Cradle Catholics

We love children in the same way that Christ loves them. They bring smiles to our faces, joy to our hearts and laughter to our lives. Their innocence is charming, their antics amusing. They, like any other sub-group of our parish population, also bring challenges to our churches. Despite our best efforts at planning and programming, we sometimes wonder if we’re meeting the needs of these neophyte Catholics and their families.

I distinctly remember seeing my first “crying room.” I had never experienced the stark, glassed-in room set aside for parents with wailing newborns and rowdy tots. We had just moved to a new town and had but one choice for a place of worship. Sixth-month-old in hand, we were greeted at the door by an usher’s finger pointing to a dingy room off to the right. The usher muttered something like, “That’s where babies go.” It was one of the most stark, uninspiring liturgical hours of my life.

The next week, we left our son with a friend. The next year we moved. That meant adapting to a new parish with a different childcare option: a nursery. What ever happened to family worship, I wondered. In the decade or so that has elapsed since then, I’ve learned that the “different strokes for different folks” philosophy applies to babies in liturgy just as it does in nearly all other facets of life. I’m convinced there is no single “right” way to accommodate wee folk in our parishes. Yet there is much that we can do to make certain both parents and children know they’re wanted and welcome. We need to pass on tools and tips that help families understand and fulfill their role in passing on the faith and tradition to the next generations.

First, if you are fortunate enough to be in a parish with regular children’s liturgies, encourage families with youngsters to worship at these Masses. Somehow I can’t believe that over the years our family has graduated from the family Mass to the teen Mass. Before long we will find ourselves at the 7 A.M. Mass, which seems reserved largely for retirees. Various liturgies do tend to take on their own personalities over time.

Quite honestly, I never felt more at home with young children in a church than I did at my sister’s parish in rural Montana. There is but one Mass (or prayer service) each Sunday, yet all are helped to feel welcome in a warm, nurturing, extended-family-type atmosphere. This is what we strive for, whether our assembly numbers 40 or 4,000.

There are plenty of people who prefer crying rooms, nurseries or childcare centers. If you have these facilities, take the time to make certain they’re clean, well equipped and cheerful. Children (and their parents) are people, too. Sometimes in those growing-up years, children (and their parents) are made to feel like cast-offs or second-class citizens. There’s no more critical time than during the formative years to grasp the attention and devotion of young folks.

Provide families with tools they can take home to extend their Sunday experience throughout the week. After all, that’s what liturgy is all about. Devote a section of your bulletin to “Families of Faith” or “Living the Word.” Whatever title you choose, include practical suggestions for faith-filled living. Take advantage of the wealth of videos and printed materials that can be loaned out or handed out to enhance families’ faith lives. Make certain your youth catechesis truly speaks to the young people.

Promote these and other faith-building ideas among your families:

• Emphasize the power of prayer. Help families see how prayer can open their hearts to the Lord’s love all around us.

 
• Encourage them to affirm those in their household (and those at work as well). Parents need to guide and nurture their children at all times. Affirm effort; don’t just praise excellence.

 
• Help families see that not every revelation of God’s presence has to be earth-shattering. In fact, most of them aren’t. Simply feeling a cool breeze on your cheek on a hot summer’s day or wiping a friend’s tear are simple ways that Christ’s love is woven throughout our lives.

 
• Do whatever you can to promote peace and justice while discouraging violence and hatred. Offer families alternatives to shoot-em-up movies, songs and video games. Present the alternatives in an upbeat, attractive way.

 
• Foster the notion of cooperation at home by making families aware of the importance of listening to one another and focusing on how messages are delivered.

ML

Vickie LoPiccolo Jennett is a professional writer whose church ministries have included both lay and staff positions over the past 15 years. She worked with Paula Hagen to develop three Ministry of Mothers Sharing (MOMS) books. She lives and works in Chandler, Ariz., with her husband and two children. Her e-mail address is viclj@worldnett.att.net.
 
 

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