Sherry Antonetti writes in today with a beautiful account of the surprising effect a quieter morning Mass had on her children. While they usually get antsy they were calm and participated without as many distractions.
It seemed to affect my children well: I noticed three of my daughters saying the prayers aloud. Normally, I have to give a gentle reminder to them, but the silence had caught them, and they were participating. My youngest daughter normally counts down the Mass by the number of songs left, but since there were no songs, she said the prayers, and she sat with stillness. Happily, I also found that my own proclivities to drift were cut short. As the Eucharistic prayer began, my youngest son Paul moved from his seat next to me, past his three sisters, to climb up into his father’s arms. I watched as he draped himself on his dad’s shoulders so he could get a better look. He watched the consecration, and put his head into his father’s neck with a contented sigh. Later my husband told me that he’d felt like the tree holding a little Zacchaeus, because Paul climbed his dad to get a better look at Jesus, to see Him.
Sometimes it’s nice to change up our routine. It can bring our attention to a beautiful aspect that we may have overlooked. However, it is also good to have a routine that gives our faith structure. With this in mind, we would like to ask:
And today we celebrate...