, this is no longer very important. Man, it's okay not to have them there.
as guardians all the time, but come on, the important thing is that they watch, that they are there.
Once they make their first communion and attend the Eucharist, there is
several things to say. Give space for them to participate normally like us,
when the children already come to the Eucharist and there is a considerable number of them,
let's ensure that the Eucharist is agile. For him, the responsible person or someone has to
to take care of speeding up the Eucharist, it shouldn't be something excessively
heavy. Children typically disconnect when they begin experiences of
adults, because some speak a language they do not understand; they do not understand
because they talk about things that the others understand (we have known for 15 years)
but the child does not understand and so it is hard to listen, to follow him. Listen better.
the first, but by the third echo it is hard to hear.
The ideal is for children to spontaneously stand up and share their experience.
whatever you want, like an adult. They see that they talked about two, three, four experiences and the
children are quiet, it is good that the master asks them: let's see, what did he tell you

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Word? The children must know that they will be asked.
Regarding what you just said the presbyter should ask, we have a lot of experience.
in Italy. Result of this experience: Globally negative. Because there are cures that you know
do well, and another fatal. And they give an excuse before starting that adults
they started to protest because they speak in a child's voice and interrogate the child,
And the child here is embarrassed. Totally, we have had to suppress in Italy. I speak more about the
Italy because there we have masses of children; in every Eucharist we have 40, 50.
children, even if for another circumstance, is that in Italy the First Communion is made
at ten or eleven years old; they delay significantly which is a serious issue for our children.
And this obliges us to introduce children to the Eucharist at the age of 8 and even 7 years old, although
they have not made their First Communion. It also has its inconveniences because the
children who made their First Communion complain about sitting with the older ones
small; but the best is the enemy of the good, one has to accept it and nothing more. What are we going to
Trying is that the children have made their First Communion if they can invite them to
let them prepare with the older ones, with this they are no longer considered children - one by
team. When you form the team to prepare the Eucharist, you choose a child and the
place in a team as one more adult, (who go without their parents, if possible that
let them out what they seek; that you have to see) and give him a warning to
to do.
So you have to inform the parents and tell them what the catechists told them.
that cannot concede absolutely. Furthermore, we are saving along the way the
children of a monster called television. We are helping them.
The children prepare among themselves the Eucharist only on the day of the welcome at the
community, as an exceptional thing, but then they no longer do it like one anymore,
because the Eucharist is more important than children; if it incorporates their preparation
with a group. The only problem is if the child is small and aligns accordingly.
with the parents to bring him or take him.
-(someone comments on the problem of children who do their First Communion very late.
Communion

The Eucharist and children who do not make their First Communion.
This is what we are going to talk about now because it is also important that the
children we should not have separated you from the Eucharist for so long. The ideal age for the
First Communion is when the use of reason occurs, at 7 years old; at this age they know.
behave perfectly, moreover they are more receptive than ever, they behave
better than ever. Then there's a harder part when you are 11 or 12 years old. But this
it implies that the number of children at the Eucharists doubles. Now in Italy it is done
it is always like this and the children are happy. We say they can come as long as they
behave well, as long as a child is quiet and does not get up from their chair,
because it is completely forbidden to disturb. If a child cannot stay quiet, if
Tell the father: the person in charge told me that your child cannot come to the Eucharist, because not
there can be a whole assembly pending on a child who runs around and distracts everyone.
Someone comments that it may not be good for children to attend the Eucharist beforehand.
of making the First Communion because it could take away their motivation).
A nós também nos pareceu isto a princípio, depois temos visto que não, que já é
very strong for them not to be able to commune. And since it puts them in a separate part

