Liturgy of the Word with Children

  • Thread starter Thread starter CyrilSebastian
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

CyrilSebastian

Guest
Does your church have Liturgy of the Word with Children?
 
Yes. And you should see the congregation beaming when they are lead out! 🙂
 
Yup. And it’s beautiful to see “big” brothers/sisters lead the little ones down the aisle as they each go to their respective rooms. Parents are very supportive.
 
No. The children are in church with everyone else and many times like to sit up front so they can see.
 
No, we only have one priest and no deacon. We would have noone to read the Gospel at a LoWC.
 
No.

We think that the children are members of our parish, and as such should be present for Mass.
 
Nope. Our children stay with their families, and on the altar as servers, and in the choir loft as singers…

At my old parish, I taught the four-year-old class for the Liturgy of the Word for children, and I hated that my son was missing a large and significant part of mass. And sadly, the lessons I was supposed to teach were not great.

On the upside, my son knew all the liturgical colors and the cycle of the Church year because of some awesome visuals the parish had in that room 👍
 
No, but there is one Sunday Mass which is designated for children. The only difference is that the Homily is aimed at youngsters. The priest relates the Gospel (and sometimes the other readings) to family life, school, friendships, and other childhood experiences. I wouldn’t say it’s dumbed down. The homily at the children’s Mass is theologically sound, substantial, and instructive even for the adults who are present.
 
FrDavid96 said:
No.

We think that the children are members of our parish, and as such should be present for Mass.
Click to expand...
Ditto at our parish. Even with 3 deacons and 2.5 priests (.5 is the former pastor that is retired, but still offers Mass on Sundays), not one of our 6 Sunday masses include LotW with Children.
 
I don’t understand the joy over not having it. Our church offers it at one Mass, and some children leave and some don’t. Some parents like a brief respite during which they can actually pay attention to the sermon and not monitor their little ones. Others prefer that their children remain with them.

We attend Mass with our two grandsons who do not leave. I can guarantee that they get nothing out of the readings and sermon.
 
Book_Worm said:
I don’t understand the joy over not having it. Our church offers it at one Mass, and some children leave and some don’t. Some parents like a brief respite during which they can actually pay attention to the sermon and not monitor their little ones. Others prefer that their children remain with them.

We attend Mass with our two grandsons who do not leave. I can guarantee that they get nothing out of the readings and sermon.
Click to expand...
That’s what children’s faith formation is for. (Sunday School)
They do get something out of Mass. They are indeed blessed by praying together with their fellow Catholics. Trust me, even many adults don’t pay attention to the Homilies. We don’t give up on then. The Mass central to our faith…every bit of it.
It’s not a great practice and mostly discouraged.
 
The Canadian bishops issued a document of this about 5 years ago. In short it said that said liturgy should only happen occasionally and should really be based on the content of readings. I can envision a time when the priest, basing himself on a particular reading, wants to give a homily that is more “adult themed” shall we say. Then having the children go to a different location to hear the Gospel and have a reflection are perfectly in order.

Sadly, what I’ve witnessed of this type of liturgy is that it’s craft time and not liturgy. That’s quite contrary to what the bishops said in the above mentioned document: “If pencils are involved you’re doing it wrong!”
 
This is how I explain it to parents:

Think about Thanksgiving Dinner (coming up in a few weeks, by the way).

Imagine you have a big Thanksgiving Dinner and invite the whole extended family—grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. This isn’t every’s family experience, but at least most everyone can imagine it.

What would you do with the children? Would you send them away to another building close-by and tell them to have their dinner by themselves so that they’re not bothering the adults during such an important dinner?

Why should everything be measured according to the standard of “what do they get out of it?” meaning “what measurable thing?” Is there not an immeasurable value to families being together at such an important moment, whether it’s Thanksgiving or the Mass?

When the subject is abortion, people expect Catholic priests to speak about the dignity of human life and the precious gift of children.

When the subject is divorce and broken-families, Catholics expect their priests to uphold the values of the nuclear family.

