REGINA: Sounds lovely!
JOSEPH SHAW: I would not wish to place too much emphasis on these books, however. One does not go to church in order to read a book: one can do that at home.
We attend Mass in order to take part in the Mass, which means looking at what is happening, and listening to the chants, in a spirit of prayerful contemplation.
You can’t teach your children prayerful contemplation from a book. The Mass will teach it to them: as Pope Benedict said, the liturgy is a school of prayer.
REGINA: What would you advise anyone thinking about attending the Traditional Mass for the first time?
JOSEPH SHAW: If you have the choice, go to a Sung Mass. Low Mass is a wonderful experience, but it takes more getting used to. The music at Sung Mass, if it is done well, adds an extra level of beauty to the Mass, and an extra way to engage with it.
If they are singing Chant, children attending regularly can with a little encouragement easily learn the ‘Ordinary’ Chants (Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus) and join in.
REGINA: What advice would you give parents to help them keep their children focused whilst at the Mass?
JOSEPH SHAW: What parents need to do, and do actually do, is not any different in the Traditional Mass, though the Traditional Mass offers some advantages in doing it.
Infants in Mass just need to be happy, or asleep, if they are not to disturb their parents and others, and if they are unhappy because they need something, parents do their best to give it to them.
Sometimes what they need is a breath of fresh air, so you take them outside.
When they are a bit older, as toddlers, they can play with toys, stickers, or colouring in. When they are older still, you can start pointing out key moments in the Mass to them, like the Consecration.
This becomes more important as they prepare for First Holy Communion, for which they’ll also be getting some preparation outside Mass.
Gradually, they start attending to the Mass in the way that adults do. When they can read fluently, they can benefit from books already mentioned.
To repeat, this is the same whatever Form the Mass is, and parents shouldn’t imagine that there are any special problems or requirements at the Traditional Mass.
REGINA: What is different about the Traditional Mass in terms of the parents’ job, whatever the age of their children?
JOSEPH SHAW: It’s easier.
REGINA |12