Children and the Eucharist

Most of us have witnessed the extra noise and activity that go hand-in-hand with bringing young children to Mass. Outbursts and tears, escapee toddlers and frazzled parents are the norm at parishes with lots of young families. As pews have emptied over the years, many parishes strive to welcome families with young children and recognize that crying babies and feisty toddlers in the pews are signs of a Church that is alive.
 
One school of thought, however, advises parents to avoid all of the challenges of parenting young children in the pews by ‘dividing and conquering’. This means that mothers and fathers generally attend Mass at different times and for the most part do not bring their children to Mass with any regularity. The assumption embedded in this line of thinking is that the children ‘don’t get anything’ out of attending Mass, so leaving them home seems to make sense. In this arrangement, Mom and Dad both have the opportunity to quietly focus on the Mass without the distraction of their little ones.
 
This thinking, however, directly contradicts Jesus’ response to children. The Gospels of Matthew (19:13-15), Mark (10:13-16), and Luke (18:15-17) contain similar narratives in which people bring children to Jesus, the people are rebuked by the disciples for doing so, and Jesus responds by inviting the children to be close to him: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 19:14)
 
The Gospel of Matthew contains another narrative in which Jesus references children directly (Mt 18:1-6). When asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus calls for a child to come next to him and responds: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3-4) Jesus was calling his disciples, as he is calling us today, to become childlike. In fact, Jesus is telling us that becoming childlike is required.
 
Becoming childlike means surrendering ourselves to Jesus and the grace that flows from our communion with him. Young children, with their natural innocence, are wonderfully open to the unmerited grace that is offered to us at the foot of the Cross at each Mass. Although young children may not have a robust intellectual sense of what is occurring before their eyes, they have a natural capacity to ‘know’ Jesus on a supernatural level. Their entry into the Paschal Mystery is unhindered by the barriers that plague the adult mind. “St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us of this: Age of body does not determine age of soul.” (CCC 1308)
 
Instead of keeping children from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, children should be brought to Mass with as much frequency as families can manage. Not only will the children learn proper Mass behavior, reverence, and worship, they will also experience the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Parents that strive to catechize their young children through their witness and with age-appropriate explanations of what is occurring at Mass ‘prepare the soil’ for the assent of their children’s hearts and minds. As the children mature and are formally prepared for First Reconciliation and First Communion, their desire to participate fully in these sacramental celebrations is driven by the family preparation of the previous years.
 
The domestic Church is the fertile ground for evangelization and the primary place to prepare this ground is in the presence of Jesus at Mass. Bring your children to Mass! As the National Eucharistic Revival embraces The Year of Mission, may we all become childlike in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and foster this mission in our own domestic churches.
 
Jill Kerekes serves as diocesan director, Office of Discipleship Formation for Children.