CLOW is it okay?

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I have seen expressions of dislike for the Children’s Liturgy of the Word or CLOW and so I am wondering if there is something wrong with it. We have it every month or so at our parish. The deacon leads the kids to another room for that part of the mass. It is a newer thing at our parish, but so is having lots of deacons. Is it against the rules to have it? Why is it disliked?
 
I don’t know if it is allowed or not but I find it extremely disrupting. Mass just about starts and the next you know, the kids are tramping up and down the aisles as we “send” them. No wonder they think they can wander all over the church during Mass.

At our parish we have the CLOW(N) disruption, the offertory disruption and the “Kiss of Peace” disruption. Instead of ushers collecting the offering, the people process up with their envelopes.

Sorry I got a little off-topic.
 
CLOW would be acceptable during a Childrens Mass. This is a Mass specifically scheduled for the children of the parish it should NOT be one of the regular Sunday or Saturday vigil Masses.
 
It is at the regular main Sunday mass. The mass goes on, but the children leave. We in the church get the normal readings and the normal homily. They tell parents in advance which Sunday will have it, and some parents go off with their children when the deacon leads them out.

Should I be addressing a question to the deacon about it, or to the priest?
 
I detest CLOW(N) Masses. In a lot of parishes, they take kids up to age 13 out of Mass before the Gospel and bring them back after the homily. In the meantime, they are given the Gospel and a watered down “homily” by some layperson.

I never sent my kids out of Mass. We sat in the cry room exactly one time, and the other kids in there were so disruptive, we got nothing out of the Mass.

Howver, I think once a kid makes his/her First Holy Communion, they should never be removed from a Mass for such a trivial “gathering,”
 
Detroit Sue:
Howver, I think once a kid makes his/her First Holy Communion, they should never be removed from a Mass for such a trivial “gathering,”
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Absolutely!

The reason a child has his/her First Holy Communion at the age of 7 is because that is the age “The Church” considers to be the age of reason. By 7 they should have a pretty good handle on their catechism. If they do not they should not receive First Holy Communion.

Children are not stupid or uncontrolable, not only should they be taught the catechism, they should also be taught love and reverence for our Lord in the Divine Sacrifice. Mass is not play time, sleep time, do what you want time … It is God’s Time!

“Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Children will love God larger than any adult, they believe, they love, and are ready to show great respect … but they have to be TAUGHT how!
 
Detroit Sue, thanks for the document! I understand why a parent would keep their kids in mass. I probably would too. When we have it, not all the kids at mass go out.

Mary, I really hadn’t considered the distracting part. I should have thought of that, though. When I need to go to the school mass on a Holy Day, I am glad to have the kids participate and do the readings, etc., but I generally wish I were at a different mass.
 
Detroit Sue:
I detest CLOW(N) Masses. In a lot of parishes, they take kids up to age 13 out of Mass before the Gospel and bring them back after the homily. In the meantime, they are given the Gospel and a watered down “homily” by some layperson.

I never sent my kids out of Mass. We sat in the cry room exactly one time, and the other kids in there were so disruptive, we got nothing out of the Mass.

Howver, I think once a kid makes his/her First Holy Communion, they should never be removed from a Mass for such a trivial “gathering,”
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The rule would still apply. That a Deacon or Priest must give the childrens homily, a lay person would not be allowed to.
 
In our parish we have a children’s mass once a month where the homily is geared towards the children. The children are invited to sit at the edge of the sanctuary, not on it, but at the edge. They are not seperated from the rest of the church. Is this okay?
 
Br. Rich SFO:
The rule would still apply. That a Deacon or Priest must give the childrens homily, a lay person would not be allowed to.
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You would be surprised about what goes on. I have never known any parish that removes their deacon or has a priest present this. At my husband’s assigned parish, they use their “DRE,” who is a part time, non-certified, youth minister/CCD teacher.

As for kids sitting at the edge of the Sanctuary, that’s really pushing the envelope.

I’m glad my home parish doesn’t participate in this wackiness.
 
In my parish, parent or teen volunteers take out the children.
This has been a regular Sunday “thing,” but I rarely attend the Mass at which the CLOW is offered.
The leaders generally have a binder with some lesson plans or something in it.
Sometimes the children come back to their pews afterward carrying pages they’ve colored, etc.
I’ve never permitted my children to leave the pew and be preached a revised Gospel for children.
I, too, find the CLOW disruptive.
I’ve been told by one of the “leaders” that there is some sort of dispensation from them having to be present at Mass to hear the Gospel and homily, since they are preaching it to the children in simpler terms, that suffices for their Sunday obligation.
Holy blurring of roles, Batman! 😉

Pax Christi. <><
 
I would like to pose a different perspective.

I remember sitting at Mass with my Mom, looking around at the other people and pretending to pay attention. My mind wandered and of course there was no way she could tell. I didn’t really understand anything that was going on and if there was any humor in the homily it was so over my head that I still didn’t learn anything. I don’t remember one single homily or lesson gained at Mass when I was a child. Mom would explain things after Mass, but by then it was in one ear out the other!

Now, when I see the children taken out of Mass, I reminds me of a statue I used to have of Jesus welcoming the children. I wish that I’d had that kind of instruction on a regular basis when I was a child.

