Separating Children and Adults during Mass

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Our church has a separate Liturgy of the Word for children. The children are dismissed and come back before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. When did this become part of the Mass? and should it be part of the Mass? Our priest described it as the “childrens table at Thanksgiving” but this is the first church I have been to that does this. It seems to disrupt the Holy Mass and it bothers me. Can someone please let me know why/when this was approved by the Church? I want to understand this better or let the priest know that this isn’t acceptable.
 
I don’t know if there’s any Church teaching saying this can or can not be done. At my parish, once a month the priest will call up the children and he’ll sit down in front of the alter and say a message especially for them— spoken in a way that they will understand. It’s really touching to see this happen— the kids just adore our priest and I think its a great way to awaken their spiritual lives.

As for taking them outside of the Mass, I am concerned about that: Mass is about worshiping God together as His Church. I think its important that a child sees what the whole Mass is like, though they might not understand everything in it until they’re older. So I would hesitate to pull them out like that, but perhaps the priest feels more comfortable with providing them a teaching lesson that they will understand, as compared to talking about adult things which may go completely over the heads of the children. I would look for what fruit is being born through this action: do the children seem to be content and are they understanding the faith better through these lessons by themselves? If there is good fruit, I wouldn’t be concerned about it.

Blessings!
 
Both parishes I have been a member of in the last 25 years have a Children’s Liturgy. The kids come back before the Eucharist so that those who have been through their First Communion may partake. I think it’s a great idea for the kids to be taught scripture readings in language in which they understand (or at their own level of understanding). Only the K-6th grades take part.
 
Directory for Masses With Children

Congregation for Divine Worship
November 1, 1973
  1. Nevertheless, in Masses of this kind it is necessary to take great care that the children present do not feel neglected because of their inability to participate or to understand what happens and what is proclaimed in the celebration. Some account should be taken of their presence: for example, by speaking to them directly in the introductory comments (as at the beginning and the end of Mass) and at some point in the homily.
Sometimes, moreover, if the place itself and the nature of the community permit, it will be appropriate to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, including a homily, with the children in a separate, but not too distant, room. Then, before the Eucharistic Liturgy begins, the children are led to the place where the adults have meanwhile celebrated their own Liturgy of the Word.

fdlc.org/liturgy_resources/Directory_Masses_Children.htm
 
We used to do that in my RC parish, but had to stop because of a lack of volunteers to conduct the LofWfC.

Basically the Liturgy of the Word is presented to the children in a way that will not bore them and make them restless in the pews. The readings plus the homily is hardly something they would enjoy

This is acceptable. Also, the adult conducting the Liturgy of the Word for Children does not fulfill their Mass obligation for that Mass, and would have to fully attend another Mass
 
laszlo said:
Directory for Masses With Children

Congregation for Divine Worship
November 1, 1973
  1. Nevertheless, in Masses of this kind it is necessary to take great care that the children present do not feel neglected because of their inability to participate or to understand what happens and what is proclaimed in the celebration. Some account should be taken of their presence: for example, by speaking to them directly in the introductory comments (as at the beginning and the end of Mass) and at some point in the homily.
Sometimes, moreover, if the place itself and the nature of the community permit, it will be appropriate to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, including a homily, with the children in a separate, but not too distant, room. Then, before the Eucharistic Liturgy begins, the children are led to the place where the adults have meanwhile celebrated their own Liturgy of the Word.

fdlc.org/liturgy_resources/Directory_Masses_Children.htm
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This has been implemented at the church I attend. I am grateful that the children have a special presentation of the Gospel and have a more fulfilling litergy. The mass is not disrupted and the children are ushered out of the church into the chapel while a song is sung. The children return just as the offetory about to be commenced and the collection is taken up.
 
IMO, the Church body would be helped by having children K-12, come to the front every Sunday with homilies preached for their benefit.

Occasionally, the adults should be excused for papal instruction on various current events.
 
Barbkw said:
IMO, the Church body would be helped by having children K-12, come to the front every Sunday with homilies preached for their benefit.

Occasionally, the adults should be excused for papal instruction on various current events.
Click to expand...
Yes, that would be great, the Pope frequently visits our parish to chat about current events.
 
We do something similar. The children leave just before the sermon, and come back for communion. This is for kids up to about 12. We tend to have fairly long sermons geared to adults, and most kids would not get much out of them. The liturgy is long too, about an hour and a half. Especially the younger ones have a hard time sitting through, and their parents can’t easily police them and listen.

