The Last Shall be First

As part of our church's Sacramental preparation, the kids get a subscription to "Magnifikids."  I wasn't sure what to think about that, but my little guy was excited:  "So, this tells me *everything* that's going on and what the priest says?"  He was a little disappointed that he couldn't do the word search during Mass, but with a toddler in the family, it's not a good idea for us to introduce pens into the pews!

Though I'm blogging about the highlights (mostly) of this whole process, I don't want to give the impression we're a scrubbed up, modern holy family.   First of all, I missed most of Mass because I was outside with a screaming toddler.  (Which brings up a whole lot of questions about Communion and when it's okay to receive.  I didn't, because it didn't feel right since I wasn't in the building.  My husband thought it would've been fine in the sense of home visits and that I honestly tried to attend.)

Secondly, here's how our preparation went.   After K. read today's Gospel, he asked me:

"Hey, Mom, do you want to be great?"   Yes, I replied with a smile. 
He laughed, "All right, then, you get to be MY SERVANT." A bigger smile and more laughter. 

So I asked him: well, do YOU want to be great? 
He thought about it for a moment (with a heart breakingly cute far off stare).  

Then he says, "I want to be good, Mom, but not great.  Just good."  A small smile.

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He's been interested in money lately:  earning, getting as gifts, saving, spending on toys.  Last week, I was very interested to hear what he thought about the Rich Young Man Gospel.  The priest had a great homily that told about how a monkey will grab something shiny in a small neck bottle, and be trapped there because he won't let go of his shiny treasure.  It seemed to capture K's imagination, but I didn't push the issue about giving up everything for Jesus.

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These are hard teachings, in familiar stories.  Am I ready to give up everything I think I "own" or "control" for Jesus?  Do I really want to be great, or will I settle for "good enough"?  And how do we raise a family, balancing safety and stability, with the Gospel, which calls us to continually give up what we've worked to build in order to rely more on God?  Tough questions for me, let alone my 7 year old.  So I'm not pushing him to be great.  I'm not even joking about already being his servant.  I am praying more, and more, for each of us to have the desire to be great (like the sons of Thunder) or perfect (like the Rich Young Man).

"Earning" First Communion

Today was the first day of school.  Our oldest son started Second Grade, which is a big deal since... it's a "sacrament year."  But his behavior has been so... challenging at Mass this summer.  So last week, we had (for the 3rd time) a talk about Church behavior.  Again, I said something along the lines of:  "You're not making your First Communion just because you're in second grade, or because all your friends are.  You've got to want it, to be ready for it, and to be able to show us you're ready."  It was a good talk, I thought.

This week, his behavior at Mass was *much* better.  He sang refrains, he prayed aloud the phrases he knew, he only tormented his baby brother 3 or 4 times.   I complimented him after Mass, and he replied:  "I know, Mom.  I've got to be good at Mass so I can earn my First Communion."

NO!  Oh gosh, NO.  That's not how Sacraments work!  They're GIFTS from God- freely given!  There's nothing we DO that makes us DESERVE God's Grace!  

Of course, I didn't say anything like that because I was so dumbfounded I just... stood there, with my mouth open.  He skipped down the aisle to catch up with the rest of the family.  And now, I've got a new problem on my hands:  

how do I explain Communion

and encourage good behavior at Mass

without wrecking his idea of God?!

It's a rabbit hole question, of course, leading to other ones:  what IS good behavior at Mass?  If I get my family on board, how do I get our pew-neighbors on board too?   *sigh*    It's time for more coffee. 

This Kid, this Week, this Blog

Hi.  I'm Kristi, and my husband and I are cradle Catholics.  I wouldn't say we're 'holy rollers'.... but we're familiar with churchy stuff.  Mostly.  Sort of.  At least, we thought we were.

Then we had kids.  Boys who don't sit still at Mass.  One baby who liked to go "pffft" during the homily.  Another that crawled under the pew, away from us.  A toddler who has used a wall crucifix as a sword (only once, but still).  He grew into a preschooler who waved at the priest he knew- during Mass.  Then a Kindergartener who told us we could go to Church without him, because he didn't really need to go.  And now a Second Grader, excited to go to Communion like his older friends and cousin did last year.   Every week, he asks us:  Is THIS the week he gets to eat with us?

So we're not perfect in any way, but we're taking religion seriously enough that we want to 'do it right'.  I'm not sure what that means, exactly, or how to do it, so I've started this blog as a way to help me figure it out.

If you've got it figured out, please don't comment.  But if you're working on it, like us, then comment away.  Tell us what's worked with your kids- or what's failed.  Share your story.  We'll pray for each other, and we'll get through this.  With God's grace, of course!