We have to get out of that rut, and if we can't immediately share books with our children, we can at least read them ourselves so that we have something to say in the car ride or when a question arises.
REGINA: Many parents who are intrigued by tradition are nonetheless concerned about their children not behaving at church during EF mass, as well as not responding well to it being in a language they do not understand.
DR. KWASNIEWSKI: It is a challenge, to be sure, with small children, but one that many parents have risen to meet. The sung Mass, and especially the solemn Mass, are very appealing to children because there is so much to look at and be inspired by and listen to (in the chants). To say it provocatively, verbal comprehension is the lowest and least important level.
Worship of the transcendent God goes far beyond bite-sized chunks of language: it is a whole ethos, an atmosphere, a world that envelops the senses. Children know the difference between something that everyone is taking seriously and something that no one can take seriously. I know a boy who was kept happily occupied for a long time just watching the thurifer and his "playing with fire."
REGINA | 79