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those who have already made their First Communion.
(In light of the problem of parents who return very late from Mass with the children
small...)
At the monthly gathering, the person in charge says: Gentlemen, we cannot celebrate the
Eucharist so late, we agree and let it be done earlier. It is necessary to progress this.
meaning; everything in life degenerates there and a direction is missed. If you let go
that a community each day is delaying the celebration more and more, in the end it starts to
midnight. It is necessary to raise it in social interaction as one of the problems of the community.
In parishes, where more than one community celebrates in the same room, it is lacking.
look for the community that has the least children. There are communities that suit them better.
celebrate the Eucharist either at 6:30 PM or at 9:00 PM, and there are others that prefer it at 6:00 PM.
One must spend an afternoon to get the community leaders in agreement and
make the schedule. There are communities that celebrate at 6 in the evening, they finish their
8:30 and then they will have dinner with the children. Others prefer to put the children to sleep and
start the Eucharist at 9:00, this with the children, while the adults arrive at
Eucharist put the children in a room and rehearse with them the song, the refrain that
they have to sing.
If the master is also a psalmist, he sits with the children by his side;
I usually put the children close to the singers so they can feel the guitar and sing.
If I can ever not be by the children's side, I put another teacher with them;
but the children should not be alone. And above all, the teacher must know them
because there are always two who are friends and spend the entire Eucharist talking,
because they have to sit them separately so that they don't spend the whole time talking. What is it
It's normal that it costs them something, but it's wonderful that they are with their parents, it's splendid.
that then they dance with their parents, it is wonderful that they are at the party. What is found is
impressive, our Eucharists are truly a wonder for the children, it is
logo for them is very, very important. And it's a shame that some parents don't want to.
bring the children, this is a deformity and it is necessary in this sense to carry out a campaign
so that they bring their children. This cannot be compromised at all.
The children who should make their First Communion as soon as possible if there is no
hindrances. We have to prepare the Communion, the post-communion and the preparation to
Confirmation in the parishes, and we normally take the mediation pastoral.
Result: they wanted our children who made their First Communion to continue
After communion. Since the parish has mass for children, they wanted the
ours would also be the Masses. But this is well done for the parish, it is a service.
What is the parish doing knowing that very little is useful, because the parents do not
they have faith; everything that is done there is very little, because what they receive is very important
logo in the family. This is good for children who do not have their parents in the community,
but our children have a wonderful post-communion, which is the community, the
Eucharist of the community.
(In response to a master's question about how children arrive tired at
Eucharist of the community after having received the catechesis from the parish of
preparation for communion, the solution is to conduct the catechesis for preparation for
communion on a day other than Saturday.
We move on to another problem, which is the interactions only with the children.
cohabitations were fundamentally born from two reasons: one, because they cost a
little the children speak in the Eucharist; and also to help the parents, especially

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when children are already over the age of 10. We have seen that it requires
figure of the master as an alternative and complementary figure to the father. Alternative
while the child begins to have a bit of rivalry with the father at 11 or 12
years, and it is very good that instead of seeking this alternative figure to the father in a master,
better than an atheist or another person, who seeks a master of the community that makes themselves
your friend; an adult with whom you can be a little honest. And we have seen that this is
very positive.
For him, we have brought you to these gatherings where we divided you into
groups, we hold a vote. Not because we put them to exams either, not they
deal with it. The ideal is to have three gatherings per year: one at the beginning of the course,
another for the preparation of Christmas and another after the Easter Vigil to ask them
how the Vigil was, or at the end of the course; three gatherings. In this gathering, it is about
praying the Lauds at home, what problems come, if they are happy. They have to
also ask about the Eucharist, but without them thinking that they can
to judge the Eucharist...
One must interact with all the children along the path in the parish that
they made their First Communion; then gather all the teachers from the parish and prepare them
with faith. You can also give the option to the older children who have already done the
First Communion, of communities that have not yet taken the step of Prayer.
A question that I invite you to bring up in this gathering is in relation to the
dangers of the school, that is, I warned them that they are in an environment that is not Christian; it has
that protects them from the little friends who will do at school. It would be very good then.
fazer uma convivência com eles de cara ao apostolado na escola, dar uma missão às
children, look at this with them. How can one bring Jesus Christ to school, in your
group of friends? Children can respond with amazing things; one might
happen, for example, by becoming friends with the most marginalized person in school. And how
Can we do it? For the best thing is to invite to go to Lauds with you, to your house, and that
I will stay to eat with you. Invite the children who, for example, have families.
disunited, destroyed, we can give them a substitute for the family with their own
family, we do it in Italy and it has been truly wonderful.
It is different if the child makes a friend with a child who already has a mission.
become friends from a position of dependency, because you like the way of being that
child, what is a very bossy child and so on and I said to him: you are a fool, these are
fascists and you are a fascist... Children when they are eleven years old start to be
sensitive. And you know that in the family, the child establishes a cosmogony, that is, establishes a
the father represents God, the mother represents the nature that gives life, that
nourishes, means the natural order, and the brothers represent the social environment. Even though
the child is not aware this is the scheme. When this scheme is altered the
A child will later have many conflicts to face regarding their situation in the world.
in society. Because the father was not home, because the mother I don't know what, because the
it would be better not to have siblings, etc.
Then the school where he has to put into practice what he learned in the family goes
make the first attempts to put it into practice. And some children receive some
very big traumas when they realize that at school no one even pays attention to them;
at home he was the king and at school they slap him, take away his snack or give him a
nickname. And the child starts to look badly at their parents because they realize that they do not
They were raised well. In other words, the child receives a social baptism at school; they see what the

