Sorry for the delay of a day, I’m still learning about this whole Internets phenomenon.

As was mentioned in the last blog post, on Tuesday Molly and I had the great pleasure of helping with the opening Mass of Scoil Mhuire. When you live on a campus for four years, you forget what it is to go to Mass with people of all ages, especially children. There is something to be said for viewing the sacred liturgy from the simple eyes of a child and singing simple hymns of praise and love alongside them. I will also say this: I have never seen a congregation so fidgety during the long parts of Mass. Perhaps my favorite moment was the sign of peace, which erupted almost immediately into conversation between the different students there and lasted far longer than it normally does. If I did not know better, I would have thought I had returned to Notre Dame for a dorm Mass.

While the Mass was refreshing and enjoyable, it did carry with it a sobering lesson. During the Mass we noticed that one of the short dialogues between the assembly and the priest was not included in projected congregational aid. When the time came for it, the children were unsure of what to say, and so said nothing. What held them back wasn’t a lack of enthusiasm; it was a lack of knowledge and formation. If provided with the right knowledge and formation, their participation is active and full. It was a reminder of why we are here; it was a reminder of what we are here to do.