10/01/2026
A POWERFUL MESSAGE ABOUT BRINGING OUR CHILDREN TO MASS, regardless of the circumstances, has been circulating widely on social media. We felt it was a message worth sharing with our St. Joseph parish family. ❤️
We know that getting everyone to Mass isn’t always easy, but the witness of making Sunday Mass a priority can leave a lasting impression on our children. ⛪
Please be advised of our Parish expectations regarding children at Mass:
If your kids are loud, please still come to Mass.
If you’re running late because getting everyone dressed and out the door was a battle, please still come to Mass.
If your toddler won’t sit still, please still come to Mass.
If your baby needs to eat, please still come to Mass.
If your child asks questions at the least convenient moment, please still come to Mass.
If someone cries, drops a toy, or has to make their third trip to the bathroom, please still come to Mass.
If your child doesn’t know all the prayers, responses, or exactly when to sit, stand, and kneel, please still come to Mass.
If you feel like you spent the entire Mass managing your children and heard approximately 12% of the homily, please still come to Mass.
If Sunday morning feels messy instead of peaceful, please still come to Mass.
If you’re worried your children are distracting the people around you, please still come to Mass.
If your child has a disability or special needs, please still come to Mass.
Children do not learn how to be part of the Church by staying home until they can sit quietly. They learn by being here.
They learn the Sign of the Cross by watching us make it.
They learn the prayers by hearing us pray them.
They learn the Scriptures by hearing the Word of God proclaimed.
They learn reverence by watching us kneel.
They learn that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist by seeing the love and reverence with which we approach to receive Him.
They learn that the Church is their home because we make room for them here.
The wiggles, whispers, dropped crayons, crying babies, and little voices are not signs that children don't belong at Mass. They are signs that the Church is alive.
So bring the babies. Bring the toddlers. Bring the big kids. Come late if you must. Sit in the front so the littles can see. Sit in the back if necessary. Step out when you need to… but always come back in.
At Baptism, these children became members of the Body of Christ. They belong here. They need the grace of the sacraments, the example of their parents, and the love and patience of their parish family.
Children are not simply the future of the Catholic Church. They are part of the Church right now! See less
