Catholic Childhood Memories - BORRRING!

[freerf]

Hum. I actually have some rather fond memories of mass. Now, mind, other than being baptized catholic, I’m not catholic, the foster family I lived with was, so we pretty much went to their church by default.
I thought the special masses were the most amazing of all, whatwith the children’s choir, the organ music, etc.
When I was young, the church actually said some of the mass in Latin. Why they stopped, I really don’t know. I still can recall some of the Latin responses. That’s burned in my head…
I used to watch with a…hum…what am I looking for…facination? the women who would always light candles and pray. I always wondered who they were praying for…

I loved to look at all the paintings and statues and wonder. I’d look at all the stations of the cross…that’s what you’d call it, yes? and imagine just how much Jesus must have suffered …and for us. And then I’d wonder…why?

Yeah. My little imagination would run wild in church. I was bored sometimes, but isn’t
every kid? ;0)
oh…just wanted to add…mind, I was pretty much a brat at times, too. Don’t get me wrong. I’d get in all kinds of trouble b/c I was talking, kicking the pew in front of me, falling asleep…pfft.

Did you ever get the “why” answered?

 

[freerf]

Hey thank you all so much. I hope people keep posting these memories. They are precious and helpful.

Annabelle – thanks. Very nice.
Irish Girl – I assume this love translated into a love of Christ?
CatholicZ – Thanks!
Crash001- I’m thinking of RICA, but meanwhile I do a lot of independent study. I’m glad to know that yes it did draw you to Christ.
Ljubim – net memories. We also like to take the kids to breakfast every Sunday as a sort of reward. They do have a fondness for some of the priests too. What’s TLM?
PatriceA – No memories to share? Just hard feelings?
Joan – Awesome. You stated, “But I came from a culture where nobody worried much about whether the kids were bored or not and I think we were the better for it.” This is where I’m leaning, frankly. I think a little boredom and self-discipline (to sit still) might be good for them.
Vjero – very nice testimony. Good to hear about your retreats. I’ll have to remember that.
Vera – I’m starting to think mass is like vegetables too. Funny!
Sam – yes, it’s hard for a catholic church to “compete” with the protestant churches. But, as you point out, it’s not merely about fun is it?
Taben – thanks for the tips!
Cristiano – ouch!
Puzzleanne – funny. Sounds like many kids play mass. . . might sell the idea to MiltonBradley. Mass the boardgame. Lol.
Mayita – you confirm my gut feeling. Thanks.
Easter Joy – “be careful to teach that boring is not an objective fact. A poor listener will be easily bored…” I love this. Much wisdom here. “stuffy” was not literal, just another term for boring, I guess. I was kinda trying to write it from the kids perspective. “sit in the front” I’ve read this several times now. “ask him while he listens to let God talk to him” you have a lot of good suggestions here thanks! Any personal memories?
Stanncie – Yes! Beautiful!
Momof8-sounds like you had a good experience at your catholic school? I’d like to know about that some more if you have the time…
LilyM – “life isn’t always beer and skittles” lol! you were probably the best mom ever! Just kidding. I know what you mean. I don’t know if I’ve explained enough why I love the mass. I do tell the kids that it’s our time to spend with God.

I do have some catholic memories as a child actually, now that I think about it! My Grandparents were Catholic. I remember going to the monestary they attended. I loved the simple church building, the wooden benches, the ringing of the bell, and the devotion to God. I loved the smells. The monks were also amazing. One saw me reading an Issac Asimov book one day and sat down with me to talk about it as it used to be one of his favorite books. My jaw dropped to the floor! These monks would go around all day praying and attending their gardens and stuff. i was so impressed.

Hey, thanks again.

 

[EasterJoy]

Easter Joy – “be careful to teach that boring is not an objective fact. A poor listener will be easily bored…” I love this. Much wisdom here. “stuffy” was not literal, just another term for boring, I guess. I was kinda trying to write it from the kids perspective. “sit in the front” I’ve read this several times now. “ask him while he listens to let God talk to him” you have a lot of good suggestions here thanks! Any personal memories?

’

I remember sitting next to my aunt in the choir loft when she played the organ when I was six or so. That was very cool. My dad being one of the guys who lit the Easter fire. Also very cool. Actually, all of Triduum was very cool, although it was admittedly much shorter than now. I remember sitting in the very front for Midnight Mass and just about passing out on all of the incense. Fond memory, in retrospect. I remember getting in trouble for sticking my leg out in the aisle with my friend in a different pew, so we could compare our new tights (probably around Christmas or Easter time), also when I was about six. The memory what happened at home after church is not fond! Mostly, though, I liked Mass. I cannot say my mind never wandered–we went every day except Saturday until I went to high school-- but I wasn’t bored.

