Play Mass Kit

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Oh, by all means it would be under total supervision. I know what you mean about total destruction of toys, especially by boys!!

I also liked the idea from a previous poster regarding using the kit as a teaching tool. I teach a sacramental class and it would be excellent to use for that purpose!!
 
JRKH said:
On a side note, once we were setting up the “Altar” in the playroom and drew a “Crucifix” and two “Candles” on the wall with Crayon. Boy did we catch heck for that!! 30 years, and at least 2 coats of paint later you cold still make out the outlined remnants of our “Sanctuary”.
Mea Culpa Mom.
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:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Mea Maxima Culpa, but oh my… .
 
elts1956 said:
I agree. Take the boy to Mass after explaining what he will see there. No play stuff. Give them reality, not fantasy. Also at Mass don’t be afraid of disciplining your little critter to be quiet and pay attention. This of course, depends upon the age of the child. One little trick I have seen parents do is let the child bring paper and pencil/a crayon, or two and draw during Mass. Also a nice bibilical/Christian book for s/him to look at would help too.

A PLAY priest set! What next? A little play boy and girl exchanging wedding rings???
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I don’t know any kids my age who did not play that they were consecrating Cheerios, Nico candies, round crackers, or flattened marshmallows. If they could get actual stemware for the juice or water that stood in for the “wine”, so much the better! Lots of those Cracker Jack rings were used for the “engagement” of first graders, too… none of this having been provided by adults for the purpose the kids used it for, mind you, but when did that stop anybody with an imagination! 😉 😃

I know a woman who, as a first grader, thought that her participation as a flower girl had permanently wedded her to the ringbearer at the wedding, too! 😃
 
EasterJoy said:
I don’t know any kids my age who did not play that they were consecrating Cheerios, Nico candies, round crackers, or flattened marshmallows. If they could get actual stemware for the juice or water that stood in for the “wine”, so much the better! Lots of those Cracker Jack rings were used for the “engagement” of first graders, too… none of this having been provided by adults for the purpose the kids used it for, mind you, but when did that stop anybody with an imagination! 😉 😃

I know a woman who, as a first grader, thought that her participation as a flower girl had permanently wedded her to the ringbearer at the wedding, too! 😃
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Yes, children do have an imagination, but that should be rooted in reality. I remember my Mother pointing to one of the stations of the cross and saying that is where Jesus is buried. For the longest time, I thought Jesus was walled up there behind the station. So Yes, children do have an imagination and they also misinterpret reality.
 
I met an octagenarian last month who told me back in the 50s she had sewn some “vestments” for her sons, and in their basement an endtable was pushed against the wall with a tabler (er, altar!) cloth on it for them to “Say Mass.”

One day she came home to find that her flower garden had been pillaged a bit and when she checked the basement she found her pious sons doing Forty Hours devotion for the benifit of their Lutheran playmates.

Those were the days!
 
FrCorey said:
well, God knows when it’s play and when it’s not.
How do you think priests practise? God knows when we are learning and when we are worshiping him.
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Totally I also think that it is healthy and if the church approves this as being a sort of formation why not. Should not be expensive. But holy hardware is expensive.250.00 is a worth while investment for a future priest. Scoob
 
When I was a kid, my siblings and I played “Mass” all the time, and it didn’t cost $250.00.

My sister’s play tea table served as an altar. a reworked Kleenex box covered with cloth and having a kleenex inner curtain served for a tabernacle. Pillowcases served as altar covering. A crucifix was not hard to find in that house. We sneaked items of my Mom’s crystal for cruets (salt and pepper shakers. Not too bad) My parents had a sort of “chalice” that was actually pewter, I think. We didn’t have access to wine, so we had to make do with de-fizzed strawberry pop. For a kid, it’s close enough. “Hosts” were hard to make. The big one could be made with a mason jar ring to cut out a circle of a piece of white bread. But the “pressing” wasn’t easy and took awhile, to make it flat and host-like. Mashing them in a book did most of it, but then pressing by hand also had to be employed to get all the yeast holes pressed out. If you pressed them thin enough and let them sit awhile, they would harden up some. A cap from a bottle was perfect to cut smaller hosts. I don’t know what they call those golden-colored glass dishes women used to have (depression glass? carnival glass?) anyway the sugar bowl was sort of golden and made a passable ciborium. Candles, of course, are candles, and a bell is a bell. Vestments were tough, but fortunately my Mom sewed a lot of the family’s clothes and there was a lot of semi-passable material around, and safety pins will do a lot.

Kids can be pretty inventive if they really want to be. Of course, my brother and I were trained as altar boys from first grade on, and we knew a lot of the priest’s parts too, in Latin. My sisters knew a lot of it too. What we didn’t know, we kind of approximated.
 
Our Father’s House ourfathershouse.biz/shopsite_sc/store/html/page30.html
has a very nice kit for $67 (see list below). The pieces are brass (and glass) so this is not for toddlers, but very realistic - just miniature.

I think when the kids play mass they learn to appreciate the different aspects of the mass. They begin to understand the differences and the reasons for various parts of the mass. I also believe they are more attentive during mass, listening for the parts that stuck out to them the last time they played.

http://ourfathershouse.biz/shopsite_sc/store/html/media/Mass Kit web
Miniature Mass Kit-Basic $67.00
A must for every Catholic home and classroom. Use for altar boy training, or First Communion preparation. For children ages 3-12. Kit includes
lesson plan book with activity sheets
brass chalice 4 1/2"
brass paten 3 1/4"
brass crucifix 4"
brass and glass sanctuary light 4 1/2"
brass snuffer 10"
brass set of 4 bells
brass match tray
brass censer 5"
glass cruets (pair) 4"
glass finger bowl
glass votive candles (pair)
brass incense boat w/spoon 2 1/4"
incense grains and instant lighting charcoal
patterns for making a wooden altar
 
Playing mass is great as long as you don’t let the children light candles. Children should not be alone with matches. Even the dog could come along and with one wag of the tale the lit candle is burning down the house. I think the kit should include a cardboard cutout of a burning candle…or possibly a battery operated candle that would not involve real fire.
Yes, my family also played mass. We loved those candy wafers.
 
I’m a new convert and so is my husband. Could someone explain why I shouldn’t be letting my boys play mass? I have three boys and want to teach them about the mass and what better way than play? Granted, not disrepectful or big money on mass set. But, rather a wood montessori type with peg preists (like St. Padre Pio, St. Francis of Assissi, and St. Martin DePorres). It’s like double duty I teach about the Mass and about the saint.

We have a small family prayer room set up with an altar. All our rosaries are kept there. As, well as any religious toys (learning tools). Right now we have our stations of the cross = kid friendly toy there. It’s hard being raised Protestant now trying to raise a Catholic family. I played church all the time even taking the back of my stove off my kitchen set to play guitar. In essence this is the montessori approach to learning. Children learn by playing. At a time when the church in the west is in dire need of priests we’re going to quibble over young men playing Mass in their homes?? REALLY?? Shouldn’t we be glad they are playing Mass and not sucked into the TV, video games and actually have a Love for Christ and the Holy Mass?

I say kudos to those parents whose children have a desire to play Mass. They are doing something right!
 
If kids are playing and being sacrilegious or doing something in the midst of play that goes against the spirit of the Mass, I’d definitely put a stop to it. If they’re just playing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Matt. 19:14
but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

We used to do this quite a bit when I was a kid.
 
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