The world we are living in right now, during this pandemic, is pretty scary. I feel like I want to do everything I can to keep my family healthy and safe and to help society too: first of all by staying home and self-isolating but also by sewing face masks… and maybe also through this blog.
Because part of being safe and healthy is also looking after our souls and the souls of our little ones by keeping a positive and harmonious atmosphere.
Churches are closed and Masses are canceled – it is very strange and all kind of structure (not only regarding schools / kindergartens but) also in our family’s life of faith is put on pause. But it shouldn’t pause our faith as such! Thanks to all the media that are at our service, the possibilities of participating in Mass and other liturgies has become really easy – only a click away.
I know it’s not easy with kids running around… But I found this period actually spiritually very uplifting! I know these online options were always available but somehow I only started taking advantage of them since we are self-isolating…
For example at 7am I try to switch on Pope Francis’ Mass live from the Vaticans Casa Sancta Marta. Of course, the kids are running around in PJs and having breakfast… and sure, I am preparing that breakfast and am running around in PJs myself too. I know, it’s not ideal! And I know, Mass should be celebrated in solemnity. But let’s be real: as parents of little kids, this is our reality for years now! Even when we are in church, running around or shushing kids – maybe even handing them snacks, books, crayons – or even changing a nappy, has become part of the solemnity of Mass for us parents already. But the Mass is continuing and we are living parts of it! Not secondary participants!
So in the morning when we try to participate in Mass with the Holy Father; there is some running around… but when offertory nears, we all stop and go to the living room to kneel down, slow down, calm down. We really try to be with Jesus. It’s a new and beautiful experience with the kids! It amazes me how concentrated and serious they can get about Jesus! And it moves me that we can have this intimate communion with God together in that moment.
I also feel very moved during communion. I thought I will feel a sadness for not being able to receive Jesus through communion but I experienced a beautiful serenity these days about it instead. Spiritual Communion is so strong and so beautiful that it fills my heart with Joy every time! AND it is something I can share with the kids fully! I found this very moving: to receive Jesus in our hearts in the same complete and perfect way because Jesus is God and God is Perfection.
Pope Francis uses this prayer to practice spiritual communion:
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
(St. Alphonsus Liguori)
You can find this prayer as a wallet-sized card with a beautiful painting on it on the eyebeleave blog as a free download. Just click here.
It’s such a simple and beautiful prayer that clearly come straight from the heart. I find it really helpful and important to be able to say this prayer together with the kids. So these days when we were kneeling together in our living room I usually improvise and tell them in a more childish simple way how we give our hearts to Jesus and ask him to be in our hearts always and how much we love him… I’m sure that kids that had their Sacrament of Communion already understand what it means and thus understand the prayer of spiritual communion as well. But little kids like Martin who is 5 and even more Lisa who is only 2 need to talk to Jesus in their own language, in their way!
I thought, maybe it would be helpful to have a child-friendly simple prayer that we could read every time always in the same way: this way they will eventually know it by heart and pray it with us and internalize it too… It’s like a dedication of their hearts to Jesus:
Dear Jesus,
You are my best friend and
I love You more than anything in the world!
I know that You are in my heart:
That gives me great joy!
I want to hug You and listen to Your voice ...
Please stay in my heart forever!
You are mine and I am yours!
Amen.
If you like you can print this prayer out as a prayer card with Martins drawing on it…
I hope this will help you celebrate Holy Mass together at home as a family in these coming weeks and probably during the Holy Week as well… Let me know how it’s going: if this has been helpful and how you try to make this extraordinary pandemic situation work for your family. I would love to hear from you!
Joy in their Eyes 
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