Bringing Nieces to Mass

[BostonMyrtleBea]

I am baby-sitting my nieces this weekend and plan on brining them to Mass with me. One is 9 and one is 5 and they are Episcopalian. When asking permission, my Sister-in-Law thought it would be a wonderful idea for them to go to Mass with me since they haven’t been to a Catholic Mass before and the girls know that most of our family is Catholic. I’ve been to Mass with them many, many times but this is the first time they’ll come to my church.

I need to explain to my 9 year old niece why she will need to stay in the pew and not take communion. Any thoughts on how to approach that? My Sister-in-Law says she trusts my judgement and to explain it how I feel would be best, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. My brother, who was Catholic before they got married, could probably do a better job, but since I’m bringing them, I wanted to be able to have an open conversation about it.

 

[dessert]

You could take them up front with you when you receive and ask the priest to give your nieces a blessing instead of communion.
Pray for your brother, I just got the book Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid forward by ScottHahn it is great!.
D.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

I would simply tell her that at your church there is a rule that people who receive communion should already be members of the Catholic Church and in a state of grace.

Both girls could go forward for a blessing, there’s no reason to make them stay in the pew. Maybe teach her the Act of Spiritual Communion? Perhaps you could have it written on a piece of paper for her during that time?

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

Thanks! I think that’s a good idea. I’ll bring them up for a blessing. Since I don’t have kids, I never thought of that.

I’ll look into that book, but his conversion was more about finding a common ground between his wife (originally Presbyterian) and him (originally Catholic). My mother was originally Episcopalian, so I suppose if she didn’t conver to Catholocism and my dad converted to Episcopalian from Catholocism, I’d be Episcopalian too. It went the other way around so we were brought up Catholic I don’t see my brother coming back to the Catholic Church. He was originally hoping she would consider it, but during their pre-marriage counseling, the priest was really mean and ridiculed her about her beliefs. She (and my brother) were absolutely disgusted. The last way to convert someone is by attacking them, but that’s for another thread.

I looked up the Act of Spritual Communion (I never learned it). It’s a nice little prayer that I’ll bring along.

The good thing is that I’m so glad my SIL was very supportive of the idea. I knew my brother would be fine, but I wasn’t sure about what she would think. I look forward to sharing Mass with my nieces

 

[iamscifimike]

That is a horrible experience for your brother and his wife. Have you ever asked him why he let a man chase him away from the church? (I recommend better wording) No mere man should have that power over someone’s life. When my wife married me she was very nervous about the priest making her feel welcome, her conversion hinged on it. Fortunately we had Fr. Dennis Bonsignore:thumbsup: we love him.

On the thread issue. I believe there is an appropriate posture for getting this blessing. I thought I heard that the person is to go up with their arms crossed over their chest instead of their hands folded.

I would simply tell your neice that part of recieving communion at a Catholic Church is saying that you are a Catholic. Good lead into “If you’d like to be Catholic…”

 

[Sabda]

On the thread issue. I believe there is an appropriate posture for getting this blessing. I thought I heard that the person is to go up with their arms crossed over their chest instead of their hands folded.

I would simply tell your neice that part of recieving communion at a Catholic Church is saying that you are a Catholic. Good lead into “If you’d like to be Catholic…”

Yep, in the Latin rite you across you arms over your chest. Right hand on left shoulder, left hand on right shoulder. My dd is currently preparing for her First Communion so we are very familiar with this posture having used it for several years now.

 

[cyberjacques]

You could take them up front with you when you receive and ask the priest to give your nieces a blessing instead of communion.

That’s a truly beautiful suggestion, dessert. Bless you!

 

[puzzleannie]

I am baby-sitting my nieces this weekend and plan on brining them to Mass with me. One is 9 and one is 5 and they are Episcopalian.
I need to explain to my 9 year old niece why she will need to stay in the pew and not take communion. .

is this an issue? the Episcopal congregations I know of celebrate first communion the same time as confirmation, in the teen years. you don’t have to say anything unless she asks, and then you only need to say, not everyone can receive communion, but you can close your eyes and pray quietly to Jesus, or you sing along with the hymn if you like. Do not bring her forward for a blessing unless you know it is the practice in your parish, you may confuse the EMHC

 

[Woodstock]

Do not bring her forward for a blessing unless you know it is the practice in your parish, you may confuse the EMHC

Of the parishes that do it, some only have the priest give a blessing and an EMHC may not. Be sure to know what your parish guidelines are before talking to the girls.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

I’ll find out about the blessing. I think we’ll go tonight and a bit early so that I can find out.

