Interrupting the priest

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I’ve seen this! My little niece was never allowed to attend children’s liturgy but she learned how to kneel, stand, sit, and pray and etc. She loved doing what the adults were doing, even when she was too little to ‘understand’.
 
Unfortunately, an associate pastor would be a luxury my parish does not have. 😦
 
Should is the operative word – unfortunately, the average Catholic has had limited catechesis and the homily . may be one of the few places they are exposed to it.
 
And again that is a symptom of a much larger problem that is happening outside the Mass, IMHO.
 
Children being excluded from Mass has a very long history. Even some of our wonderful saints were not brought to Mass until they were MUCH older. First Communion was usually around age 12, not 7, and many were not brought to Mass until that age. Mothers often missed their children’s baptism because the babies were brought so soon after birth that moms could not attend, but then those same children didn’t return for a very long time. Parents would split up for Mass, and often only the fathers went to Mass since mothers were the ones caring for the young children. So if you look at history, families were always split up for Mass. I don’t see how the CLOW is actually splitting families. The entire family IS at Mass. They are all participating. It is a step up, not a step back. St. Therese of Liseux often cried to go to Mass but she was prevented due to her young age. She was considered a disruption. I am sure she would have loved CLOW where she could participate in a childlike manner. No parish i have ever attended had CLOW. I think it is a shame that so many parishes, priests and parishioners are opposed. I tried to get one started at a few parishes but was always shot down. I am going to try again here at this parish.
 
My Parish priest would demand that all the “young” people come up and stand in the sanctuary as we recite the Our Father 🤨
 
somecanadian said:
Again, I don’t think it’s anything happening in the Mass that’s driving people away. It’s everything happening outside of Mass. The lack of faith formation, the lack of community, the lack of teaching. These kids aren’t being taught at home,
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You’re right. This reminds me of an ongoing Thread where the OP is shocked that his wife and children have abandoned the Church due to its position on Homosexuality. He has no idea what happened or why everyone jumped ship.

Well, it’s because none of them, including the OP, really understands the Faith.
 
somecanadian said:
Again, I don’t think it’s anything happening in the Mass that’s driving people away. It’s everything happening outside of Mass. The lack of faith formation, the lack of community, the lack of teaching.
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It’s not always so easy to fix, though. My parish always has several Bible studies going and opportunities for men’s and women’s groups. But not nearly as many people take advantage of it as you would like to see.

I think the sense of community is key. People are unlikely to show up for things—even things they might otherwise want to do—if they don’t know anyone else that is going to be there.

But then there are others who just don’t think they need any further education or formation in the faith. Or maybe they do, but they just don’t prioritize it because they are busy with other things.
 
It’s certainly a complicated problem, that isn’t helped by our culture in the West. I just don’t believe any changes in the liturgy will fix the underlying issue.

It has to start with Catholics taking an active role in their faith, taking responsibility for their faith, and taking pride in their faith. I think we’re lacking all three of those things and it’s because I kind of think the majority of people who calls themselves Catholic aren’t really choosing Catholicism. Yet.
 
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