Enjoying Mass...

Will I ever be able to enjoy mass again?

Not too long after Eliza was born I remember asking my dad this exact question. It felt like “getting through” mass was all that I was able to do each week. My dad responded with some comment like “ yeah, it’s been like that for more than 20 years for me”.

I honestly didn’t think too much of it at the time, but as the weeks passed I really began missing the mass. After Jackson was born I even thought about going to mass by myself on Saturdays and then with the family on Sundays. However, it wasn’t just me that was missing the mass. Brian made comments almost every Sunday about not being able to pay attention or only catching one of the readings.

When I sat and really thought about it I began to realize that I MADE time for so many other things in my life. I always find time to fit in a workout during the day, I find time to watch my favorite television shows, and I even find time to mess around online during the day. I say my prayers daily, but that just wasn’t enough. So I decided we needed to do something about this mass problem.


Recently Brian and I have begun reading all the readings for Sunday mass on Saturday evenings. We read through them, sometimes more than once, and then we discuss them together.

It’s amazing what I am able to get from the mass after just doing this little thing.

I encourage all of you with small children to do the same thing. Take some time to not only pray with your spouse, but to go over the Sunday readings, and even the daily readings. Mass is something that sets Catholics apart from all other religions. We are blessed to receive the body and blood of Christ each and every week. The least that we can do is study His word and get the most out of each mass that we can.