Most of us have stories something like that. One day I was giving my homily, and I compared someone’s attitude to that of a child who says, “My daddy can beat up your daddy.” As soon as I said that, a little girl shouted out, “MY daddy.” I joked that I was afraid I had gotten my father, who was probably in his late 80s at that point, into a fight. But at least that little girl was there, even if she didn’t follow anything else of what I said. And the whole thing did give everyone else a good chuckle.
The point is that I know it’s hard to bring small children to church. Children fuss and cry, and parents are afraid of disturbing those around them. Today I want to use this column to tell everyone what I try to tell the families at every baptism. I have a strong voice and a microphone, so I can make myself heard over crying children. Please do not ever feel that you have to take a crying child out of church. And if you do not have small children yourselves, then please do what you can to make such families feel welcome if they happen to be in your vicinity. I want them to feel that this is their church just as much as it is anyone else’s.
The presence of the children has another effect as well. At baptisms, I often quote the old saying that every time a child is born, it is a sign that God has not given up on the world. That is, the presence of children reminds us that God is renewing our Church by sending a new generation to take part in our community. I also often quote the final verse of Louis Armstrong’s signature song, “What a Wonderful World.” The final verse says, “I hear babies cry. I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
I was once an assistant in a parish whose church was built around the same time as ours. On my first day, as I was getting a tour, I asked the pastor if (given the age of the church) the building had a cry room. He looked offended at the suggestion. He told me that the pastor at the time the church was built had insisted (and he personally agreed) that parents should not take their children away. I agreed then, and I still agree now. (I also notice that our cry rooms are usually used by people other than those for whom they were initially intended.) While I was in that parish, one of our families used to sit in the back so that they could more easily take their children out if needed. One day they were late, and the only open seats were up front. They were amazed that their children were so much better behaved once they could see what was going on. So again, please know that I welcome children at Mass. Let’s get them started young.
Father H
