Participation

Last updated on: August 22, 2014 at 3:48 pm by Rebecca Frech

Participation 2014-08-22T15:48:31-05:00 Rebecca Frech

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve written before about #3; about his sensory issues, his vision problems, and his memory issues. He struggles to be normal in a world which moves at a dizzying speed. He works so hard to catch up, and often never makes it.

He’s been going to Mass every Sunday morning (except for the rare illness) for all of his 11 years. He can’t remember the responses. If it were another child, we would tell him to follow along in the missal, but #3 can’t read fast enough to stay up. Convergence Insufficiency is funny that way. (If you’re new here, #3 has Convergence Insufficiency, a sight disorder which means that his eyes work independent of each other causing double and triple vision. Oh, and he’s dyslexic, too.)

I struggle with knowing how much of his not participating in things is his deciding not to, and how much is his not being able to……..like Sunday morning Mass. Is he being irreverent? Is there some crisis of faith? Is he rebelling against his parents and his upbringing? Or is he struggling along and doing the best he can? I try to assume the latter. Always. It’s really hard though. 11 years of Mass. He can’t remember even a part of anything enough to recite it with us, except for the Our Father. He struggles with the Our Father.

Please don’t think it’s an intelligence issue. The kid is wicked smart and creative. He’s simply incapable of memorization. As his mom, I don’t know what to do with that. Which doesn’t mean much, because the experts we’ve seen don’t know what to do with it either.

This past Sunday, his dad and I went to separate Masses. (It happens when someone is sick.) I took #3 and most of the children with me and left the sleeping kids home with the Computer Guy. #3 stood, knelt, and sat at the same times as everyone else (after watching us to see where we were going), but he said not a single word. He didn’t sing. He was silent for the whole Mass.

So I sent him back with his father to the later one. With his father’s focused one on one attention, he was able to be a part of what was going on around him. When he didn’t have the commotion of his siblings in the pew, he could do it. (It was still hard, but he could do it.)

What is the solution then? What’s more important? That we go to Mass as a family or that he have a parent’s undivided attention to help him through it? The truth is that if we are all in a pew, one of the littles will be in dad’s lap or arms, unless they are in a different part of the Church. So where is the priority? That he participates in his family or that he participates in Mass?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 8, 2012

So Then....... Tell Me How

Next Post

July 11, 2012 3.5 Time Outs Tuesday - Doing the Potty Dance

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In what town did Jesus grow up?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Nazareth Jericho Bethlehem Jerusalem