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Questions Most Often Asked By Children's Liturgy Leaders

Over the years, we receive many questions from leaders who celebrate the Liturgy of the Word with children separate from the larger assembly. This is a good time to look at some of those questions that are most frequently asked. Readers may wish to share their experiences in dealing with some of the issues that surface in these questions and answers. The following discussion of questions tries to apply an overriding principle articulated in the Directory of Masses With Children; that is, leaders need to do what is to the spiritual advantage of the children with whom we gather. So, while we are always to be guided by Church documents and directives, our primary focus is to serve the spiritual needs of the children. As leaders of children's liturgies, we share in the responsibility of the Church to provide liturgical experiences that are appropriate for our children. In this regard, the following discussion applies another overriding principle; that is, we are best able to fulfill our responsibility when we listen to the children and let them guide us.

Q: Why should children celebrate the Liturgy of the Word separate from the large assembly?

While the practice of having children gather in a separate place is widespread, some parish leaders choose not to provide this option. Their reasons are varied. Some feel that children belong in the assembly and that their experience there is a positive one. They feel that having children leave conveys a message of exclusion. Moreover, some feel that when children leave they disrupt the service.

Others argue, on the contrary, that attending to children in a separate place conveys a sense of belonging, which they do not experience in the large assembly. In keeping with the Directory for Masses With Children, they argue that while liturgy can have a positive formative influence on children, it can also be harmful if the experience does not respect and provide for the child's needs. They feel that inviting children to a separate gathering, when done with ritual care, highlights the significance of the Liturgy of the Word not only for the children but also for those in the large assembly. Still others make the point that when the children are gone, adults are better able to pay attention to the liturgy.

Q: Should children gather with the large assembly or go directly to the separate place where children's liturgy is held?

This question often comes from a concern over how some participants in the large assembly might find the exit of children disruptive. Many leaders recommend having children gather with the large assembly in order to convey to the children—and to the larger assembly—that children are significant members of the community. So it is important for the children to be with the assembly for the Gathering Rite.

Q: What should be the age range of children who participate in a separate liturgy?

Surveys have shown that most children who participate in a separate liturgy range in age from 5 to 9 or 10 years. In some parishes older children continue to participate as helpers, attending to the very young. We recommend that parishes encourage older children and some adults to participate, not as moderators or disciplinarians, but as model members of the worshipping community. The children's liturgy then becomes a small community representing the entire spectrum of life, not composed exclusively of children but predominantly of children.

Q: We have so many children, we have to divide them into groups. What is the best way of doing this?

Often leaders divide children into age groups, following the popular pedagogical model which places children in grades by age. While liturgy is a learning experience, it is not schooling; it is worship, public prayer. Should your numbers be so large as to defeat the purpose of providing a more intimate experience for children, we recommend dividing the children alphabetically by last names. Then all of the children in one family can stay together and you will achieve a mix of ages so that the children (and the adults who gather with them) can share their reflections across the ages and, therefore, across a wider range of experience and insight.

Q: When there is a separate Liturgy of the Word for children, should the leader carry the children's lectionary for children in the processional with the presiding celebrant and the lector who is also carrying a lectionary?

Some liturgists consider having two books of readings carried in the processional to be a duplication of symbols and, therefore, to be avoided. Other liturgists make the point that each person who is playing a major role in the celebration should be part of the processional. Still others argue that the children's liturgy leader should be in the processional but should not carry the lectionary for children if the lector for the large assembly is also carrying a lectionary.

In making such choices, one needs to ask how the children might interpret the presence or absence of the children's lectionary in the processional. How does the leader's and the lectionary's presence convey to children a sense of belonging and participation? Some parishes have a child walk in the processional with the children's lectionary. The rationale: to heighten the children's sense of being a significant part of the assembly.

When the leader or a child carries the lectionary in the processional, the gesture pays recognition to the importance of children in the assembly. It also says that the separate children's liturgy of the word is an integral part of the entire ritual.

Q: If the children's lectionary is carried in the processional, where is it placed after the liturgical ministers arrive?

Parish custom varies. Sometimes the children's lectionary is placed next to the other lectionary on the large lectern. In other cases, the children's lectionary is placed on a bookstand facing the community, near the larger lectern. Sometimes, the person who has carried the book places it on the altar because it is close to where the children will gather with the presiding celebrant before they leave the large assembly.

Q: What is the best way to have the children leave the assembly for their separate place?

After the Gathering Rite, usually the presiding celebrant invites those children who wish to come forward. The presider might say, "We welcome now the children and adults who wish to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word together." This is the signal for the children and adults to come forward. Wording is important; we do not want to suggest that the children are being dismissed. Rather, the wording should suggest that the children are participating in the same rite as the large assembly.

Q: What might the presiding celebrant say to the leader or child who comes forward to carry the book of readings?

If the book is given to the leader, the celebrant might address the person by name and say: "Receive the book of God's Word. Proclaim it with these children, as we proclaim it here, so that God's Word will guide us all to live in faith, hope, and charity." If a child carries the book, the presiding celebrant might still commission and present the book to the leader who, in a ritual manner, gives the book to the child. The person carrying the book leads the way. The book held high enough so that everyone can see it.

Q: Should the children leave and return in a formal way?

Processions are important to children. Children call them parades. They are a natural part of children's fantasy and play experience. Children like to be part of a parade and often create their own. Parades are an expression of paying homage and of giving importance to everyone and everything that might be included in the parade.

