My First Book of Offering
Here at Monastic Creations Co. we created a children’s illustrated “My First Book of Offering” to help our Maronite Children engage more fully in the Divine Liturgy. While our thick and bulky Divine Liturgy books are difficult for children to hold – and often pages get ripped when children try to hold them – we now have a small and easy book to handle that is also filled with beautiful illustrations for every part of the Divine Liturgy.
There are 64 pages in the book. The left page contains the format and fixed prayers of the Maronite Divine Liturgy, while the right page contains illustrations. Most illustrations have two parts – the bottom image represents what is taking place in the Church at that moment and the top image represents a spiritual meaning for the particular part of the Divine Liturgy. Unless a child is sitting in the front pews of Church, all they mostly see during the Divine Liturgy are the backs of the people in front of them. With this book, the child can engage with the image to help them understand what is currently happening.
For the children who are just learning to read, the format in “My First Book of Offering” hopes to help them see more clearly the parts of the Congregation and learn their appropriate prayers and responses. For the specific prayers of the priest, “My First Book of Offering” refers back to the Book of Offering for the specific celebration and Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer) used in the Divine Liturgy. The book is also designed to mirror the red Book of Offering used in the Divine Liturgy so when a child is ready to move on to the larger book, their eyes will easily adjust.
One concern with the illustrations may be — what if I don’t know what the spiritual illustration is trying to tell me? The majority of the pictures are from Sacred Scripture, and within each illustration is either the Bible verse or a description of the image, i.e. Come Holy Spirit. Hopefully as you explore the scripture verses they help connect more deeply with the words of the Divine Liturgy and with our Lord.
“My First Book of Offering” is available at discount rates when purchased in bulk. Our hope is to have the books available in the Maronite Churches for the children to engage more fully in the Divine Liturgy.
Wow Tresa! What an accomplishment.
Kudos to all involved in this project..
Sorry it is not specific for the Roman Liturgy, but i would love to purchase a copy. I am sure there may be sections or pages that could be helpful.
rachele Again KUDOS!!!