But our priest said Mass in about 40 minutes, at the most. His homiles were very short, and always had a clear take-home message. No time to get bored with him! Everyone was very reverent during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, plus there were bells, so that wasn’t boring. After that, I’ve only rarely been in a parish with a homilist that went a long time and didn’t have something to say to make it worth it. That is a penance, even now. It takes some real concentration not to get bored…but having prepared with the readings helps a lot. You almost have a homily going in your heart before the priest ever gets started. It is always interesting to see if he matches a bit or goes off on a different tangent.

With our kids, I try to help them stay with whatever is happening. Otherwise, it is like trying to make them watch TV tuned to a channel in a language they don’t understand. It is extremely hard to pay attention or get anything out of it. It’s also important to be very encouraging about what they do catch on to. Again, it’s like picking up a foreign language. Teacher and pupil both need patience…and it helps if the teacher has a lot of enthusiasm and love for the subject, too.

Good luck. Four can be a tough age, because kids are usually like collies: they need something to do in order to stay out of trouble. The truth is, though, when it comes to the mysteries, they almost get it better, becaues they don’t over think things yet. They can experience it without the analyzer clicking in. It is a matter of keeping them cued to what they can be doing.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I don’t understand how, and why. But those childhood experiences bonded me to the Church in a great way.

For our family, the mass is a bonding experience where we hug and hold the kids and kiss them on the head. it’s a family experience with jesus at the center.

I think you answered my question, Freerf. Indeed I can also say the same thing, that for my family, this was a family experience, essentially a very special and very happy time, with Jesus at the center, whenever we went to church. And the whole Sunday morning was special, and festive. It was really different than weekdays. We never missed Mass on a Sunday. Getting ready for Sunday Mass always felt different than getting ready, say, for school on a weekday. And we put on festive clothes, every Sunday was a feast day and a celebration, with the big feasts (Christmas, Easter) standing out even more. I guess kids really catch on to the atmosphere, the mood, the feelings of the grownups, and these Sunday family trips to Mass were such a festive time for everybody, grownups and kids alike, with the grownups setting the tone of the event, and the kids empathically sensing it and fully participating in it on an emotional level, even if intellectual participation was quite limited.

On Sundays, we always sat in the choir, where the organ was located, and had a great view, no matter how crowded the church got downstairs in the main area. I never served as an altar boy, but my nephew did throughout his childhood, and he really liked it.

And here are some views from the choir, through a child’s eyes. The main altar was situated in a smaller nave or recess, than the main volume of the church interior. Above the entrance to this nave, two angels were hovering in the space, holding a great banner with the inscription “GLORY TO GOD!”. The way these angels were painted, they were kind of hanging up there in the space, almost as high as the ceiling, and you couldn’t help but worry a bit whether they were safe up there, whether they were not going to somehow fall down. Then, there were other interesting paintings on the ceiling, too - and from the choir, you were in a great position to observe all those pictures and study them in detail. Some of these fantastic animals really caught my attention. I think there were four of them, one resembling a lion, and another one looking like a bull, or an oxen. So, I asked, who or what were they, and I was told that they were heavenly creatures, as described in the Book of Revelations, I think. Attending church was interesting, to say the least, and I could always study those pictures on the ceiling, when I got bored during Mass!

 

[Crash001]

I posted earlier in this thread, but it’s important to note…as an adult, I get bored at protestant services. Interesting.

 

[StJudePray4Me]

I think I was bored at Mass as a very young one (like, 4-5) but I still liked parts of it – the singing especially. I liked sitting between Mommy & Daddy, I liked getting dressed up, I liked going to the Pancake house afterwards, I guess I just liked the family together time.

As I got older, it was easier to appreciate. In the teen years, they lost me a bit, although there was one priest at t a neighboring parish who was known to say a 35-minute Mass at the Saturday vigil, it was about 80% teenagers in the pews! After we would go to the movies, or to the Ground Round for burgers.

I went to Catholic school my whole life, so a lot of my memories about the Mass and faith are mixed up in school as well as Sunday mornings. We also used NECCO wafers to play Mass!

Anyway, my 10 year old is an altar server, she has been since she made her First Communion, she says Mass is a lot more interesting when you are up close, and have a job to do. My 7 year old is very good at Mass, I’m sure he doesn’t “get” the homilies, but I know he’s listening and taking it all in, as he participates in most of the prayers and hymns. He’s recently become a proficient reader and enjoys paging through the hymnal, looking for things to read! He also walks around the house singing the “Alleluia” as he plays.

