Take Your Kids to Mass
“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God ”
The most fitting image for this post. This was my little guy on Easter Sunday sitting outside with me, listening to mass on the speaker because he was being rowdy and the cry room was full. Honestly, we rarely go to the cry room these days BUT that’s because practice makes perfect! ;) The more he goes, the more he understands!
“No praise is too great to bestow on those mothers who lead their children to the church as soon as they know how to walk, and who, showing them the door of the Tabernacle, awaken their faith in the mystery of the Eucharist. ”
Nearly 8 years ago I was sitting in my living room with our church deacon at our home interviewing us. Never in my life did I imagine having a priest or a deacon at my home; but here we were new parents trying to get our baby baptized and because I was too honest in our paperwork they came to do a home check.
They couldn’t understand why we chose baptism if we weren't attending mass regularly.
You would think this shame of trying to weasel out every reason why we didn’t attend regularly would have forced me to go to church more often back then. But the truth is that it didn’t. We used the common excuses of having a baby and being afraid of germs; having littles and feeling embarrassed by their loudness; not “getting something” out of it; husband working turnarounds, etc… We used all of the excuses for years before our mindset and our hearts changed for the better.
But God…He is so good. It wasn’t an immediate change in us to start attending regularly, but He has chiseled away at all of the superficial, selfish reasons that kept us from going to mass weekly.
We now attend weekly, praise God, and I have no problem handling four children there. Now don’t get me wrong it isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. I’m not ashamed of a crying or a loud baby anymore and find the sound of small children in church beautiful. I have come to realize that the shame is even bigger if I decide to stay away from the church and use my children as an excuse as to why I don’t attend. By becoming “regulars” God has showed us so many more plans for our life than we ever imagined! And He has brought us into beautiful communities, friendships, moments and He has deepened our faith.
Children are the future of the church! A church without the sounds of little feet and baby cries may not have a solid future.
In all honesty, noisy children were not the only reason to stay away from mass on Sundays. Sometimes my husband worked and I didn’t want to go alone. Often times sleeping in on a Sunday morning just sounded better and or it sounded like too much work to get us all ready. And finally the famous excuse that I hear so often, “I don’t care for the priest and/or don’t get anything out of it.'“ I now look back and realize how wrong we had it all.
Jesus sacrificed His whole life for us and yet so often we find reasons to avoid that one hour a week that is commanded of us but we can find time for social media, Netflix and margarita nights.
He wants one hour. He wants one hour on the weekend with us and so often we are shying away from it because life gets in the way. We are shying away from it because children can be loud and messy. I know this friends because I have been here and had these same feelings and excuses. I have left mass completely frustrated and overwhelmed. I have left mass feeling like I had no clue what the homily was even about. I have left mass feeling like it would be months before I’d try it again.
When you have these feelings of discouragement just remember that it isn’t about you.
Mass isn’t about us or what we get out of it. A successful mass doesn’t mean that we walk out knowing every word of that day’s gospel or being able to recite the homily; it’s not about having a rock star priest. We didn’t show up for ourselves or even our children, we showed up for HIM. We showed up for Him because it’s what He asks for and it’s what He wants. And I don’t know about you, but I’m a daddy’s girl and I don’t want to upset my father. We have to remove the mindset that mass is for us and move it to remembering that mass is about Him. If your church isn’t working for you, try another parish and visit another beautiful mass in the area. It’s fine to move to where you are spiritually fed, as long as you are being fed!
And remember that it is okay if our children are noisy and our baby cries. What they get from their trip to mass is irreplaceable.
Children see their parents trying their hardest to show up for Jesus, even in hard circumstances. They see Jesus there on the crucifix; a safety net for their life for years to come. They hear prayers over and over every week that they can eventually recite easily. They know hymns and they sing the Gloria. In the midst of their noise, their chaos and your frustration, they are receiving Jesus in a greater capacity than we can imagine. Their life as a Christian is beginning right there! The years of littles are short, but the life of a Christian is forever. And as parents it is our duty, our vocation and our calling to bring our children up in a home that honors the Lord!
So we have to tear down the wall of excuses, get over the shame of rowdy children and put on our best. It’s what we are called to do friends and if you just let it, it can be life changing.
Just as Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me!”
“Do not fear to grow familiar with Jesus Christ, and to acquire the habit of receiving Him frequently in the Sacrament of His love. ”
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