In their Episcopal church, they get First Communion “when the parents feel the child is ready.” I think she got her first communion at about 5 or 6. I REALLY disagreed with this as I didn’t feel she was old enough to understand, but it’s not my place.

Since my brother was Catholic, they both have Rosaries. Maybe we’ll do the Rosary together, too! That is something we can experience together

 

[Woodstock]

In their Episcopal church, they get First Communion “when the parents feel the child is ready.” I think she got her first communion at about 5 or 6. I REALLY disagreed with this as I didn’t feel she was old enough to understand, but it’s not my place.

When will *any *of us really comprehend it? Thankfully, it isn’t a necessary requirement for reception of the Eucharist but a Latin tradition. Even still, there isn’t nearly so much to try to wrap one’s mind around when it comes to Protestant communion services since they don’t have the Real Presence.

You might want to print off a page on the rosary prayers for the older one to read so she can lead some of the prayers (having a rosary and knowing how to pray it being two different things) and bring a couple extra rosaries with you so they can hold them, too.

 

[John_Hiner]

Yep, in the Latin rite you across you arms over your chest. Right hand on left shoulder, left hand on right shoulder. My dd is currently preparing for her First Communion so we are very familiar with this posture having used it for several years now.

Laudatur Iesus Christus.

Can anyone give a basis for this practice? Is it in the rubrics?

It seems disrespectful to me. There is a blessing given at the end of the Mass, as part of the Closing Rite. Why is it appropriate to mix a non-liturgical blessing with the reception of Holy Communion? Is this not an intrusion? Does it not present a danger of equating the Real Presence with a mere priestly blessing of persons outside Communion with the Church?

The prayer posture of crossing one’s hands on the chest has been one of the standard postures for receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, why is it being taken over for this purpose?

Does anyone have any idea where these “practices” originated and what approval they have received from appropriate and competent authorities in the Church?

It seems to me that this practice may have come from a friendly – and perhaps ill-conceived* – gesture of priests who began to make the sign of the cross on the heads of young children brought forward by parents receiving Communion, because the children were too young to be left un-attended in the pews. If this is the origin of the practice, then it should not be embraced and certainly not be extended to those who can remain respectfully in the pews while the faithful receive Holy Communion.

(*I say “ill-conceived” because it seems unlikely that a priest who is fully aware that he is holding the Lord God in his left hand would be likely to even think to do something else with his right hand. This “juggling” of the Blessed Sacrament with other actions bespeaks some lack of reverence.)

The potential for scandal is strong. Other children who see their school mates, who they know to be non-Catholic, going up as though to receive Communion might be led either to fear that sacrilege is being committed or to believe that “just anyone” can take Holy Communion. (This confusion does not arise with children so young that they cannot be left unattended.)

On the whole, unless there is strong evidence that this has been approved by a competent authority who has given it careful consideration, I would not recommend encouraging anyone to approach a priest who is distributing the Holy Sacrament during the Mass to ask him for any other service, even a friendly and sincere priestly blessing.

Pax Christi nobiscum.

John Hiner

 

[bpbasilphx]

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That’s the posture taken by communicants at the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

 

[BostonMyrtleBea]

Well, thank you for all of your helpful (name removed by moderator)ut. One of the ushers let me know that the girls are welcome to go up for a blessing. I just let the EM know and we did not seem to cause a scandal or anything.

Except for the little one squirming around a bit, all went well. They knew some of the songs and some of the prayers (though I forgot to remind my older niece to stop the Our Father at the word “evil”). They had their Rosaries and I had given them each a book on the Rosary. We lit some candles afterwards and called it a day.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience and my brother was glad that the girls were exposed to “the Mother Church.”