We recommend that children gather up front and leave in procession, two-by-two. In some cases, three children from the same family might walk together. In this way, the children are in a "parade" which gives honor to the presence of God symbolized in the book of God's Word. So, too, is it an honor to participate in such a parade, to walk with God, to follow in God's way.

During the procession, the entire assembly should be singing an appropriate psalm with the children. This song would also serve to prepare the assembly for its hearing of the Word. In this way, the leaving of the children is integrated into the movement of the ritual, and helps to bring the assembly into focus on the Word.

Q: How do you keep the children from being distracted during the procession?

In some parishes, the distance to the place where the children gather is either lengthy or requires going up or down stairs. Holding hands and singing a psalm refrain will help to keep the children in focus. Also, the music leaders should position themselves throughout the procession rather than at the beginning or the end.

Q: How can you keep the children in focus after they arrive?

As the children enter the room, the person holding the book should remain standing with the book held for all to see. The children remain standing and singing until all have entered. Then the leader puts the book down, with ritual care, in its place of honor facing the children. The leader bows to the book and takes his or her place. These ritual gestures convey to children the importance of this liturgical symbol, not unlike one gives recognition to individuals to whom we owe respect, by giving them a place before we take ours. Moreover, we want to convey to children the notion that we are gathering here in the presence and honor of God, to listen to God speak to us.

Q: We know that liturgy is not supposed to be a religion class. But when it comes to reflecting on the word with children, that's what happens; leaders fall into the model of classroom teachers rather than leaders of prayer. How can we avoid turning liturgy into pedagogy?

Leaders often feel they're responsible for teaching children the message of the readings. As has often been said, liturgy does have a pedagogical effect, but that is not its purpose, nor should our style of reflecting on the scriptures be one in which the leader is the focus of attention.

The primary objective of Liturgy of the Word with children is to facilitate their participation in our communal expression of praise and thanksgiving. The homily is to be a conversation with the children. While this exchange can be instructive, its purpose is not pedagogical but prayer. (The same holds, by the way, for the adult community's homily, although this is often not the community's experience.) In this conversation, the leader is certainly entitled to share with the children his or her thoughts, but only as part of the children's engagement in sharing their thoughts, whether they are "doctrinally sound" or "off the wall." The leader is not the focal point of this conversation; the focus is on the Word, and engaging children (and ourselves) in listening to God speak to us through the readings and in our hearts from within our experience of the Word made flesh in our lives.

Q: How can the leader keep the children's attention without resorting to devices that turn the time of reflection into entertainment?

We need to be careful not to trivialize God's Word in an effort to keep the children's attention. We make God's Word the focus by engaging the imaginations of the children through open-ended questions. When we ask, for example, "What do you think it was like for Peter to hear Jesus tell him that he (Peter) would deny him three times", each of us will respond in our own particular ways. Or, "What would you have said to Jesus if he told you that you were going to deny him three times?" The answer to these questions is not in any book; they come from the heart, from our experience of denial and faithfulness, of failure in relationships and in forgiving one another.

After engaging the children in the biblical experience, we invite the children to look out at their lives, again through the use of open-ended questions. For example, "What is it like for you to be betrayed by a friend?" "What is it like for you to forgive, as Jesus forgave Peter and came to depend upon Peter as 'the Rock'?" "What is it like for you to be dependable, to be a "rock" for someone?"

Finally, after looking at our lives through the vision of God's Word, we move into reflecting on what God might be asking of us. "In what ways can we be dependable, faithful, forgiving, as Jesus was?" "What might we do when we fail someone who depends upon us?"

This process is open-ended and without limits, as the Mystery of God's presence is limitless in depth and scope. In this way, we not only hear God's Word proclaimed from the book of readings, we also hear God's Word proclaimed from the lives of the children in whom the Word has already taken flesh. The purpose is not to indoctrinate, but to inquire, to listen and to explore, prayerfully and humbly, what we hear God saying to us. In this way, we gather the wisdom of the community—including the children's wisdom—from which the church, through the ages, draws its teachings and formulates its doctrines. Through this liturgical action, we engage the children in the life of the community as the Word continues to become flesh in and through us here and now. What better gift can we pass on to our children?

Q: How can one formulate a creed that is appropriate for children?

Many leaders find the Apostles' Creed and particularly the Nicene Creed too difficult for children. You can create a simple creed phrased in the form of questions, following a Trinitarian formula. "Do you believe in God who made us and loves us?" "Do you believe in Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, rose from the dead and now reigns with God in heaven?" "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts and helps us to live as Jesus wants us to live and to care for one another?" You can also create a creed by drawing upon the content of the readings in which case you would also follow the Trinitarian formula.

Q: What is the best way to engage the children in contributing to the prayer of the faithful?

This can happen with a simple invitation to pray, often by taking a cue from the readings. For example, if the reading is about Lazarus and the rich man, we might open the prayer by saying, "Let us pray that we will be generous and share what we can with one another." In this way, you will also be giving the children a focus from which to phrase their own prayers.

Q: When the children return to the assembly, should they enter in a formal procession?

Usually the children return during the collection, right before the offertory procession. By returning informally to their places with their families, they simply blend in with the collection activity and do not disrupt the flow of the ritual.

© 2001 Human Foundations Institute, Inc.

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