The Liturgy Office occasionally receives questions concerning the current status and proper use of the Lectionary for Masses with Children (1993). This resource was first approved in 1991 by the US bishops, who wished to provide a practical resource for implementing the Holy See’s Directory for Masses with Children (1973). That latter document allowed for special accommodations for children within the Liturgy of the Word at Mass, including the possibility of celebrating a Liturgy of the Word with a homily in a space separate from adult members of the congregation.
The current status of the Lectionary for Masses with Children is somewhat ambiguous. The Holy See gave a first provisional confirmation for its use in 1992, and this was extended in both 1997 and 2000. A second edition of the Lectionary was later prepared and approved by the USCCB in 2005, but this revision has not yet been confirmed by the Holy See. In the interim, the USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship has stated that, since confirmation for the use of the current edition has not been expressed revoked, the 1993 Lectionary may continue to be used.
The Lectionary for Masses with Children adapts the usual selection and arrangement of readings to the needs and capacities of children, primarily preadolescents. In some cases, readings in the Roman Lectionary that were judged to be too abstract were omitted, as were some passages that include images that might confuse or disturb children, or mistakenly be taken to be anti-Semetic or racist. Where readings have been removed, they have been replaced; however, the Gospel selections have all been maintained, but are shortened in some cases. The Lectionary for Masses with Children contains adapted sets of readings for Masses on Sundays and Solemnities of the Lord during Ordinary Time (A, B, and C) and a sample selection of sixty sets of readings for weekdays in Advent, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. It also provides readings for Masses for the Proper of Saints; Commons; the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, and Reconciliation; and Various Needs and Occasions.
The Lectionary’s Introduction states that these adapted readings may be used at separate celebrations of the Liturgy of the Word with children and at weekday Masses with children in which only a few adults participate (e.g., school Masses). In some parishes, the Lectionary for Masses with Children is also used at a mid-morning “family Mass” celebrated on Sunday. While this may be advisable from time to time depending on pastoral circumstances, the Introduction to the Lectionary cautions that “priest celebrants should not use [this resource] exclusively or even preferentially at Sunday Masses, even though large numbers of children are present,” given that the adults present in these settings should regularly be exposed to the usual and more expansive versions of these same readings. In fact, the USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship recommends that the Lectionary for Masses with Children should generally not be used at Sunday Masses, except in cases of celebrations of a separate Liturgy of the Word with children.
Lastly, a word on separate Liturgies of the Word with children held in a space adjacent to the celebration of Mass: while both the Directory for Masses with Children and Lectionary for Masses with Children permit a non-ordained person to give a homily in these settings, this practice appears to be no longer permitted in light of the 2005 document from the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Redemptionis Sacramentum. Therein, the Congregation stated, “any previous norm that may have admitted non-ordained faithful to give the homily during the eucharistic celebration is to be considered abrogated” (65). In light of this updated guidance and the shortage of available clergy on busy Sunday mornings, parishes may instead decide to keep children with the congregation for the Liturgy of the Word rather than sending them forth to a separate location. In this case, families can be encouraged to prepare for Mass by reading the Sunday readings together during the week, and then discussing these texts and the homily after Mass. There exist many online resources to assist parishes and parents in this effort, including discussion guides, coloring pages, crafts, and even recipes that can help to engage children and prepare them for the celebration of Sunday Mass with their families.
-Fr. Matthew Ernest