Two little boys having serious fun

Last updated on: August 27, 2015 at 4:13 pm by Gerald McDermott

Two little boys having serious fun 2015-08-27T16:13:37-04:00 Gerald McDermott

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Several days ago two of my grandsons, ages four and two, were very serious about the fun they were having.

They were in an empty church, marching in deliberate fashion, starting at the back of the church in the middle aisle, and heading toward the altar at the front.

As they marched, they sang. Their song remotely resembled a hymn they had heard often at church on Sundays.

The four-year-old was holding an open hymnbook as he sang, even though he cannot read. His two-year-old brother dutifully filed behind him, pacifier in mouth, humming what no one else would recognize as musical accompaniment.

They were serious. No smiling. But they were also delighted–thrilled to be able to participate in the drama they see enacted every Sunday by the adults–and the kids.

They knew what we forget–that liturgy is not just for Sundays but for every day.

They also know that it is joy. For them it was fun. Their whole bodies were engaged. They got to march like soldiers, and sing like choristers, in a place that was both warm and holy.

This little march reminded me that a) kids can love liturgy, b) liturgy is our work of worship that frames every day, not just Sunday, c) part of the beauty of liturgy is that it engages the whole body, with all five senses, and d) liturgy teaches us how to express our adoration, which is joy, the purpose of our lives.

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