Why do we have to go back to church in-person?
Why can’t we just watch Mass online?
What if we get sick?
But we don’t have to go to Mass, so why are we going?
Can’t I just watch Mass later?
These are some of the questions I have heard over the passing months as our family navigated shut downs, waves of quarantines, and now some of us are dipping our toes back into society and full communion with The Church. How we answer our children’s questions, will help them to understand with some clarity, why any of us ever go to Mass.
Helping your children understand why we attend Mass is a life lesson.
We attend Mass weekly because our souls need to be in contact with Jesus. The Eucharist sustains us. Now, more than ever, we need the supernatural strength found in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. We don’t attend because it is an outward obligation. We attend because our souls require it. Thus, we attend when we can, if we can, even when the dispensation is in place.
Watching Mass online allows us to listen to scripture, and the Homily helps apply that scripture to our daily lives, but Catholics are not Sola Scriptura. We are a sacramental people. Our souls long for confession, for Eucharist, for connection with the Lord in these most intimate ways.
If we ourselves are healthy and able, we go. If we are careful and follow the guidelines, many of us can safely worship together and participate in this celebration and sacrifice of the Mass. It is important not to put physical comfort or irrational fear above spiritual health.
Prepare your children for the changes they will see when they enter the Sanctuary. Pews are now taped off, sanitizer is in place, Holy Water has been removed and the passing of the peace is skipped over. Offering baskets may no longer float the pews, and at our parish carpets have indicators to remind us of social distance. It looks different. It feels different. Depending on the attitude of your priest and parishioners, the members of the congregation may, or may not, be wearing masks. All this said, the beauty of the Mass remains as it has for 2000 years. The important things remain the same.
We are all trying to make sense of the risks and weigh those risks for our own families against the rewards of a fully sacramental life. God willing, at some point, those who have been participating in online worship rather than in-person Mass, will return to the Sanctuary. Hopefully by reflecting upon why we attend in person will help us all to appreciate the Sacrifice of the Mass more deeply, and help us all to draw closer to Him.
For more tips like these be sure to catch my podcast Parenting Smarts, or join me on Instagram.
Thanks for stopping by!
