By Jennifer Ashton, Primary Guide
In the Children’s House, there is a beautiful integration between the liturgical life of the Atrium and our communal mealtime, a shared experience we have each day. We have often spoken about our community table where we gather to eat. Children arrive and set the table with tablecloth, napkins and glasses. Others prepare the food that will be shared. Others still, gather around in anticipation to check in, when will it all be ready?!
Our community meal is a reflection and a modeling of the way Our Lord gathered His closest friends together to share and break bread with one another many times, leading to that most important meal, where He revealed Himself in the Eucharist. It is during Ordinary Time in the Fall where we share the presentation of the Model Altar with the children. At the Holy Mass it is Jesus who calls us to the table to share in this special meal.
The Altar also has a special and beautiful tablecloth, that is white like the light! A small model Paten, Chalice, Crucifix, and candles are also set on the table, and we identify each one as it is reverently placed on the Altar. Once it is prepared, we light the candles and say the words, “Christ has died and Christ is Risen.” When the children prepare the Model Altar in the Atrium, it is their prayer of thanksgiving and they love to sit and enjoy it’s beauty. It is beautiful to see the meticulous care with which the children prepare the meal and the table that they will sit at to share in their communal meal, and to see a parallel in the careful preparation that is done to set up the Model Altar. It is a lucid demonstration of the familial bond that we take part in as members of the Body of Christ, and teaches the children in a clear and simple way how we are all a true family with Christ and one another. These are some of the first steps that the child will take in understanding the depth of the reality of the Mass, and in a few years, the child will be able to participate even more fully when he receives his first Holy Communion!
When you go to Mass with your children, try to sit as close as you can to the Altar so they can see what is happening. The more they are able to witness, the more fully they will grasp the importance and beauty of this shared meal that Christ Himself beckons us to! You can also take a tour around the Church before or after Mass and enjoy stained glass artwork, or the statues of Mary, Joseph and the saints. Look at the articles on the credence table. Jesus said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14