Our Catechism teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children in the ways of faith. As reported in the publication the “National Catholic Register”, Pope Francis, in one of his weekly general audiences, stated that the Church and all Christian communities are called to accompany and support parents in their educative role.
One way we assist parents in educating their children at Saint Brigid is through our “Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW)” Ministry. As explained in our Parish School of Religion guidelines, the “CLOW ministry enables children to participate in the formal worship experience, to nourish and guide their spiritual growth and to immerse them in the Word of God in ways that are understandable to them.”
Children are encouraged to attend Mass with their parents, and then, “The children are dismissed from Mass during the Liturgy of the Word. They are escorted to the chapel and assisted by volunteer shepherds. They will hear the Word from the Children’s Lectionary. The leader guides the children to an understanding of the Gospel that they can embrace. The children will return to their parents at the offertory.”
The guidelines also states that “All the elements that help to explain the readings are given great consideration so that the children may make the bible readings their own and may come more and more to appreciate the value of God’s word.”
CLOW is offered during the school year at the 5 pm Saturday Vigil Mass, and at the 9 am and 11 am Sunday Masses. All children, ages 4 years old through First Grade, are welcome to participate. There is no registration necessary.
With the onset of the Covid-19 virus, the above format was replaced in March with “on-line” teaching sessions coordinated by Mr. Mark Halaszynski for the remainder of the school year. These sessions were well received by both parents and children. We hope to resume “in-person” sessions in the Fall as soon as Archdiocesan guidelines permit. The media outlet “Share Catholic” provided the following “A Prayer for Children”, reminding us that our children are gifts from God and that we have a responsibility to care for and nurture them.
God our Father, You have blessed us with the gift of children;
thank You for these precious gems which adorn our house.
Their laughter gives us joy and brightens our lives.
They are expressions of your presence in our home.
Their growth shows the mysteries of Your love.
May they experience Your loving presence, advance in wisdom and grow in Your love.
Our children’s future is in Your hands,
and yet we have our own role to play in shaping that future.
Help us to be true to our responsibility so that we may assist them
in responding to Your graces and thus to become what we want them to be.
Amen.
We thank our CLOW coordinators Barbara Kratz and Kathryn Halaszynski and their staff for all they do to assist our children as they grow in their knowledge and understanding of the faith.