JOSEPH SHAW: Children’s general education in the Faith, at home and at school, will help, but they should be getting this whatever kind of Mass you are attending.
First, children should be taking part in family prayers. If you want to teach children to get used to kneeling and being quiet and recollected, ten minutes’ practice a day is a lot more effective than an hour once a week.
Secondly, every catechism and Religious Instruction course includes material on the nature of the Mass and the other sacraments. Some catechisms and courses do this better than others, naturally.
REGINA: And what about the music?
JOSEPH SHAW: It is probably too much to expect your friendly local Catholic school to teach your children Latin and Gregorian Chant, but it should be: they are every Western Catholic’s birthright.
REGINA: How do we learn about what’s going on in a Latin Mass?
JOSEPH SHAW: If you do make the Latin Mass your regular Mass, there are lots of excellent books available for children of different ages to look at during Mass, and to read and have read to them at home.
They will help your children (and perhaps you too) to understand more exactly what is happening at each stage, and what the ceremonies signify. As the children grow older there are hand missals with the readings and other texts for each Mass, prayers for personal use, and beautiful pictures.
REGINA |9