Mass is the family of God kneeling together at the foot of the cross.
Small children are engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to distract us during Mass. They wave at me during the opening procession. They sing the Agnus Dei with extreme enthusiasm and drown out the nearby adults, the babies loudly cheer during the homily. I love it. At Epiphany Parish in south St. Louis, the pews are overflowing with kids. These pint-size Catholics happily wiggle and pray right along with parishioners of all ages. I don’t truly believe they’re conspiring against us, but it’s true that keeping children participating with the adults can be a challenge.
It’s rare, but occasionally someone will question having children with us during Mass, wondering if it wouldn’t be better to leave them at a children’s church and retrieve them after Mass is over (a far different idea than giving children their own Liturgy of the Word). If I had space, I’d talk about how important family is, how turning Mass into a professional worship experience or a lecture from a priest is a mistake and how developing patience with children is good for us.
Mass is the family of God kneeling together at the foot of the cross. We look at Jesus together and make space in our hearts for Him. We make ourselves a gift of love to Him. It’s as if we’re peering over the ledge of a mysterious and deep well. We cannot see the bottom and we struggle to explain it’s source, but as we drink it nourishes us nonetheless. The Mass comes to us like a ladder lowered from heaven or a gate ripped through the fabric of the universe. We do not make it. It makes us. If we have the attitude of small children, a sense of wonder and excitement, we might participate better.
Little kids belong at Mass, and so do the rest of us.
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