The Latin Mass and Children

[MC Just]

My Priest says, he has seen children who love the latin mass and who are very reverant like it comes natural to them.

I have never seen children act this way in the english mass, ive seen them run around and slap people in the back and get all noisy though. (not saying all are like that).

my priest says the children he has seen at latin masses have mostly been obedient and followed the mass.

He asked a few kids why they like the latin mass, and they said it looks, sounds and feels sacred., the english mass is too noisy.

Now personally I had a hardtime finding a parish like the one I go to now, most of the Priests I have met have been liberal/modernist or just let anything go on at mass.

I dont go to a schismatic parish either, the latin mass im talking about is not the tridentine, but the novus ordo in Latin. My priest says the mass here is celebrated as Vatican II wanted it to be celebrated, and that many of the other parishes are protestantised with exxagerated interpretations of VII.

[Aloysius]

That is what I have witnessed, both from seeing how kids act in both the english mass and the Traditional Latin Mass, and from personal experience.

(obviously there are exceptions, but let's talk general trends among kids attending each mass)

I know personally I spent most of my childhood attending the mass and listening to what the priest was saying but never really understanding. Now I know you're all going to be shocked at that-- this is the english mass I'm describing not understanding. It's akin to how some kids think of elemenopee (L M N O P) is one letter from what they've heard of the alphabet... because to sit and listen to a priest say everything out loud there's no mystery for the kid to be investigating. When there's something elevated that the kid doesn't understand, he finds himself wanting to figure it all out, wanting to investigate this mystery of what the adults seem to know and understand. (it has a greater mimetic thrall). But when the priest is basically spoon feeding the congregation, it loses the mystery that the kid wants to investigate. he sits there and hears, but is less likely to want to understand in the same way a kid at the latin mass wants to understand.

again, there are exceptions, but that's my explanation for what seems to me to be the trend among kids attending both masses.

[Era Might]

People who attend a Latin Mass tend to be particularly focused and devout, as it is not a normative process. It no surprise the environment rubs off on the children.

When you're talking about an average parish, with average parishioners who aren't going out of their way to attend a particular type of Mass, of course the atmosphere is going to be different. It doesn't matter what the Mass is. If everyone is just dazed off waiting for Father to finish what he's doing up in secret, it will rub off on the kids. Ask older people. A lot of them will tell you that their Liturgical formation was hardly refined. It's because the Latin Mass was a run-of-the-mill duty. It wasn't something you went to instead of the normative Mass. It was the normative Mass.

As the Holy Father has noted many times in the past, the essential problem is not with Liturgies or Rites, but with the fundamental attitude we take with us. Impart a healthy Liturgical habitus, and everything else will fall into place, no matter what the Liturgical rite.

Edited November 11, 2005 by Era Might

[FutureSoror]

[quote name='MC Just' date='Nov 10 2005, 10:52 PM']My Priest says, he has seen children who love the latin mass and who are very reverant like  it comes natural to them.

my priest says the children he has seen at latin masses have mostly been obedient and followed the mass. 

He asked a few kids why they like the latin mass, and they said it looks, sounds and feels sacred., the english mass is too noisy.
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I have seen a few kids that are the exception to this, but I can tell you that it was true of my brother and I when we first came to the Latin mass. (We were 6 and 9, respectively.) I remember that it seemed almost unbearably long, and we talked about how long we had to kneel.

However, we could sense a real reverence there. My brother was normally a squirmy kid in mass, crawling under the pews even, but he was very reverent here. We were intrigued. My mom thought that was it, that she would have a hard time getting the family to come back. To her surprise, we asked if we could come back the next Sunday. We've been going there ever since.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

I know I was talking to one of the Sisters at the Poor Clare Monastery and when she was an active Sister and was a teacher, one child asked her if Jesus ran around in the Tabernacle and the Priest was trying to catch Him. It really would be a mystery, so they truely are lured in I would think... It also makes them more eager to learn more about it... as seen by the question asked by the one student.

[photosynthesis]

[quote name='Aloysius' date='Nov 10 2005, 11:00 PM']I know personally I spent most of my childhood attending the mass and listening to what the priest was saying but never really understanding. 
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that's how I was when I was little, too. I went, but I had no idea what was going on.

[Aloysius]

I also really didn't have much of an interest in what was going on. I think if it had been more mysterious and not obviously being spoon-fed to us, I would have been more intrigued and inquisitive as to what was going on in this mysterious and revered place...

[popestpiusx]

It is certainly true of my children. That's not to say that they have never misbehaved at the Traditional Latin Mass (I have had to exit the building a couple times to plant my hand firmly on a rear end or two), but that there is much more a sense of awe that pulls them in. It seems that they almost sense what is expected of them. This is most definitely not the case when we (on very rare occasions) find ourselves at a hoopla Mass concelebrated by Fr. Happy Jack and Sr. Jolly Roger, along with an army of euchs and other unpleasentries.

Edited November 11, 2005 by popestpiusx

[cmotherofpirl]

Era is on the money with his post - reverence is taught.

btw I took my children to a Latin Mass and they couldn't wait to get back to what they called a "real" Mass.

[popestpiusx]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Nov 11 2005, 10:17 AM']
btw I took my children to a Latin Mass and they couldn't wait to get back to what they called a "real" Mass.
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I would suggest that is also taught.

How unfortunate it is that it took the church 1970 years to come up with a 'real' Mass. Imagine the poor souls for countless centuries having to attend a 'fake' Mass.

Edited November 11, 2005 by popestpiusx

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='popestpiusx' date='Nov 11 2005, 10:20 AM']I would suggest that is also taught. 

How unfortunate it is that it took the church 1970 years to come up with a 'real' Mass.  Imagine the poor souls for countless centuries having to attend a 'fake' Mass.
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chill out PP, I was quoting my daughter. My kids grew up singing in the church choir and knew all the correct responses and postures by heart. They are used to participating in Mass. They felt they were at a performance, with no sense of involvement, just an audience.

[Jaime]

It could also be that parents who don't like Novus Ordo also don't believe in Time Outs for their kids.

[Carrie]

I've seen plenty of well behaved children at English mass.

If a parent explains and teaches a child what is going on at mass, they are more likely to behave than if a parent just brings a child to mass, doesn't explain anything, and expects them to sit quietly.

The more they understand, the more they participate, the better behaved they will be, regardless of whether it is a Latin or English mass.

[popestpiusx]

[quote name='hot stuff' date='Nov 11 2005, 10:30 AM']It could also be that parents who don't like Novus Ordo also don't believe in Time  Outs for their kids.
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I'm not sure what this means or what you are trying to imply?

Besides that, I'm pretty sure we are discussing Latin vs. English Masses, not Novus Ordo vs. Traditional.

[Jaime]

[quote name='popestpiusx' date='Nov 11 2005, 10:52 AM']I'm not sure what this means or what you are trying to imply?

Besides that, I'm pretty sure we are discussing Latin vs. English Masses, not Novus Ordo vs. Traditional.
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my bad. You caught me during my first cup of coffee. You're right we're talking english v latin

My point about child rearing philosophies is that if parents are "traditional" enough to prefer attending a latin mass, they may also prefer older methods of child rearing. Like "spare the rod spoil the child"

It wasn't meant to imply anything.