This month, we’re really focusing on the Mass, a topic that is foundational to what it means to be Catholic.  We all got an overview in our October classroom lessons and now we’re breaking it down at home throughout the rest of the month.

We are beginning with the Liturgy of the Word and I love this quote about beginnings at the beginning at the book of John:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

We tend to think of a Bible as the Word of God, and that’s absolutely true, but John is telling us that Jesus himself is the Word of God.  When we get to know the Bible better, we’ll get to know Jesus better and that is the goal of EVERYTHING!

This lesson works together with next week’s lesson on the Liturgy of the Eucharist to create a missal for your children to use.  Start with the last page in the booklet, where you’ll find a list of interactive ways to use it for all ages.  Write, draw, reflect, and practice along with the booklet as you teach about each section of the Mass.

Of course, the best way to bring this lesson to life is to actually go to Mass and that’s no easy task these days!  Not only are there are seasons in every family’s life and every child’s life, where even just getting ready for Mass is daunting, but for the past several months COVID has flipped all our Sunday’s habits upside down!

But no matter what your situation, we encourage you to persist!  If you’re not ready to go back to Mass, you can probably still watch it at home. If watching at home isn’t working for you, you can light a candle, read the Mass readings, and pray together. No matter what you choose, make sure you’re doing something together to set Sundays apart as something special.

Making Sunday Mass that “always, always, always” thing your family does will help your children develop that holy habit as well and will help them tremendously as they move into adult life.  (Don’t ever get to the place where you are deciding on Saturday IF you should go to Mass the next day!)

We offer some helps for that in the lesson, including the Pauline family working through some situations that will likely mirror some things you experience.  Their choices are filled with practical ideas for all ages.

And finally, don’t miss the Parent Pages that are filled with Q & A about all sorts of things that aren’t covered in the lesson:

• I’m on vacation this weekend.  Can I just go to Mass during the week to make up for missing on Sunday?
• I’m allergic to wheat.  Can I get a rice host?
• Last weekend the priest was running low on hosts and had to break them in half.  Am I getting half of Jesus?
• Why can’t my Protestant friend receive communion?  He believes in Jesus too!

And lots more!