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the country they gave you doesn't work because they rejected you at school, because they laugh at him, etc. So
he, unconsciously, rejects his father and his mother. There are many children who do not
We support that your mother is protective because the protective mother does not intuitively treat you.
teaching to fight, because they feel different from other children and think: Why me
I am not like the others? And this questions him very much.
Therefore, the fact that they have many siblings is already a social education.
primordial, we were four lions at home, as we had already graduated from high school and
When we learned that they had taken a brother, there we went, the four of us. Already
we had had a first social school at home.
So we wanted them to experience school as a field of Christian action.
When they feel rejected by the school, they sell themselves to friends to be accepted and
immediately here all Christian education has ended. This is the first step. Then
the university also comes in this first state of the college is mixed with society
and the family; at university, they venture out at their own risk, and often reject the
family of the plan, they reject it because it does not serve them and moreover they want to assert themselves
they against the family. We can see that it is very important that the first nucleus, which is
the school, they live with friends from the community, because they will greatly mark them
these children.
I would also mark you. If you realize that the family is not serving you to
socially living, a different family. From here appears sociologically what is
call the bands, the groups. You will see that the children who lack a father or a mother or the
that is, they are part of these bands, and in these bands, there are very sociological systems
strong; there is a leader, there is obedience, there is companionship, there is solidarity.
They try in some way to create, fictitiously or naturally, a second family.
a school to learn to live. This is reproduced everywhere; in prisons, in
reformatories, etc. always reproduces, a pressure group is formed. Well, you have
understood the thing.
We see that instead of being made in school or on the street, they are manufactured in this second place.
social family, we will help you to form. How? With friends we already have,
because it is very different if the child joins an atheist group, in a group of children of
Marxists. It is very important to give them 'the means'. Our psychology teacher taught us
He said that the true master is not so much the one who teaches things as the one who places the child.
in a more suitable environment for him, where the child can develop all the
possible possibilities. The better-formed child we will place in an environment tomorrow.
communist, and this child will be a communist; the twelve-year-old child does not have the capacity
sociological nor psychological to fight against the entire social environment. It cannot be an anti
social, and you cannot take refuge from society in your family because your father and your
mothers will die one day.
Children are not consciously aware of these things; it is written in our
nature. The parents already know; all their lives parents have taken care of the little friends, and
They want to take their children to a Catholic school, right? You all know that it has a lot of
the importance of the environment in which your child is.
I am giving you some guidelines, I don't mean to say that it is always exactly
So, you understand, right? So, knowing all this that it's not possible to achieve 100% because
he will also have his friends at school, but yes, he has a group of friends who are from
community, we have already helped you very much.
And above all, one more thing. The coexistence. Why is it important? Because the child

