"Let the {Tinies} Come to Me"

As I shuffled back into my seat after receiving Communion at Mass last Sunday, I dropped the kneeler and settled on my knees. Some days I bury my head in my hands to pray, other days I sing the Communion song as part of my prayer, and occasionally, I look around at the people around me also witnessing this beautiful miracle of Transubstantiation taking place in the middle of our humble, undeserving city.

This particular Sunday, an image caught my eye. While most of the congregation knelt in their pews, there was a mother standing in the very front row. She had a baby in her arms who was covered by a light poncho. Her hands were outstretched in front of her, palms up, her eyes were gently shut, and she swayed slowly back and forth in deep prayer. She stayed there like that, breastfeeding her infant--a peaceful, prayerful woman right in front of the Lord's altar.

In this moment during communion, she was completely at peace. She wasn't ashamed to be feeding her baby, she wasn't worried about what others would say, she did not take her children to a separate, shut-off area to worship. This mommy had marched her whole clan right up in front of God, himself, and was not afraid to be a mother--the work God had given her.

Jesus wants the children to come to Mass.

Satan wants to keep them away.

 "They are little," "It's difficult for them to sit still," "You can get better prayer time without them there," evil chides.

But, yet, still, Jesus calls the tinies specifically. He does not care that they cannot sit still. He does not care they may get hungry. If our children do not grow up around the Mass, how will they understand it as they grow?

My mother once told me, "Being at Mass is like sitting around a campfire. You don't have to be looking at it, or even paying attention to it for it to warm you."

We should be encouraging mothers and fathers to attend Mass with their children. It is a lot of work. They are tough years. It may even be a battle to get them in the car as they grow. But God sees all of this. He knows your heart. He did not simply say, "Children, come to me." He said, "Let the children come to me." As if he knew parents would find it difficult to get them there. But he is challenging parents to let them come.

Working in a Catholic school with preschoolers, I definitely see that my students have a beautiful understanding of faith. Children have an innate call to the Divine. It is the adults who have to let them seek that desire for God.

In short, bring your tinies to Mass. ALL are welcome.