{"id":2025,"date":"2014-09-29T10:57:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T15:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2020-08-13T09:23:16","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T14:23:16","slug":"three-secret-spiritual-benefits-for-you-of-bringing-your-children-to-mass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/09\/three-secret-spiritual-benefits-for-you-of-bringing-your-children-to-mass\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Secret Spiritual Benefits (for You!) of Bringing Your Children to Mass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

At ladies\u2019 Bible study this past week we were talking about our prayer lives, and one of the moms worried that with small children in tow, she just wasn\u2019t \u201cgetting much out of Mass.\u201d \u00a0This is a common worry, but it\u2019s unfounded. \u00a0Yesterday as I watched the mom in front of me do her best with a pair pew-scramblers, I was reminded of the three genuine spiritual benefits that can only be had by bringing wiggly, noisy, naughty children to Mass.<\/p>\n

1. You learn the Mass.<\/h2>\n

Want to learn something? \u00a0Teach it. \u00a0When we bring young children to Mass, we have to help them get into the action. \u00a0That \u201cactive participation\u201d thing? \u00a0We must teach it to our children explicitly. Let\u2019s tell Jesus how much we love Him<\/em> you say before the Gloria. \u00a0Let\u2019s listen to what Jesus has to say to us<\/em> you whisper during the readings. \u00a0There\u2019s Jesus<\/em> you point out at the elevation.<\/p>\n

You become a pro at flipping to the proper page in the children\u2019s Missal. \u00a0You point out every word of every hymn to the new reader. \u00a0You get good at answering those questions your kid asks in the middle of the Eucharistic prayer, and that you put off with a quick, \u201cI\u2019ll tell you later.\u201d \u00a0Because you have to tell him, later. \u00a0What was that thing? \u00a0Why that color? \u00a0Why that sound? \u00a0The one I remember most vividly: How does Jesus fall into the cup?<\/em><\/p>\n

Catechesis aside, just having a child along causes you to know the Mass more intimately. \u00a0There\u2019s nothing like a baby in arms to make you profoundly aware of the Consecration (and the pterodactyl noises your child offers during). \u00a0You learn when\u2019s the best time to slip out with a toddler who needs to go potty (the offering is my pick). \u00a0You more keenly understand the meaning of kneeling when you are trying to both adore the Eucharist and keep your little sunshine from ripping\u00a0up another bulletin.<\/p>\n

2. You develop the ability to snap back to attention constantly.<\/h2>\n

The very-active participation that is pewside parenting means you never, ever, get to pray one prayerful thought straight through: \u00a0Lamb of God who . . .<\/em>\u00a0quit pinching your sister . . . have mercy on us. \u00a0<\/i>It\u2019s all fine and good for contemplatives and retirees to have their uninterrupted reveries. \u00a0But to always be returning, always be saying to our Lord, \u201cNow where were we again?\u201d That\u2019s the Christian life.<\/p>\n

There will come a time, when you are old and alone again, that you\u2019ll need to relearn the art of long talks with the Lord. \u00a0But you won\u2019t be nearly so good at those long talks if you haven\u2019t been through the school of distraction. \u00a0Mass with children teaches us to remember God. \u00a0To never forget Him, even when everything conspires to try to make us forget Him.<\/p>\n

3. You get to see your insides on the outside.<\/h2>\n

Like a slide show that illustrates every word of the Gospel, our children give us the live-action version of our inner lives. \u00a0I remember when my son was about six, and he was rocking, rocking, rocking back and forth in the pew, making the kneeler creak with every move. \u00a0It had been a long day. We were in a strange parish. The Mass was dragging on. \u00a0I just. wanted. him. to be. STILL.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And this was a kid who would be soon preparing to receive communion? Really?!!<\/p>\n

Thought the woman who notices everyone\u2019s shoes during the communion procession.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our children bug us because they are like us. \u00a0They echo us. They take what we do and flip it right back at us. \u00a0And during Mass, they do with their bodies what we do with our souls.<\/p>\n

My little kids weren\u2019t particularly less devout than me. They just weren\u2019t so good at faking it yet.<\/p>\n

\"File:Archangels.JPG\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related:<\/p>\n

Jenni Groft tells you how to manage alone in the pew with a pile of young children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rachel Lu encourages you not to give up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image, Anonymous (Immagine scansita dall\u2019originale) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At ladies\u2019 Bible study this past week we were talking about our prayer lives, and one of the moms worried that with small children in tow, she just wasn\u2019t \u201cgetting much out of Mass.\u201d \u00a0This is a common worry, but it\u2019s unfounded. \u00a0Yesterday as I watched the mom in front of me do her best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,13,7,51,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catechesis-2","category-catholic-qa","category-evangelization","category-forgiveness","category-marriage"],"yoast_head":"\nThree Secret Spiritual Benefits (for You!) of Bringing Your Children to Mass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At ladies' Bible study this past week we were talking about our prayer lives, and one of the moms worried 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