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tem o perigo de pensar que as Laudes que reza em sua casa, isto é uma exceção;
It is necessary to know that other children pray the Lauds, and how they react to the Lauds.
And to listen to this other child that his father is an authoritarian who does not let him move.
that it is not only your father who is authoritarian in this sense. It is always good to know this.
that we are in a people.
Soon the preparation for Easter comes. So, after Easter you have
what to think of a coexistence where children share their Easter experiences;
ask them how the Lauds are at home. And I would tell you to give them a
guidance in living and apostolate at school. How could I make the school more
Christian? What could we do at school? Because a lot can be done in class,
very much; much more than teachers influence peers.
I, in Fine Arts, learned more from my peers than from the professors.
companions; I attended a course where there were magnificent painters and I learned a lot
deles. A mim, o que mais me formou como artista foi o meio, minha classe da
I was in a class where today almost all are famous painters; if
if I were in a class with a low level, I would be another person as an artist.
I want to say that it influences a class a lot, it also influences us a lot.
children. We can give our children a mission. To a child who is already 12 or 13
We can send you to school with a mission like this.
I have said for a long time that they should get all the parish masters together and make
coexistence with all the children of the communities. With other children from
parishes that are not in the communities are not good, because the same children
they reject, they are not in the group, there are sociological laws. If we want to make a
service to the parish we can one day have a meeting with the children of the parish. How
an exceptional thing. And it already had to prepare itself completely differently this
coexistence of a coexistence of the path that is of revision, of critique to help them.
Through these gatherings, what do we intend? Well, we intend one thing
Very simple. The child needs a teacher, needs to see the distinct figure of the father.
Why? Because the child may one day say to the teacher: I don't get along with my
father, because my father such... and the master can tell him: don't worry, I will talk to your
Father... In other words, the teacher has to be a friend of the child, has to make himself a friend of the
children. That when the child has a crisis, know that they can talk to the master of
community; a bit in this sense.
Later, another thing is the monthly gathering of adults. We have seen that
We used to let 40 children roam free all day long. We have already started another one.
thing, and let the Lauds come with us: after the Psalms and the short reading is made
a prayer and an Our Father, receive the blessing and the master usually gives them a
the theme talks to them about something, is with them, and then a random reading is done or
a word that the master has already prepared. Then in the afternoon the children are
playing, they have to be collected that one should not end a relationship sweating like
It can be, but a final prayer must be made. This final meeting can be done by
another community brother, so that the master can also participate in the coexistence.
A plan can be made with the children. From 11 to 1 is Lauds. From 1 to 2:30
football match at 2:30, food afterwards. After the food, free time and then there will be a
meet with them and for half an hour you will give them a catechesis. Another free time of
two hours, organizing games and you will have another meeting to pray the vespers.
And they made me responsible for 40 children in a gathering, good because I have

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to organize the day with these children in a way that I have to have most of the
time with games, and I seek another that helps me, and at intervals we stop and give it to you
a word. The person in charge of the community, when starting the Lauds, has to name a
brother who takes the second part of the day with the children. The teacher takes the part of the
Lauds, as catecheses with the children (while the older ones finish their Lauds) and
in the afternoon, after eating, another brother takes care of them. This one who takes care of
Later there may be a rotation; you will see.
-The masters intervene and share their experience of how they live doing with the
children in the communities. The little ones are usually with the babysitters who take them
in the coexistences; the problem is with the older children who are the ones that need
attention from the community master.
Children are very important; you cannot leave them like crazy horses that
Break everything. This issue is presented in the community if a brother is sacrificed.
to be in charge of giving them a word, and playing with them and praying with them.
Every day I think that a brother could take charge.
One thing that is not educational is leaving children home alone all day.
Secondly, we have a monthly gathering to review our faith; let us use this
a gathering for our children who have already made their First Communion to meet again
also your faith: they do the Lauds with us (The first part) and then the master takes them.
The little ones go with the nanny, and the older ones who made their First Communion stay
They gather in a room and the master asks each one about their experience. Didn't they all speak?
They continue after eating, and when they finish, a game called 'the handkerchief' is organized for them.
so be it; there are many games to play with the children. Then, when they are already
tired and so on, gather them: children let's pray. And they obey. And it is corrected to what is
act foolish; besides, they will love you very much if you correct what is foolish.
Gather them at the end, if you do a random reading, they tell you a word from this reading, and
invite everyone to pray, at the end we pray the Our Father, we give Peace, you ask for a blessing
to the Lord for them and we have finished. A brilliant coexistence. And they are all wishing
man.
The important thing is to make the community aware that everything we do for
passing the faith to the children is essential, and that we will receive it a hundredfold. And everything that is
abandoning children because they tire us, because they annoy us, etc., we will soon pay for it,
This will be paid later. Children cannot be left alone.
-(Some master suggests that the evening prayer be said by the elders,
on the Eve with the community).
You can also do it this way, but it is better that they say a prayer.
alone, because they come in a bad way, they keep playing... it can be done in two ways.
They like to pray, to participate; give them a suitable word for them afterward.
to open the Gospel at random and have each of them pray. And knowing that this prayer
what they will do is very important: that they ask for their family, that they ask for the
sick people, who ask for Spain, who ask for there to be no wars, who ask
by the classmates. And soon, moreover, we have to focus on these children as the
I said in this mission in front of the school.
In the morning, the teacher can give them a word, choosing a theme from the Old Testament.
Will and ask them: what did this word tell you? For this you are a master, my
Brother, to think about what can help the children. Anything you read from Scripture,