When the subject is re-defining the word ‘marriage’, Catholics expect their priests to weep and rend their garments in lament of the breakdown of the family in our society.

When the subject matter is vocations (to priesthood and consecrated life) we tell young people how essential they are to the future of the Church.

When the subject is long-term finances, everyone wants to know where we will be getting our parish income in 10 or 20 years.

And yet, when the subject is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so many people want to ask “Father, how can we be rid of the children for a while?” 🤷
 
FrDavid96 said:
This is how I explain it to parents:

Think about Thanksgiving Dinner (coming up in a few weeks, by the way).

Imagine you have a big Thanksgiving Dinner and invite the whole extended family—grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. This isn’t every’s family experience, but at least most everyone can imagine it.

What would you do with the children? Would you send them away to another building close-by and tell them to have their dinner by themselves so that they’re not bothering the adults during such an important dinner?

Why should everything be measured according to the standard of “what do they get out of it?” meaning “what measurable thing?” Is there not an immeasurable value to families being together at such an important moment, whether it’s Thanksgiving or the Mass?

When the subject is abortion, people expect Catholic priests to speak about the dignity of human life and the precious gift of children.

When the subject is divorce and broken-families, Catholics expect their priests to uphold the values of the nuclear family.

When the subject is re-defining the word ‘marriage’, Catholics expect their priests to weep and rend their garments in lament of the breakdown of the family in our society.

When the subject matter is vocations (to priesthood and consecrated life) we tell young people how essential they are to the future of the Church.

When the subject is long-term finances, everyone wants to know where we will be getting our parish income in 10 or 20 years.

And yet, when the subject is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so many people want to ask “Father, how can we be rid of the children for a while?” 🤷
Click to expand...
I’m printing this out. Thank you Father. Thank you so very much.
 
To use your analogy of the Thanksgiving dinner, in my family we visit together as a family before the meal and sit down to eat as a family. However, after the meal ends, the adults remain atound the table and talk while the choldren escape to another room or perhaps outside to play. We would never require them to remain quiet or participate in adult- level conversation. That would make neither the adults nor the children happy.

My point is not that children should be removed for a portion of every Mass. However, I don’t see why people are so gleeful that it’s not even an option in some parishes. If you want your children to remain with you during the emigre Mass, you can do so. But some parents do appreciate being able to concentrate on the Gospel and homily. It’s also an opportunity for children to hear the Gospel message in a way that they can understand it, and yes, crafts can be a valid learning tool.

There’s a long thread on IIRC the Family Living forum about why it’s so hard to get young families to attend Mass and participate in parish life. If some parents find having a Children’s Liturgy of the Word makes their Mass experience more fruitful, why are we so happy that our parish refuses to provide it?
 
Book_Worm said:
To use your analogy of the Thanksgiving dinner, in my family we visit together as a family before the meal and sit down to eat as a family. However, after the meal ends, the adults remain atound the table and talk while the choldren escape to another room or perhaps outside to play. We would never require them to remain quiet or participate in adult- level conversation. That would make neither the adults nor the children happy.

My point is not that children should be removed for a portion of every Mass. However, I don’t see why people are so gleeful that it’s not even an option in some parishes. If you want your children to remain with you during the emigre Mass, you can do so. But some parents do appreciate being able to concentrate on the Gospel and homily. It’s also an opportunity for children to hear the Gospel message in a way that they can understand it, and yes, crafts can be a valid learning tool.

There’s a long thread on IIRC the Family Living forum about why it’s so hard to get young families to attend Mass and participate in parish life. If some parents find having a Children’s Liturgy of the Word makes their Mass experience more fruitful, why are we so happy that our parish refuses to provide it?
Click to expand...
Mostly because it doesn’t work, as it is a gimmick.
Gimmicks don’t cut it n the world of worship and catechesis.
How in the world did the millions of Catholic children grow up in Mass? all over the world?

Sorry, we’ll just have to disagree. 🤷
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top