So they go to Sunday School and have a lesson. They are actually there for a large portion of the liturgy.

Of course kids who would rather stay are welcome to, and some kids do well before age 12.

I think there are advantages to the model that has kids stay, but if you do that you need to have an expectation for disruption. Sticking them in a crying room doesn’t seem any better than sending them for a lesson to me.

Something else to think about - at one time, the unconfirmed would leave before the second part of the liturgy. So it isn’t like it is a totally new idea, especially for those not taking communion.
 
CrunchyCathMom said:
Our church has a separate Liturgy of the Word for children. The children are dismissed and come back before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. When did this become part of the Mass? and should it be part of the Mass? Our priest described it as the “childrens table at Thanksgiving” but this is the first church I have been to that does this. It seems to disrupt the Holy Mass and it bothers me. Can someone please let me know why/when this was approved by the Church? I want to understand this better or let the priest know that this isn’t acceptable.
Click to expand...
as discussed in many threads on the liturgy forum, yes this is permissible, for children who have not yet celebrated first communion. By then they should be attending Mass with the adults. It is approved for the same reason a children’s lectionary was approved, so that very young children can hear the scriptures and a teaching based on them in language more suited to their years. It is optional whether or not you want to let your children participate. It is no more disruptive than dismissing the catechumens after the homily for their RCIA session. Do I like it? not particularly, but I am not a bishop nor am I the pastor and I don’t make the rules. If you don’t want your children to participate, keep them with you.
 
This is done at our 9AM Mass on Sunday for K-2 children. It does not really disrupt Mass and the children do enjoy it. Participation is voluntary. This is the only Mass that has a Children’s Liturgy of the Word in our parish. We’ve done it for years and no one seems to object to it.
 
Well the kids at our church have their catechism class separately which they go to before mass begins and then they all come in to the church during the offertory hymn and kneel at the altar rails. Then after the mysterium fidei they join the parents in the pews for the Lord’s Prayers. I don’t find that disruptive at all, it makes the consecration even more of a congregational focus I find.
 
CrunchyCathMom said:
Our church has a separate Liturgy of the Word for children. The children are dismissed and come back before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. When did this become part of the Mass? and should it be part of the Mass? Our priest described it as the “childrens table at Thanksgiving” but this is the first church I have been to that does this. It seems to disrupt the Holy Mass and it bothers me. Can someone please let me know why/when this was approved by the Church? I want to understand this better or let the priest know that this isn’t acceptable.
Click to expand...
This is an approved action - the book used by the Catechist was produced by your country’s Conference of Bishops.

It is optional - and if there is no demand for it (or if the priest decides he doesn’t want to have it, for any or no reason), the parish won’t offer it.
 
In Canada the Bishops’ Conference has issued a document on the subject “Celebrating the Liturgy of the Word with Children”.

Based on the Directory for Masses with Children article quoted above, the Conference has concluded that “Sometimes (…) it will be appropriate to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, including a homily, with the children in a separate, but not too distant, room” means “sometimes”-- not weekly, not bi-weekly, but at times when one of the readings is particularly challenging for young children or perhaps at the beginning of a liturgical season.

The CCCB’s document stipulated that this Liturgy of the Word is for children ages 4-8; it is to be a true Liturgy of the Word not involving pencils, paper & crafts; that it is to end and the children are to return to the assembly before the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.

Unfortunately, I’ve found that parents want a craft session and in our parish it had become a joke, with parents taking out babes in arms to this and then sitting around talking with the other parents. When we tried to impose an age restriction one parent bluntly told us “Well, if my daughter can’t go, I can’t come to church any more because I can’t keep her quiet.” To which I had to bite my tongue not to tell her she just didn’t want to actually be a parent to her child.

This year it’s not happening because nobody has wanted to take responsibility for it.

I’ve been in discussion with the catechetical coordinator for another parish and she tells me that in her parish, parents simply won’t come to Mass if there isn’t a liturgy of the word, that all the kids go and it’s the only form of catechesis they ever have. They don’t actually have a liturgy of the word but do their sacramental preparation in the 20 minutes they are there.
 
Yeah sounds like what my son does - they do 20 minutes or so in a workbook then come down for the rest of mass
 
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