 

[KathyA]

I know you asked for Cradle Catholic responses, but I couldn’t resist sharing what my childhood experience of Mass was. I grew up “unchurched”, but had a wonderful Catholic babysitter, who was a model of faith and humility…named Mary! Her bedroom was blue and had a holy water font in it. I thought that was so cool! I remember going with her a few times to clean the church and I was really drawn in by the warmth I felt there. The statues of Mary, Joseph, Sts. Peter & Paul and the Crucifix all made me feel oddly “at home”. It seemed very safe to me. I went with her to Mass once or twice and thought it was fascinating. I can’t say I understood anything or really remember much about it specifically…I just remember thinking that it was a wonderful, positive experience.

Mary also taught me to make the Sign of the Cross (by example). I had some difficult family issues as I was growing up and I frequently fell to my knees in prayer (how or why I knew to do this?). I always used the Sign of the Cross–it just seemed like the right thing to do.

I’m someone who felt drawn to God from a young age and I frequently asked my parents to take me to church, so I occasionally went to the Methodist Church or the local Christian Church. (My mom would actually drop me off and pick me up.) I never felt at home there the way I felt in the Catholic Church.

I converted at 20 and have continued to experience God’s presence in amazing ways through the Catholic faith. My appreciation and understanding of Mass have evolved over the years, but I am convinced that those early seeds of faith planted by God through my babysitter are what kept me going as a teen and young adult.

Don’t worry about your children being bored. They may surprise you!

Kathy

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I only got a bit twitchy if Christmas was on a Saturday or Monday cos we still went to Mass on Sunday so we had two days in a row!

I hear ya! I remember those two-days-in-a-row deals, myself. Same thing with New Year, because that’s also a holy day of obligation. Actually in my parish, we had a year-end thanksgiving service on Dec 31, around 5 or 6 pm. As far as I remember, it wasn’t a full Mass, but rather a meeting with our priest, in the church. This was not a compulsory thing, but my parents always attended, and thus my sister and I didn’t have a choice not to attend, because they would take us with them anyway. But during those year-end thanksgiving services, I would get the consolation of our parish priest, who was a very analytical-methodical guy, reading us such statistics as “We had 59 deaths and only 40 baptisms this year in our parish, and sadly the number of parishioners lost this year exceeded those gained by almost twenty!”, and in other years, “We had 35 weddings, 28 deaths, and 55 baptisms this year. I’m very happy to report that our parish is growing!” Now, when you are 5 or 6 years old, you will really enjoy those numbers, and test your skills of comparing the numbers, and calculate the difference between deaths and baptisms by subtracting the numbers in your head (not on paper), thus you will stay busy and you will be one happy fellow! Then, we would go home, enjoy New Year’s Eve, and next morning… get up and go to church, for the 10 a.m. Mass!

 

[freerf]

I posted earlier in this thread, but it’s important to note…as an adult, I get bored at protestant services. Interesting.

Me too!

 

[ljubim]

Ljubim – net memories. We also like to take the kids to breakfast every Sunday as a sort of reward. They do have a fondness for some of the priests too. What’s TLM?

It’s a traditional Latin Mass, basically how Mass was everywhere before Vatican II wrote the New Mass we use today. A lot of people will say that the Mass itself and the congregation are more reverent, and there’s a lot more external signs that help children understand something important is going on - such as the more beautiful altar, the sacred music, the way the priest faces the Tabernacle and how the Eucharist is treated. They say that the going to the Traditional Mass is like attending a theology class, and it can really touch a lot of young children, as well as adults! Here’s one of many directories: web2.airmail.net/carlsch/MaterDei/churches.htm If they’re too far you can wait until you go to vacation in a big city.

I do have some catholic memories as a child actually, now that I think about it! My Grandparents were Catholic. I remember going to the monestary they attended. I loved the simple church building, the wooden benches, the ringing of the bell, and the devotion to God. I loved the smells. The monks were also amazing. One saw me reading an Issac Asimov book one day and sat down with me to talk about it as it used to be one of his favorite books. My jaw dropped to the floor! These monks would go around all day praying and attending their gardens and stuff. i was so impressed.

How cool I love hearing stories about when kids realize that religious are real people too!!

 

[laneo]

My memories are kind of dull. Still to this day when I attend mass its like a being in a mortuary. There were a few God times, I heard this older lady pass gas when getting up to go to confession before mass started, my fiancée and I cracked up. I also remember when I was a child my nose bled really bad and I got it all over the floor during mass. Another good time was when I had this blackjack video game my Dad bought me. I brought it to church and I thought I had the sound off, and then I turned it on and it was so loud, that sucked. One time, I was at church and my mom smelt something really bad and this younger woman turned around and kind of scolded us. Last, but certainly not least. There was a “small person” sitting in front of us, I stood up on the kneeler and I looked at my sister and I said “Man you are short”. Well the small person looked at me and didn’t realize I was speaking to my sister. That was very embarrassing.

