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Holy Distraction
The tools provided by the church.
The church gives us a variety of physical gifts to help with bringing our children’s mind to things holy.
If we imagine our child to be like an illiterate medieval peasant, we can point them towards the traditional stained glass, statues, stations, and other art and architecture around them as an invitation to contemplate the Divine.
Arriving early at Mass can provide a good opportunity to quietly identify the the altar, tabernacle, candles, etc…
Sacramentals are also handy for quietly engaging the young child.
We have made judicious use of free holy cards on the table at back of church, and when we remember to bring them, a child friendly rosary is great for teething or fidgeting. I also find young ones who cannot even read are somehow thrilled to flip endlessly through a hymnal on occasion. We just make sure they treat the book with care.
I have never consistently had the presence of mind to bring holy books, cards, or missals from home, but we did donate the first batch of children’s missals to our parish to offer in the back of church alongside the regular missal. That way we were never without one!
Another catch phrase you can use is “God’s house!” When someone is running after Mass or being overly loud or otherwise abusing the space, we will use this phrase as a quick reminder that this is a our spiritual home and requires special care from us.
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