Grade 2 Students Enjoy a Pilgrimage before First Communion
Mrs. Karen Heatherly’s second grade class had a special day on April 21. It was a sunny and pleasant Tuesday. After daily Mass, students did not return to the classroom; instead, they made a pilgrimage to the Mother Teresa Museum located on the Ave Maria University campus! They covered the half mile course on foot, bringing along their lunches and water bottles to enjoy a picnic after the visit.
This special field trip is tied to the students’ preparation for their upcoming First Communion on May 2. “Before our field trip, we talked about the amazing life of Mother Teresa and the children were encouraged to ask for her intercession as they prepare to receive Jesus for the first time in just 11 days,” said Mrs. Heatherly.
The group stopped at the museum’s entrance to trade their lunches for clipboards outfitted with a magnifying glass, pencil, and scavenger hunt list. The excitement was palpable as they quietly and reverently stepped inside. At the front desk, they met their tour guide, Ms. Bella Ray, who offered them a jar filled with coiled paper: “take a message from Saint Teresa to you!” One of the messages read: “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” Next, their guide explained that Mother Teresa took her name after St. Therese of Liseux, her patron saint. As the children moved through the exhibit, they collected facts for their scavenger hunt, such as Mother Teresa’s place of birth (Skopje, Macedonia).
When they discovered that she received her First Communion at just five-and-a-half years old, a loud gasp echoed through the room. Ms. Ray continued the tour, introducing the children to other details of Mother Teresa’s life – she discerned her vocation at 12, and when she became a nun at 18, she never saw her family again. Though Mother Teresa began her consecrated life with the Sisters of Loretto, she left when she was 36 years old to found the Missionaries of Charity.
At this point, the children bunched together to take a peek at the replica of Mother Teresa’s private cell. Next, they viewed some first class relics such as her hair, the cross from her personal Rosary, and a piece of her well-worn sari. A life-sized statue of Mother Teresa can also be seen in this room. Her diminutive size caught the eye of many students. While one wondered out loud if the statue was “real bronze,” another offered, “I never knew she was only five feet tall! You can really do little things out of great love, just like St. Therese!”
The tour culminated with a short movie. For Lucia Watson, this was the best part of the trip. “The movie… It was so sad, but it was also an encouragement to go out and help people!” On their way out, the children said in chorus “thank you, Bella!” as each took a miraculous medal as a keepsake.
Outside, they said the Blessing of the Meal prayer and enjoyed a wonderful lunch break together. Mrs. Heatherly shared that students are in for another treat. They will soon being their First Communion Novena, where they will plant a garden of flowers, by way of specific offerings and sacrifices, to further prepare themselves to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Alleluia!