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then ask them: What does it mean to you? Then leave, gather everyone, talk
with the children. For example, the other day I was asking the catechism about Lazarus:
What does it mean to go out with your feet tied? And the children tell you a thousand things.
So let's see: Lauds with the elders, make Psalms, a brief word and
they receive the blessing of the presbyter, or if there is no presbyter, the person in charge of the
community. If they go to a room with the master to continue with the Laudes, and then play
until mealtime. At this moment when they were with the master, they proclaim to them
a reading of the Gospel, gives them a catechesis updating this Gospel in life
the children, and make their prayers. Not a very long thing.
Now let's see how we organize the afternoon, which is the most difficult. There are several
possibilities. One: how adults coexist, which is to give each one their
faith experience, for me it would be better to gather the children and each one gives their
faith experience (these are suggestions, we are building together, under the action of
Holy Spirit, that is why I ask you); above all, it would be a matter of doing this with the
children older than those who have already made their First Communion. This you will see.
A brother who has given his experience in the morning has the mission of
take care of children in the afternoon and organize games. In communities where there is a lack
because there are only small children and the nanny is already taking care of them, so nothing, it doesn't matter that
you did this.
Finally, it is missed that a brother takes care of collecting them at the end of the afternoon.
and say a prayer with them, after giving them a random reading from the Gospel. Or
be it, a reading of the Gospel, a word, a song, spontaneous prayers, the Father
Ours, the embrace of Peace and to ask for the blessing: 'May the Lord bless us, keep us from'
"all evil and lead us to eternal life." That there are only three children there are none.
problem, they are incorporated into the community prayer at the end of the afternoon; all of this depends on the
circumstances of each community.
In any case, if the master starts giving some catechesis in the gatherings to the
children and they will become interested, their figure starts to become important in
community; if not, the master does nothing in the community. In other words, it is important to
the figure of the master, even if it is a small sacrifice for him. What is missing is to see that
having the vocation of a teacher, it's sorely missed to find one who truly has this love for
children and be able to sacrifice for them, being with them and giving them a
word of faith.
We must consider the master's mission, that is, whether the master is important or not.
important. If the master is only important for Easter or for a gathering,
So nothing passes. But we believe that the master must be a person who has
authority with children, who respect him, who knows how to be serious when it is necessary
seriously. And furthermore, take this very seriously; one must prepare beforehand for the
living together is a word and giving love to children.
What you should never think is: poor thing how he suffers, poor thing if
I hate it! No. Is it good for the child? Well, go ahead, man.
But it's not good to have them playing and acting foolish for seven hours every Sunday.
In any case, we are not here giving written rules; we are reflecting on the
what you have done and what can be done. Soon each community has its own
reality.
The important thing is: Lauds, a catechesis with the master, game and final prayer.

