Peace Be With You

Mass with our 6 year old daughter can sometimes be a bit of a trial. There are the predictable bathroom requests, seating arrangement arguments about which parent to sit by (and which sibling NOT to sit by), and the pleadings by Mom and Dad to pay attention...

But there is also something magical about attending Mass with a small child. Sometime toward the end of the Eucharistic prayer, our Lucy comes into her own. From the Great Amen, to the Our Father, to the A-word moment (It's Lent, so I won't say it) when she gets to shake everyone's hand, Lucy transforms before my eyes. If she was fidgety or distracted before, it is all gone. As she prepares to walk up to receive her blessing from Father during Communion, I've noticed that she looks as though she is walking on clouds.

Almost without fail, when we return to our pew, she hugs me tightly and tells me how much she loves me. Or she joyfully whispers that that it is only TWO MORE YEARS until her first communion. She will then shimmy to the end of our pew for her weekly ritual of shaking hands with Bobby, who always comes in line last and exchanges a sign of peace with her just before he receives Jesus in the Eucharist. Her peaceful smile lasts for a long time after the candles are extinguished and most people have gone home.

I was wondering about Lucy's profound transformation each week around the time that the Communion Rite begins following the Great Amen. I had hoped and expected that my little ones would fall most deeply in love with the Eucharistic prayer and gestures: the moment when heaven touches earth. But it seems that Ms. Lucy resonates most with the deep communion that flows from that moment.

From my time working with children in my own family and at our parish, I can tell you that the children have more to teach us about the Mass than we have to teach them. I have to admit that her peace and joy is quite infectious. She would give her peace and joy to anyone and only gain more. If you happen to sit close enough to us on the east side of the Church, just reach out your hand and see what I mean. She really means it when she says, "Peace be with you!"