The Good Shepherd and the Child podcast

February 25, 2026 Episode 162. The Spiral Method with Rebekah Rojcewicz

“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mark 13:32

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“The religious needs and capacities of older children are no less great or essential than those of younger children. Their religious potential is no less strong; rather, it is expressed through the new capacities of their own stage of development.” - Sofia Cavalletti, The History of the Kingdom of God, Part 1, Pg. 173

Rebekah joins us on the podcast today to discuss the Spiral Method and how it applies to our work in CGS.

Rebekah Rojcewicz is a catechist and formation leader in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd having completed her training in 1981 in Rome with Dr. Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi. She has translated several of their books and articles from the original Italian and has written and edited various parts of the CGS core texts. She is also the author of Life in the Vine: The Joyful Journey Continues. Rebekah is a catechist at her parish, St. Patrick Catholic Church, and for the Missionaries of Charity atrium in Memphis, Tennessee. She serves on the formation advisory council for CGSUSA, as well as on the International Board for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Characteristic #3 - The atrium is a community in which children and adults live together a religious experience which facilitates participation in the wider community of the family, the church, and other social spheres.

The atrium is a place of prayer, in which work and study spontaneously become meditation, contemplation, and prayer.

The atrium is a place in which the only Teacher is Christ; both children and adults place themselves in a listening stance before his Word and seek to penetrate the mystery of the liturgical celebration.

“The pilgrimage of faith is not a journey in a straight line with death waiting at the end, but a kind of spiral through which progress is made only in successively deeper experiences of death and rebirth.” - Mark Searle

Books you might be interested in:

The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Year Olds

History of the Kingdom of God Part 1: Creation to Parouisa

History of the Kingdom of God Part 2: Liturgy and the Building of the Kingdom

Life in the Vine: The Joyful Journey Continues

Podcast Episodes you might be interested in:

Episode 42 – The Mystery of Time

Episode 57 – Celebrating the Life of Tina Lilig

TINA LILIG MEMORIAL FUND

During the month of February, we remember our first national director, Valentina Lillig, and we honor her legacy by encouraging generosity to the Tina Lillig Memorial Fund.

The mission of the Tina Lillig Memorial Fund is to support the growth and development of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd through catechist formation, missionary outreach, and the work of the United States Association of The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGSUSA). To these ends, the TLM Fund offers a source of financial aid (in the form of partial scholarships) to applicants who would find paying the full tuition of a course to be a hardship.

If you or your community needs scholarship or grant support for formation, please visit our website and apply [this could be a link in the show notes]. The next deadline for applications is April 30. Thank you to all the donors who have generously supported the TLM Fund and made formation courses possible for catechists across the US and the world.

BECOME A CGSUSA MEMBER

AUDIOBOOK:

Audiobook – Now Available on Audible

CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz!

The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child’s spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook.

Find out more about CGS:

Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”

Instagram- cgsusa

Twitter- @cgsusa

Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA

YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd

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