 

[ContegoFides]

Would any “Cradle Catholics” like to share how their experience of the Mass as a child affected them in the long run?

I’m a protestant married to a catholic. i really, really enjoy mass and may one day convert. i think it’s very good for my wife and I. HOWEVER, I am concerned about the kids. I worry that i am depriving them by forcing them to attend a boring ol’ Catholic Church.

But did it deprive you? Sitting in that stuffy church as a child, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Mass to end. . . but wait, did it actually do you some good? Did it help shape you and prepare you for the challenges of teen and adult years? Did it draw you to Christ? Did it help create good family ties?

Or, is it merely like my four year old son says: BORRRING.

Joseph L Varga shared this with me today and it really heightened my spirits:

“I’m a cradle Catholic, wanting to share some of my memories, experience with children, and how the Mass will affect them on the long term. I think the Mass is hard on small children. One hour to stay still seems interminably long, and a small child will not understand much of a homily designed to educate adult people. When I was this age (4) and even several years later, I would fall asleep whenever we attended evening masses with my mom and/or aunt, during the months of May and October (in the parish of my childhood, we have a great devotion to Holy Mary, with a tradition to attend daily masses when possible during those two months, in her honor). Thus, I would usually end up sleeping in my mom’s or aunt’s arms, during those evening masses. And yet, 30-40 years later, today, these are my fondest memories. Getting up on Sunday mornings not to be late at Mass, sitting through the sermons that I usually didn’t understand too much of, and attending those evening Masses in the months of May and October. I don’t understand how, and why. But those childhood experiences bonded me to the Church in a great way”

Joseph!

I have a very young child. I impress upon her that we are going before God Himself in the form of the Blessed Sacrament. I take her for short (5 minute) prayers in the chapel before or after mass.

Even a young child can understand what the mass is all about. That helps.

 

[Gearoidin]

I was bored at Mass till I was in my mid-teens and actually had a better understanding of what was going on. This was especially true if there was not much singing. I loved to sing and knew the words of most of the hymns by the time I was 5 or 6. However, I liked special Masses such as the Easter Vigil, mid-night Mass at Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day. I also loved the whole of Holy Week. I also enjoyed class/school Masses. Once a year, we had Mass celebrated in our classroom and it was a wonderful learning experience.
I think part of the reason I was bored was I couldn’t see what was happening. My family never sat up the front but more towards the middle of the church. There always seemed to be a very tall person in front of me and I could see nothing. When I went with my grandmother we sat at the front, lit candles before Mass and went to the ice cream shop afterwards and it was a much more enjoyable experience.
Gearoidin

 

[phoenixrrt62]

Did you ever get the “why” answered?

No.
That’s why I am here.
;0)

 

[Corki]

I am a cradle Catholic and have very fond memories of going to Mass as a child. I think I was encouraged to read in order to follow along in the Missal. I remember having a purse just for Mass that held my Missal, my veil and IIRC a rosary. That was before my 1st Communion. I remember feeling so “grown-up” to follow along with the prayers and the songs. As I got a little older, there were activities just for the kids such as processions and children’s choir.

When I reached teen years, it was still not boring per se. My sister and I were allowed to sit with our friends at Mass instead of with our parents and little brothers so it was a social (community) as well as religious activity.

As I am now in middle-age, I often reflect at how much I learned from those early years of Mass and other faith practices. Maybe it was osmosis.

 

[freerf]

No.
That’s why I am here.
;0)

Well, i have to say that the more i learn of and lean on Christ, the more depth that question has.

I think, from a Christian perspective, that question is better asked “why did he do that for me” or “why would God need to do that for me”.

That’s the first part of the answer: recognizing that He did it for you, personally.

I believe it needs to be understood in the heart most importantly. And if that is true, than God needs to provide you the Grace to understand.

I suggest attending Mass and asking that question of God in your heart as you pray, as well as asking for the Grace to understand His answer.

God Bless.

 

[laneo]

My memories are kind of dull. Still to this day when I attend mass its like a being in a mortuary. There were a few God times, I heard this older lady pass gas when getting up to go to confession before mass started, my fiancée and I cracked up. I also remember when I was a child my nose bled really bad and I got it all over the floor during mass. Another good time was when I had this blackjack video game my Dad bought me. I brought it to church and I thought I had the sound off, and then I turned it on and it was so loud, that sucked. One time, I was at church and my mom smelt something really bad and this younger woman turned around and kind of scolded us. Last, but certainly not least. There was a “small person” sitting in front of us, I stood up on the kneeler and I looked at my sister and I said “Man you are short”. Well the small person looked at me and didn’t realize I was speaking to my sister. That was very embarrassing.

a few God times? I meant good times. hahah.