Should my young kids stand in line with me to receive the Eucharist?

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jatkins29

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What should my kids do when my wife and I go up to receive the Eucharist? My oldest will be receiving 1st Communion in April, but my other 3 are years away from this. I understand that anyone who is not yet confirmed can receive a blessing from the priest by crossing his/her arms across their chest, but what if the priest is not the one distributing the host in the line we are in? Eucharistic ministers do not give blessings. My wife and I have lived by the practice that children learn by example so if they learn that it is time to go receive communion that when the time comes it won’t be such a foreign experience for them. I want to teach them that it is time to reverently walk up to Jesus and receive him, or receive a blessing so I don’t believe that by having them remain in their seats does much to help them understand.

Understand I am coming as a convert to the Church (6 years ago).
 
jatkins29 said:
What should my kids do when my wife and I go up to receive the Eucharist? My oldest will be receiving 1st Communion in April, but my other 3 are years away from this. I understand that anyone who is not yet confirmed can receive a blessing from the priest by crossing his/her arms across their chest, but what if the priest is not the one distributing the host in the line we are in? Eucharistic ministers do not give blessings. My wife and I have lived by the practice that children learn by example so if they learn that it is time to go receive communion that when the time comes it won’t be such a foreign experience for them. I want to teach them that it is time to reverently walk up to Jesus and receive him, or receive a blessing so I don’t believe that by having them remain in their seats does much to help them understand.

Understand I am coming as a convert to the Church (6 years ago).
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There is nothing wrong with taking your children up with you when you receive Communion.
 
They can stand in line with you. They don’t have to do anything. You probably take them with you other places where they don’t do anything - like the grocery store when you are paying and they are just in line. So it’s perfectly ok for them to just stand in line with you and walk along.
 
It’s perfectly fine to take them up with you in line, especially if they’re likely to be distracting to others if left unsupervised in the pew at that time.

My 6 year old looks older than he is, so if they don’t know us, an EMHC might not be aware that he hasn’t had his First Holy Communion yet. So when he goes up with me, he crosses his arms even when we’re on the EMHC’s “side” of the altar rail… not to get a blessing, but just to indicate that he’s not able to receive. My young daughters (ages 5 and 3.5) don’t need to do this; they just kneel quietly with me. YMMV.

Some of those in our parish with young children will step into the priest’s line so that the children can receive a blessing. I don’t know if that would be an option for you or not in your regular parish, but it’s something to consider. 🙂
 
I agree with all of the prior posts. Leading by example is so important, so why not bring them with you? They can walk up with you, stand slightly behind you as you receive and then walk away with you, arms crossed or not. Some priests are not keen to give a blessing to those who aren’t receiving the Eucharist, and this way would remove any potential awkwardness from the priest. If receiving at an altar rail, they could kneel next to you and cross their arms simply to help the priest as he’s going down the line, whether or not the priest gives them an actual blessing.
 
CatholicRaven said:
It’s perfectly fine to take them up with you in line, especially if they’re likely to be distracting to others if left unsupervised in the pew at that time.

My 6 year old looks older than he is, so if they don’t know us, an EMHC might not be aware that he hasn’t had his First Holy Communion yet. So when he goes up with me, he crosses his arms even when we’re on the EMHC’s “side” of the altar rail… not to get a blessing, but just to indicate that he’s not able to receive. My young daughters (ages 5 and 3.5) don’t need to do this; they just kneel quietly with me. YMMV.

Some of those in our parish with young children will step into the priest’s line so that the children can receive a blessing. I don’t know if that would be an option for you or not in your regular parish, but it’s something to consider. 🙂
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It varies from Mass to Mass where the priest will be and we usually sit towards the back (in case the baby starts crying). Some priests always give them a blessing and some never do.
 
Absolutely bring them up! I would never leave my 2 1/2 year old in the pew even if we do sit only a row or two from the front. He would likely just follow me anyway. The trick is getting him to not dash off while in line.

As others have said, it’s better to have them go up in line than to get into trouble on their own.

Blessing or no blessing from the priest (which by the way the final blessing “counts” for everyone) one of the best parts of my day is when the priest sees me with the two little ones, simply lays a hand on one of them and then says “Thanks, Mom” before offering me the Eucharist.
 
At the church here a parent may hold one child by the hand and goes up to receive the Eucharist.
Sometimes a parent may have a child by each hand.
Also some parents have carried a child with one arm and held a youngster’s hand with their other hand.
 
I see many parents bring youngsters with them in the Communion line. When I had EMHC training recently, we were told to NOT bless anyone when they come to receive as it is reserved only for the priest to do. I may smile a bit more at the young ones when their parents or other relatives are receiving in my line.
 
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