These are words my son shouted from the front pew at mass two weeks ago. This past Sunday he yelled (again from the front pew), “That guy is drinking Jesus’ blood again!!” Soooooooooo, yea. On the one hand, we have successfully managed to instill in his little heart a belief in the True Presence. On the other though, we have a ways to go in his understanding of the gift of the Eucharist. I like to think it’s a work in progress.
How, you might ask, are we working toward this progress? In a lot of ways, big and small, but since William is currently very Eucharist-focused (praise God!), I thought this would be a good time to share a little bit of how we approach this great Mystery and a couple resources that have been helpful to our family.
First and foremost, Mark and I both make a point of modeling reverence for the Eucharist to our children. We make sure to genuflect, and have them do the same. We invite them to say hello to Jesus in the Tabernacle. When we attend adoration, we make sure to spend some of the time praying out loud (quietly of course so as not to be disruptive to the other adorers) so that the children can hear how we speak to the Lord as to a friend.
When we are at mass, we make a point to quietly call their attention to the moment of Consecration. We usually say something like, “look, the Miracle is coming!” We make sure that they see our eyes on the Lord and the wonder in our faces. After Communion, when we’ve received the Eucharist, Mark pulls William and Gianna close and prays over them, inviting them into his prayers for them, for himself, and for our family. He then gives them a moment to ask for what they would like. William, bless his little heart, has been asking Jesus to help him sleep, a prayer that his exhausted mother and father happily echo!
Other than that, while we do often call their attention back to what is happening at the altar, we try to make sure that most of the time we spend talking about the Eucharist and the mass is done at home. Maria Montessori, explains that we should not try to educate children about the mass while they are at it because it takes away from their opportunity to experience it. This can be hard for me to remember but is a good point, and one that we try to keep in mind.
And speaking of Maria Montessori, I cannot recommend her book, The Mass Explained To Children, enough. If you are a parent who needs a little help remembering the names and the how’s and the why’s of everything, or if you’re looking for just the right words to explain what you know to your child, look no further. Montessori is amazing at choosing the perfect words in her explanations, she is precise and concise, simple, yet elegant. Love, love, love this book. The one caveat is, that it was written before Vatican II, and thus is an explanation of the Latin mass. Some of the text is thus outdated, for example, when she explained the movements of the priest.
It is also a fabulous book if you’re looking to create a mass kit for your kids a la Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Spoiler alert (shhhhh, don’t tell them!) my kids are getting a homemade mass kit for Christmas. Maria Montessori believed that children learn best through experience, and as a Catholic, part of her educational approach naturally included an education in the mass. She encouraged children to play mass, to learn to set the altar, the vocabulary of the Church, the liturgical colors, etc. I know that my kids naturally want to play mass during their imaginative play, so this is a great opportunity for me to call their attention to each individual piece.
The other book I love for it’s teaching on the Eucharist is called God’s Love Story. It’s a little harder to find, so seriously, if it’s actually in stock on Amazon, take advantage! My MIL, who is an expert at finding perfect little items like this, gave it to Gianna about a month ago. It is a beautiful little volume, with very sweet black and white illustrations. The text is lengthy, but engaging. Gianna sits enthralled through the entire thing. It takes you through the entirety of salvation history, and the section on the Last Supper and explanation of the Eucharist is not to be missed. I think it has really helped G understand the Gift of the Blessed Sacrament.
Finally, one thing that we are doing this Advent is taking a family church tour. We are incredibly blessed to be members of St. Paul on the Lake, a vibrant and orthodox community that is incredibly welcoming to children. One of our fabulous priests is graciously taking time out of his day to take our kids and us through the parish and explain it all to them. What a gift! I’ll make sure and let you know how it goes. . .
What are your best pro-tips for explaining the Eucharist to children? Any special books on your shelf?