“The new Formation Itinerary developed by Missio Children for the pastoral year 2021/2022 is available to catechists, educators, Catholic Action leaders, Scout leaders, parents, priests and teachers”, writes Missio Foundation, a pastoral organisation of the Italian Bishops’ Conference dedicated to bringing the Good News to all people (mission ad gentes) ahead of Mission Month, titled “Be God’s dream”. The initiative is inspired by the theme “Witnesses and prophets” of World Missionary Day 2021 tailored to children’s needs.
“The purpose of the Itinerary is to encourage 6-14 years old children to develop the awareness that everyone can contribute to building the Kingdom of God which is His dream”, said Fr Valerio Bersano, National Secretary of Missio Children. “We tried to imagine the ways in which God’s message reaches out to contemporary men and women, so that all may engage in missionary activity. God challenges us with His Word, which is Jesus: for this reason, user-friendly commentaries are available to stimulate reflection in the family or in the parish, for young people, but also for parents and youth leaders.”
This year’s itinerary offers a wide range of contents. It consists of six fact-sheets- the first is dedicated to Missionary October and the others are connected to the respective liturgical seasons, from Advent onwards – each dealing with one aspect of “God’s dream.”
“The theme of Proclamation is explored in the month that the universal Church dedicates to mission, that of Welcoming in Advent and Christmas time, and so on, touching on significant themes that each Christian is called to live out.” Each fact sheet, comprising several sections, is preceded by a video interview entitled “Dreams in the mirror”, involving children asked to express their ideas on the proposed topic: will the children watching the video identify themselves with the thoughts of their peers? Or will they have a different opinion? This is the prompt for group or family discussions, which stems from and is inspired by the Word of God, Missio explains.
E passage from the Holy Scriptures is at the heart of each fact sheet: “In the Word: God’s dream for humanity” is the theme of the Itinerary’s spirituality chapter, addressed not only to children but also to educators.
Fr Bersano turns to the latter in short videos, encouraging them to engage with a Word dedicated to them. Children will find meditations especially written for them, along with the testimonies of missionaries who are fulfilling the Kingdom of God with their lives, transforming His dream into reality.
The section “The suitcase of dreams” offers spiritual animation materials and proposals related to the theme to guide children in their experience of reflection on the Word. Finally, “Be the dream of…” offers food for thought on new ways of life that contribute to the realisation of the Kingdom of God, such as inspiring people to rethink their relationship with objects, people and the natural environment, thereby prompting changes at a personal, family and community level.
“The 2021/2022 Itinerary was developed in conjunction with the national Missio Children team and with the contribution of various ecclesial organisations involved in educating children in the faith.”
“It is a new feature introduced this year, marking the first steps towards the synodal direction taken by the Italian Church with dioceses and Christian communities, with a view to fostering exchanges, reflection and cooperation, heeding Pope Francis’ call.”
“In the awareness that there is always a distance between what is said and what is done, and that there is a risk of leaving things as they are,” Father Bersano continues, “all of us at Missio Children have made a commitment to step up joint efforts with our friends in Catholic Action for Children, with the Scouts and with people involved in catechesis. We all wish to feel actively and passionately involved in the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News that continues to conquer each person in his or her daily life.”
Follow the link to access the 2021/2022 Annual Formation Itinerary.
* Missio editorial staff
