The Good Shepherd and the Child: A Joyful Journey, Revised and Updated

In the introduction to the first edition, Sofia Cavalletti acknowledges that in addition to offering rich insights on who the child is spiritual—including the child before 3 years of age–, in Part II the book seeks to answer the question: “But how do I do it (the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) with children?”  This second edition is a fuller answer to the above question, and it reflects the growth and transformation of the catechesis and, thus, seeks to “correct” some previous practices (such as the matter of no longer narrating a Scripture text before doing the solemn reading of the text directly from the Bible). Joyful Journey was first conceived in response to a specific request from Bishop Marcel Gervais who had been very moved by The Religious Potential of the Child but wanted another rendering of the catechesis which would be even more accessible to parents and educators of young children. Joyful Journey is meant to be a compliment to and not a substitution for the in-depth exploration of the child’s relationship with God and how we can best foster that relationship which is offered in catechist formation courses.  Every catechist, every parent,  will want this book on his or her shelf, to read and re-read again and again.