VBS....Nuns taught about St. Maria Goretti

[guiltyofdoubt]

Thank you all for your thoughts on the issue.

I am not sure they related the “rape” part of the story. My daughter simply said there was this “bad boy named Alessandro, and he stabbed this girl 14 times”, and then she kept talking about the “stabbed 14 times part”. I don’t think that’s any less graphic than the TV news, and we keep her from watching that.

She was also very upset that Maria’s father died from a mosquito bite (that transmitted malaria), but what can you do about that? I mean, she has a phobia of any flying insect, and though I’ve told her we don’t have mosquitoes here that carry the type of disease that killed her father, she obsessed about it for a few days. We have a lot of mosquitoes here in the summer, and she darn near screams every time she sees one. Its hard to even get her to go outside to play. We use bug repellant, though I don’t really like using those chemicals on her, and other things to try and get her more comfortable with being around flying bugs, because they’re truly everywhere. Just a challenge I have to deal with.

Anyway, VBS ended yesterday, and all else went well, and she did love the Sisters who taught the week. They were younger, and very nice. I was simply didn’t expect a story like the St. Maria Goretti story to be taught to her during the VBS.

To give you an idea, she is also very concerned about Jesus on the crucifix. It can be a scary image for a young child. She is always asking how much it hurt, and why people did that to Him. It gets explained of course, in CCD, at home, at Mass, and at VBS, but I think its still a hard thing for a 6 year old mind to really understand.

 

[_Gemma]

To give you an idea, she is also very concerned about Jesus on the crucifix. It can be a scary image for a young child. She is always asking how much it hurt, and why people did that to Him. It gets explained of course, in CCD, at home, at Mass, and at VBS, but I think its still a hard thing for a 6 year old mind to really understand.

As a child, I found the crucifix upsetting because I loved Jesus but you know what made me really happy? The resserrection.
I would suggest focusing on the resserrection - it may help. She is very sensitive though by the sounds of it.
A good illustrated children’s Bible helped me a lot and it made me love Jesus at a young age. Seeing the picture of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene after the horror on the former page of seeing him dead brought me great joy.

 

[Joan92]

OP, nice that this forum exists to share your surprise at the choices of lives of the saint that were discussed at your local VBS. I really like that people use this as a sounding board to check perspectives, etc. Sounds like everyone agrees that your sweet child is particularly tender hearted and this dialogue put the issue to rest as far as your VBS.

May I just share a few ideas with those that thought the good Sisters needed to be informed in writing that they upset/offended a six year old and her mother: St Maria Goretti’s feast day was just a few days ago (maybe why she was included on the curriculum) she is the patron of youth (among other causes) and she was murdered as a child of 11 years. So certainly one of the youngest to ever be canonized, right? It makes complete sense to me that she’d be included because wouldn’t a child relate to an 11 year old more than a 30 year old or 50 year old saint? Heroic virtue at that age is startling. If St Maria Goretti herself offered up that suffering, forgave her attacker and we can’t stand to tell her story to children now, how does that glorify Our Lord? I’ve read her story one hundred times in all different catholic books for children and have never read anything more gruesome than Our Lord’s passion.

I’m stunned anyone would have entertained complaining to the nuns. Are we trying to squeeze the last remaining life blood out of Catholicism in the US?

If the issue is a sweet 6 year old girl is emotional and anxious about a description of a martyr’s death, her mother should console her. Her mother knows her sensibilities best, her mother can reassure her and pray with her. Sounds like that happened beautifully. If a sweet 6 year old girl is emotional and anxious about the description of a martyrs death, you don’t chastise the nuns.

OP, you’re a really good mom for sending your children to VBS!

God bless.