Helping Children Be Ready for & Relate to the Traditional Latin Mass

With tried-and-true book recommendations at the end

Having discussed in part 1 and part 2 the reasons why the traditional Latin Mass is a powerhouse of spiritual formation and nourishment, I would now like to turn to more practical matters.

Worth the time and trouble

Some parents wonder: “Isn’t the traditional Latin Mass longer and more difficult to get into, and harder to keep your children well-behaved at?” The answer is both yes and no. Yes, it demands more of everyone—but it also delivers more. The Catholic richness it provides in your life and in the lives of your loved ones is worth the time and trouble.

Children in their squirmy or noisy stages are going to be a handful at any liturgy and will always require tag-teaming with one’s spouse or the help of a mature sibling of theirs. Children who are older and have learned to sit still will often find much more to interest them and keep them occupied during a Latin Mass—above all, a sung Mass (High Mass or Missa cantata), even more a Solemn High Mass—than they will ever find in typical Novus Ordo surroundings. Many families I’ve spoken with have reported better behavior at longer Latin Masses!

There are many reasons for this, but to put it briefly, there is a lot more ceremonial and pageantry to watch, the vestments and church decorations are usually more beautiful to look at, the music generally has a calming and quieting effect, and the congregation tends to be intently focused on the Mass in a way that makes it easier to swim in the same direction. Indeed, the whole thing feels more serious, more solemn, more transcendent, more awesome. Children, even small ones, can pick up on that difference in atmosphere almost as intuitively as animals respond to upcoming changes in the weather.

There are two distinct aspects of improving a child’s hold on the Mass and the Mass’s hold on the child: remote preparation (what we do at home), and proximate preparation (what we do at church). Let’s take up each in turn.