This was beautiful, Alex. Our Anglican church has childcare up to 4 years old, and as of today (!) Kyeler isn't able to go anymore. I was honestly mystified for a long time as to why they wouldn't offer childcare past age 4! Haha but I loved this reasoning: "But the difference is that Mass is not entertainment to be consumed: it’s a sacrament in which to participate." So very true, and I have seen the fruit of that already just from having our boys sit in portions of the service. Thanks for sharing this lovely perspective!
"But the difference is that Mass is not entertainment to be consumed: it’s a sacrament in which to participate." This is well said. It's also very comforting when you have loud little kids or grumpy teens or you yourself are just not very well-disposed to listen well at Mass: the Eucharist is happening whether you're having a "good Mass" or not. The experience of Mass is more comfortable when the kids behave, but the grace comes from the Eucharist, not from whether you can hear the homily or whether the music is to your taste or whatever.
It's hard to articulate, because it's not as though these things don't matter at all or don't touch us interiorly, but what a relief it is to know that what really matters is that you have come and that Christ will come to you in the sacrament.
This post expresses something that has been troubling me about parishes that put a premium on being “welcoming.” Of course that expresses something of the Gospel. Of course Jesus welcomed sinners and sat down with them. But those scenes did not occur in the temple, which I think would be the closest setting to the Mass that we find in the Gospel. When we make the Mass welcoming, we stop telling people what is happening there.
This was beautiful, Alex. Our Anglican church has childcare up to 4 years old, and as of today (!) Kyeler isn't able to go anymore. I was honestly mystified for a long time as to why they wouldn't offer childcare past age 4! Haha but I loved this reasoning: "But the difference is that Mass is not entertainment to be consumed: it’s a sacrament in which to participate." So very true, and I have seen the fruit of that already just from having our boys sit in portions of the service. Thanks for sharing this lovely perspective!
Great post! ❤️
"But the difference is that Mass is not entertainment to be consumed: it’s a sacrament in which to participate." This is well said. It's also very comforting when you have loud little kids or grumpy teens or you yourself are just not very well-disposed to listen well at Mass: the Eucharist is happening whether you're having a "good Mass" or not. The experience of Mass is more comfortable when the kids behave, but the grace comes from the Eucharist, not from whether you can hear the homily or whether the music is to your taste or whatever.
It's hard to articulate, because it's not as though these things don't matter at all or don't touch us interiorly, but what a relief it is to know that what really matters is that you have come and that Christ will come to you in the sacrament.
And thank you for the shout-out!
This post expresses something that has been troubling me about parishes that put a premium on being “welcoming.” Of course that expresses something of the Gospel. Of course Jesus welcomed sinners and sat down with them. But those scenes did not occur in the temple, which I think would be the closest setting to the Mass that we find in the Gospel. When we make the Mass welcoming, we stop telling people what is happening there.