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Organize it as you wish.
When the time comes, take a trip with them, a gathering in
I spend the whole day telling you how your spiritual life is going, if you pray, what kind of relationship you have.
with God, asking each one of them how their faith life is going, what intimacy they have with
Jesus Christ, let us have a gathering.
We in Italy have, besides everything else, another type of meeting throughout the year, and it is that
Sometimes we take them to the movies. For example, if there is a movie that might appeal to them.
serve, let's take advantage. Expensive, it cannot be movies with naked people or where there is
violence, etc., that would be absurd. It is important to choose the movie because they will fixate
a lot, because children are very intelligent. You should take them to a movie of
content.
For example, when the movie 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was released, we went
Carmem, Mário and I with 25 children at the cinema, a Sunday afternoon.
They behaved wonderfully (I told them that if they didn't behave well, I wouldn't...
would take more), and then a widow prepared chocolate with churros for them in her house,
we had a good snack, we finished eating, I grabbed the Bible and the first thing I did
I asked them: What did you think of the movie? Listen, they said wonderful things,
they found an amazing content, that one cannot instrumentalize God in politics,
that everyone wanted the ark to go to war, and that God cannot be instrumentalized
to kill people. After that, I read about the ark in the scripture. We agreed to
Well, we made spontaneous prayers and moved on to the phenomenon. Then the parents came.
look for them in that house, and they are asking all the time for us to come back again. In other words,
that you can do very well on a Sunday afternoon. Besides that,
they always give something to the children.
The only problem is that there are no movies. But now we have something very good,
What are the videos. There are many good movies released on video: 'The Ten Commandments',
"The life of Saint Francis of Assisi"; "Joan of Arc", "Jesus" by Zeffirelli, if they can be given
for a video in the parish, a "Cine Club" is created in a word with the
children. After the movie screening, it asks them. I don't like to do it that way.
massive because in the mass one always loses the individuality of man; it is better to be a
small group in your own parish.
Even before showing the film, you should explain to them what the film is about; then you can proceed.
ask and give them the content. Soon, let the sisters of the community prepare for you a
snack, a feast; you do a reading, spontaneous prayers. What do you think? It is needed.
vocation. You need a color television and a video: if the parish priest cannot give it to you.
buy a piece from a brother, or go to the house of one of them. The important thing is that if the master
they give them catechesis during the gatherings, as they have these meetings every 15 days, etc.
the teacher will have an enormous importance in the lives of these children.
Another initiative is to take them to the Zoo on a Sunday; the content is
important. I, for example, when I was a teacher in a school, took the children to
Zoo, I held outdoor painting contests with them. Another time I made them do one.
album with distinct sheets; we went to the country house and made some albums
precious with leaves, sorting them. Then I would give them prizes. We did everything for
team, with its team leaders; I made them work like donkeys, and
very satisfied. And in the competitions, he gave them money from his tips; we bought
some gift with all the money we earned, I also put in a little of
my money, and with that we would make a prize, with a judge and everything. And it was stunning.

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Because the last thing you do with children is to bore them, always surprising them.
they would come to the class and meet with someone who would play them a Beatles record, or of
Beethoven, a sonata, and he would say to them: write what the music suggests to you. But the
the most important thing is that they never knew what I was going to do to them in class. The other day we talked
From God, I put a pot in the middle and asked them to see, what did he mean by this gesture?
Whoever tells me wins a 10. And there was always one ready, that God created this flower,
a child said. That beauty is worth more than I don’t know what... Here were all.
very interested. Restless with surprise; surprise is art. If they can do very
important. For example, one Sunday take them to the zoo and make them reflect
about how God invented the animals how wonderful how God made the camel made the
giraffe. Ask them questions that reflect they are not distracted and such.
Stay friends with the children. For example, a community has a video,
ask for a collection (or with your money, whatever has the vocation to do so, from your own)
money) go get a movie with religious content prepare a snack for them... But
always with the same scheme: you have to lead the life of the illumination of Jesus Christ,
to enlighten their reality. Whether it's a movie, whether it's a zoo, whether you take them to see a
painting may one day invite you to your house to listen to music; God invented the
music and listening to music is a wonderful thing. The children a little older
invites them to certain readings, for example Dostoevsky, Gorky, etc. There are very
important for a young person's culture when they are 15, such as music and a
certain literature; Russian literature is laden with religious teachings.
Why are these found to be subsidiary? Because they give you authority. If you them
takes them home, or takes them to the zoo, or to a movie or to grab a snack, they start to get you
to want, have authority, see that you give them content. So, in the Eucharist you are not a
nanny that they put there to say: child be quiet. You have a content, they want you,
I have a friendship with you, etc.
Once a year you can put on a presentation with them. I'll tell you already.
What is most important is to form a small group of friends; it shapes them a lot.
The First Communion is usually done at the parish or at school. Afterwards
we enter the community. Another problem in Italy is that they do
First Communion at 11 years old, a child at 11 years old is almost a woman. And the
those who have children suffer because there are children up to this age without the Eucharist; this we
it seems outrageous.
Well, after everything we talked about, the most serious problem we have is a
only: Do you have the vocation? This is the problem. You realize that you can do it,
No? That's important. But a call for this is missing because the master 'is born.'
one does not do; the master is like an artist. He can improve by studying psychology and all that.
but not just anyone will do. I have very good masters; I remember that I listened to the
first time the Beethoven's Ninth at the house of a teacher who invited us
groups, invited us for snacks even if a group of ten. The teacher must have
a creativity, an inventiveness.
I ask you if you have the vocation, this calling, because it is a line we have.
what to start opening. Let's keep trying. To one that truly weighs on you, that you do not feel
this wish, as Kiko would say, I believe that what I discovered in this is very important.
meeting; I think it would be good for my community to choose someone else who could
to do this, better a woman, or a man who knows how to do this, who knows how to give
content and carry out this mission with the children.

