Why we must suffer the little children

BY ANTHONY GATHAMBIRI

One day, in a certain outstation where I come from, a visiting priest was giving a homily. He was preaching about love and everyone was being moved by his sermon.

As he was preaching, a child laughed loudly and this made everyone else burst into laughter, including myself.

The laughter cut the flow of the homily, and this agitated the preacher. He angrily said that the church is not a place in which to laugh, and that the content of his sermon was no laughing matter anyway.

The priest went on to rebuke the mother of the child. This poor mother felt embarrassed and walked out, humiliated. I didn’t see her return for the other part of the celebration.

Children have the right to be present at the Eucharistic celebration, like any other person. It is our duty, of course, to help our children behave well during Mass.

But how do we do that? Scolding them won’t help them. Pinching them is of no use either. Punishment might instill in them fear of church instead of experiencing a loving and free relationship among Christians.

I believe that their “holy noise” could be their way of worshipping God.

In church, children are exposed to the symbols and gestures that people make at Mass, and hear the prayers and music of the liturgy. It is faith seeking understanding. Young children benefit most through observation.

A priest friend of mine told me that he has no problem with a child, even if the child came up to the sanctuary to touch his vestments. Soon after we saw the photos of Pope Francis happily indulging a child doing exactly that.

My friend said that it would be an opportunity for him to emulate Jesus, allowing the children to come and touch him. Who are we to block them from touching Jesus who loves children?

Not long ago I had a good moment at the church in Waverly, Pretoria. The children animated the celebration of the Eucharist. They role-played the “sermon”. Those angels held my attention for long. I saw some children who were not part of the play looking and listening attentively from their pews. These children wished to be in the theatre. Is this not children evangelising other children?

It’s when we respect the creativity of the children that they will feel appreciated in the Church community. Their participation can be a great enrichment to the liturgy, if we create space for them.

Children love theatre. Why not use that to alleviate their boredom and train them to be missionaries from a tender age?

The theatre, incidentally, is not an unholy thing as some might think. Venerable Mary Ward, the foundress of Sisters of Loreto, knew that theatre is an excellent way of communication in the Church. She encouraged her nuns to perform in plays; a move that was considered scandalous in her time when all female roles were played by males.

Stories are an excellent ways of communicating. They won’t harm adults if incorporated in our homilies, for the sake of the children.