We continue to be blessed with a high degree of family engagement at our 9:30 am Sunday Mass! The Family Faith Formation team and their committed leaders continue to work with Fr. Paddy & Fr. Alex to offer several activities to help each young family feel welcome and a valued member of this faith community.
In the past few years, we have revamped the 9:30 am Mass so that each homily is family-friendly and the readings are from the Children’s Lectionary, so the language is simplified and easier for our younger children to comprehend. Fr. Alex also provides commentary on different parts of the Mass, to provide context and help our children understand what is happening.
Catechesis is worked into each Mass to help children understand valuable parts of the Catholic faith and this is accomplished through themed units. Past themes have included Disciple-ship and God's Family Tree.
The albums and the parent testimonials shared on this page show the fruits of the renewal initiatives within the Family Mass. We feel so grateful to you, our parents, who have continued to support Family Faith Formation. You truly provide a wonderful example of the Domestic Church in action!
Another important initiative that has borne much fruit is that of our Child Readers at this Mass. We have been inviting our families with Middle School-age children in the Proclamation of the Word, and our younger Elementary age children in the Prayers of the Faithful. Coaching for the child lectors by an experienced adult is offered to support each family. It has been truly wonderful to see our children grow in their faith and discover a love for Scripture that they did not know they had!
Other engagement opportunities include Hospitality, having children hand out song sheets at the door before Mass, and our Joyful Noise and Cherub choirs. We also have been asking our families to bring up the Offertory Gifts during Mass. This provides a way for families to serve together and feel like active participants, no matter what their age.
“The 9:30am Family Mass has brought such joy and excitement to my household. My children look forward to actively participating in mass, and especially love being song motion leaders. To my surprise, they have never shown nervousness and truly love doing it. Recently, my kindergartener, Mackenzie expressed an interest in reading the Prayers of the Faithful. I was so proud of her desire to read and so thankful that when she asked, she was encouraged to do so by the faith formation leaders. Sunday’s family mass has been a wonderful way for my family to begin the week, with a focus on God and our thankfulness for all we have.“ -Jen Cohan
“What a joy it is to sit as a family and listen to the liturgy of the word. Even more it is an absolute blessing to have our children proclaim the word of God publicly in church and to be proud of their religion and preach God’s love.” -Zeris Family
It also has given us an opportunity, on the way to Mass, to talk about going to Jesus’ house, how much he loves us, and what they think the gift from the Holy Spirit will be this week! The kindness of the parishioners when they get unruly or start to ask them questions during Mass is amazing. It truly gives us, my husband and I, a sense of ease and acceptance. We had not been going to Mass regularly because of their attention span or feeling that we’d be too much of a distraction to others. After signing the kids up for the ND Faith Formation, we decided to give in person mass another go. We found our perfect niche to sit in and you’ll even see us watching mass in the gathering space. We both want our kids to feel that the Church, or Jesus’s house as they call it, is a safe and welcoming place. That they are a part of this church family and everyone at ND has gone out of their way to make us feel that way.”
Thank you so much for everyone you all do!”
Erika Brito
“The Family Mass is engaging and inclusive of our children! It allows our entire family to attend Mass and connect with scripture and the church community. It also prompts good discussion after Mass about the Bible and Christ’s teaching because our boys are actively listening due to the format of the service. It’s a great way for our children to feel included in our religion and traditions. They not only attend Mass but participate!” --Ami Simunovich
“The family mass has been great. Our kids are excited from the moment we pull down Ridgedale Avenue! They look forward to the percussion instruments, high-fiving Father Alex and Paddy, and listening/watching the children that read the Prayers of the Faithful. My son can’t wait for the day that it’ll be his turn!
“Attending the weekly liturgy has become a significant part of the start to the week. Listening to Father Alex preach in an engaging way has made my children look forward to going to church each week and we feel a bit empty when we miss it. We also really enjoy the children participating in sharing the Word.” -Amie Grosso
The Summa family shares what happens after they attend the Family Mass...
"We play an easy group question/answer game. Winners or anyone who pays attention and knows the answer gets a special treat that day. Sometimes this is picking where we go for breakfast after mass or a special snack. Sometimes it’s more like a “free play” and the kids pick the reward.
An example of our question game is this: This past weekend's Gospel Jesus talked to his disciples about going out to speak to the people about his good news. What did he tell them to bring with them? Answer: very little. Just a walking stick and wear sandals on their feet.
Depending on the age of our kids we decide if the answer is close to correct.
We have also in the past come up with questions about specific things in the church. Such as: What color is the tall candle that is always lit at the front of altar? Extra point: what color is the candle closest to the tabernacle? We do this especially when we go to a church that is not Notre Dame where things might be different than they are usually used to. It’s a very simple game but it helps our kids pay attention in mass and it sometimes sparks them to ask questions about things after mass they may have otherwise daydreamed through. It also secretly keeps us thinking during the readings too!
These are very simple question/answer games, but they keep our kids a little more focused during Mass."
Mary Ann and Pete