Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Two weeks ago, I was able to attend the Mass in Lafayette celebrating the 60 th Anniversary of our Diocese. It was sixty years ago that Rome decided to carve out a large portion of the south of the Diocese of Ft. Wayne, and make it an independent diocese. The Anniversary Mass on July 10 th was quite beautiful. Maybe it was because they had it in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday, or maybe it was because it was in the middle of the summer and high vacation season, but the Mass was not real well attended. I was somewhat disappointed about this. There were four of us there, representing St. Maria Goretti. However, beyond the attendance numbers, what was even more surprising to me was the age of those attending the Anniversary Mass. Let’s just say that most people there that day, were also around sixty years ago when the Diocese was founded. I was grateful that our seminarians were there, because they were some of the youngest people in church that day. Coming from a parish like St. Maria Goretti, the lack of children and youth was shocking. I found myself actually terribly distracted by the LACK OF crying children and the complete lack of life and energy that children and young people bring. Some how, the Mass seemed so dead without kids. It is what we have gotten used to, here at St. Maria Goretti, where one out of five of us is under the age of 12.

Because this is what we are used to, I find that so many times I don’t even notice our young ones at Mass. I have had visitors tell me how loud Mass was, or comment on how many children were crying, and I had been completely oblivious to it. Personally, I am glad that we have learned to pray with the kids. First of all, I think it has made us better “pray-ers” and more focused in our celebration of the Mass. And secondly, I can’t imagine not having our children with us at Mass. It is a sign of life and of hope for the future. One family from the Parish recently returned from a vacation in Michigan, where they were asked, not-so-politely, to take their children out of Mass. The priest himself did this during Mass! I’m not quite sure how we can be a pro-life, pro-family, and pro-children Church and then turn around and embarrass people and ask them to remove their children from our prayer and worship. This will not ever happen at St. Maria Goretti. Almost all of us have dealt with a screaming child at Mass at some point in our lives. It is not fun. It is a difficult situation. Understanding is called for, and maybe even a helping hand, rather than condemnation and exclusion. We are a Parish family. Families have kids. And sometimes all kids cry and scream and won’t be calmed down. Welcome to family life!

What is also true is that when a child is having a problem, sometimes it is not just going to go away. Sometimes, parents really do need to get up and take the child out. This too is part of being a family. Sometimes, a child can simply be so much of a distraction that it is not possible for them to remain in the main worship space. Nobody should need to tell you to do this. Nobody should be embarrassed when this happens. It happens. It is not a comment on parenting skills. It is part of life with children. When we are trying to pray, and there is nothing that can be done to calm a child down, one of the parents should take the child with the problem out into our gathering area so as to not be a distraction to those around them who are trying to pray. There is an obligation to do this, if the child cannot be calmed down. This is why we build such a large gathering area with lots of glass windows and with both sound and video being sent into it. You can take a crying child into the gathering area and still keep up with Mass. In addition, St. Maria Goretti does offer a wonderful nursery co-op at most of our Masses, that is expertly facilitated by Mick and Ann Trompen. If the Nursery Co-op could assist your family and your situation, please do not be afraid to get involved.

This is an extremely sensitive area for a lot of people on both sides of the situation. We have to be considerate and helpful of one another. Above all, we need to remember charity and love and respect for all. May we work together to make our prayer AND our community, both, the best that they can be!

On a completely different note, tomorrow, Monday, July 25 th, a special monstrance that was blessed by our late Pope, John Paul II, will be in use in our Eucharistic Adoration Chapel from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM. At 12:55 PM, we will have Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament in this special monstrance. How about stopping by, and spending some time with our Lord tomorrow morning? It’s a unique opportunity!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

Maturity is knowing when and where to be immature.