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 Some of you cannot do it because you don't have time, or because you have another
charisma, another mission. So, for the sake of your children and the children of your
The community must awaken a true master to arise in the community.
Regarding the preparation of children for their First Communion, I would tell you
instead of being three years, or two years, one year of preparation would be enough. To know
other things, to see other children in preparation. And what is important is that by
less the scheme of the Catechism of Pius X that existed before, this one has to be known. Not the
classic questions, but the prayers, the Beatitudes, the Articles of Faith, the Father
Our, the Hail Mary, the Creed, the Salve Regina, the Ten Commandments... this has to
knowing. With these catecheses that we are giving, the child never memorizes anything, and
it is also not good; memorizing also helps. Because in Spain it is always pendular
thing; before everything was like this, now everything is like this; neither before was it good nor is it good now. There is

a balance that we have to find little by little.

So, if the pastor agrees and sees that your child is prepared (the pastor
you have to see if you are ready) you can do just one year of preparation in the parish, if this
do not create problems in the parish. At the end take this catechism, teach the things
fundamental for children... in all ways it has to be seen on a case-by-case basis. Our
the trend is for children to make their First Communion as soon as possible. If in the future the
Sir tells us that, given the situation of the parishes, the path itself has to be taken.
a scheme for the First Communion that can also serve for those outside, such as
for example we are doing with the bride and groom... you have an itinerary for preparation here
marriage, very important, which we hope to propose to the Vicarages for everyone
grooms from Madrid.
(A master suggests the idea of camping)

KIKO:

It seems very complicated and difficult to me; you have to be very careful.
I remind you that in these camps with young people many problems always arise,
homosexuality or others, especially if they have mixed camps. It is already an age
difficult, we have to be aware. We in Italy, for example, when we went for a reason
During the Jubilee, 1,500 young people in Rome, we did not mix them; they all stayed in hotels.
young people, and it was amazing. They are 17 and 18 years old. Because the demon
existe e vemos o perigo. É sempre difícil, não é fácil.
We have to know how to choose at this moment: among the thousands of things that
we could do, let it be known that what we have to do urgently and safely, and not
wasting time on other things. Where it is needed, one must go, because if one does not do it, it will be done.
give us. In any case, it has to be seen as an idea, we have to see what will be more positive, the
what will be more negative, how it would be done; you will elaborate well and then we will see. Of all
This has many conflicts.
The logo has other problems: the neocatechumenal path is now very united, it is done
An experience in this sense, everyone will want to do it, it is not an isolated thing.
because we are walking with one spirit, with one voice. It is the greatest strength that
we have at this moment.

KIKO: Let's make a prayer.

Neocatechumenal Center February 3, 1985

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