The CLOW makes children feel noticed, important, and most importantly, IMHO, it makes them pay attention more so than they would at Mass!

Children are not small adults and should not be treated as such. Yes, a child needs to learn how to behave at Mass, but it is far more important that they also take the lessons to heart. The two things can go hand in hand. I have not found our Church’s introduction to the Children’s Liturgy to be disruptive.

My church calls the children up to meet Father, where he asks them how they’re doing : “EXCELLENT!” is the appropriate response. He then says a blessing and we sing them up the aisle.

I think that had I understood the readings as a child I would have grown much more quickly in my faith.

My criticism of the Catholic Church as a whole is that I think sometimes we get so caught up in red tape that we forget about the people these rules affect the most. I tend towards the legalistic but every Sunday I get a reminder that a little flexibility can go a long ways.
 
I don’t disagree that children are not little adults. Childrens Mass is something that is helpful for children learning the Mass.

My point is that it should be used as a specific catechetical tool. It should be scheduled at a special time set aside for a childrens Mass. The children should also learn to sit through a regular Mass and learn to associate what they learn in the childrens Liturgy to what they see and hear in the regular liturgy. A childrens liturgy is not supposed to take the place of a regular parish Mass. By childrens liturgy I do not mean only the liturgy of the word but also the childrens liturgy of the Eucharist which includes a special Eucharistic prayer to help them learn the meaning.

The whole childrens liturgy should take place in the main church, they should not be take out and brought back, the whole liturgy should happen in one location.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
I don’t disagree that children are not little adults. Childrens Mass is something that is helpful for children learning the Mass.

My point is that it should be used as a specific catechetical tool. It should be scheduled at a special time set aside for a childrens Mass. The children should also learn to sit through a regular Mass and learn to associate what they learn in the childrens Liturgy to what they see and hear in the regular liturgy. A childrens liturgy is not supposed to take the place of a regular parish Mass. By childrens liturgy I do not mean only the liturgy of the word but also the childrens liturgy of the Eucharist which includes a special Eucharistic prayer to help them learn the meaning.

The whole childrens liturgy should take place in the main church, they should not be take out and brought back, the whole liturgy should happen in one location.
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Exactly!
 
I think I went to one children’s Mass in my whole life and that is when I was visiting my cousin in another parish. I can remember playing around when I was very little but after I started school that stopped. I guess I was lucky and the nuns taught us so well that I understood the Mass.

So, we see the underlying problem: how to catechize our children in 1 hour a week. CLOW seems to be an attempt to enhance that hour. However, I still find it very disrupting.
 
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JCPhoenix:
The CLOW makes children feel noticed, important, and most importantly, IMHO, it makes them pay attention more so than they would at Mass!

…

My church calls the children up to meet Father, where he asks them how they’re doing : “EXCELLENT!” is the appropriate response.
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Children are, from infancy, ego-centric. (They are the center of the world.)
The Mass is Christo-centric. (Christ is the center of the world.)

So, rather than teaching children that they’re not the center of everyone’s universe, we adjust even the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to help them continue believing that they are.

Oh well, it’s good for their self-esteem, anyway. 😉

Pax Christi. <><
 
Panis Angelicas:
Children are, from infancy, ego-centric. (They are the center of the world.)
The Mass is Christo-centric. (Christ is the center of the world.)

So, rather than teaching children that they’re not the center of everyone’s universe, we adjust even the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to help them continue believing that they are.

Oh well, it’s good for their self-esteem, anyway. 😉

Pax Christi. <><
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I don’t disagree with what you’ve said, and of course children are ego-centric. However, the need to feel that they are a part of the community and understand that community IS important. I still feel somewhat excluded, even though I am an adult and I understand the Mass. Parish events are fun and of course people are inclusive, but as everything is geared towards married couples, I as a single, have difficulty relating at times. I can’t relate on that level at all. I equate the Children’s LIturgy with a similar thing. It isn’t about ego-centrism, but about being a member of the community, being recognized as a member of the community together worshipping Christ.

I havent’ had my coffee yet this morning so I’m having difficulty expressing what I mean here. Of course the focus of the Mass is Christ/ the Eucharist (and in my church all children are expected to be present for all the Eucharistic prayers…no “watering down.”)

I guess my point is that (I believe) the children worship more cohesively with the adult portion of the parish when they have better understanding, so instead of fidgeting through the readings and having wandering attention, they are learning how to be part of a community first in a small group, then in the larger. No matter what, it IS all about Christ.

I have to admit, sometimes the Mass is quieter after the children leave, and I consider this to be a major blessing! 😃

Now, I don’t have children so maybe I don’t really have a right to an opinnion in some peoples’ eyes, but I am basing my opinion on my own experiences as a child. And my own feelings of seperation as a single, which is being discussed (other singles) in another thread so has no place here. I just want you to understand where I am coming from in order to judge the validity (or not) of my opinion.

:blessyou:
 
Probably the biggest issue people take with CLOW is that it takes kids who start out rambunctious and sometimes keys them up to the point that the rest of the Mass the parents have a hard time with them. If it makes us feel better, my experience is that Catholic churches to a better job of this than many mainline Protestant churches! I’ve been a guest at a few churches over the years where the kids literally stormed the sanctuary/worship area! But unfortunately, I have rarely seen CLOW-like activities done well.
 
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