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Views from the Choir Loft

Young Boys Who “Play” Mass

Veronica Moreno · December 18, 2022

Y SON started by carrying a stick (as processional cross) around the house. He would don a towel and carry sticks around the house. In time, it slowly evolved. By the time he turned 10, it was the entire Mass. This mother couldn’t help it; I bought him a “play vestment set” one Christmas. Then some play vessels. One day he found a vintage silver-plated goblet (now a chalice!) in his grandmother’s garage, and slowly his MASS KIT grew. Visiting a colonial Mexican town, we bought him candy that looked like hosts.

His Bell Summons My Children • At first, he “played” the entire Mass—from beginning to end—in our living room. He memorized (broadly speaking) the entire Mass in Latin. He single-handedly functioned as priest, altar server, and choir. But like the “instruments” and “tools” of Mass, this also grew. My other children learned to accept that during his “Masses,” they’d have to go to Communion when they heard his bells ring. The bells. I forgot to mention the different bells he went through until he found the right set. I am not joking about this: He memorized most of the Latin Mass server responses, priest prayers, and chanted chants.

*  PDF Download • Excerpt from Fulton Sheen’s Autobiography
—Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen speaks about children and priestly vocations.

Possible Vocation? • To be perfectly honest, my husband and I didn’t know how much or which way to nurture this. We’re happy to see him grow in his faith, but we’re also aware that our excitement needn’t turn into “pushing.” If he has a priestly vocation, God will let him know. And if not, God will also let him know. We’re going to stand by his side as he becomes a man and hopefully see him lead a long life as a holy Catholic man.

Recruiting “Whomever” • My son started recruiting altar servers and “parishioners” outside of our immediate family. A recent family and friend gathering turned into a Low and a High Mass. We are used to it. He even has a little brother to boss around the altar. But this time he had a “real altar server”. This time he had a friend who actually serves at the altar in a real Mass. This time his altar server actually has an attention span longer than his little brother’s 3.7 minutes. So what you see in that video is a glorious event for my son. (above)

Introibo Unrequited? • I’m not sure anyone but his mother will recognize the intense pride he has in this video. Only his mother may recognize what it may mean for his friend to ring the bells at the right moment, with the right cadence. Only this mother may recognize a complete “Prayers at the Foot of the Altar” after hearing countless unrequited INTROIBO AD ALTARE DEO’S. (He didn’t have to respond to himself. Finally someone to answer back!)

Not Alone • It seems my son is not the only child who does this. We were sent the following images of our son’s friend:

Purchasing Mass Sets For Boys • My friend had a good experience buying children’s vestments, chasubles, maniples, burses, corporals, chalices, patens, and other items from Vestments For Juniors on Etsy. We have bought from Lil Catholic Novelties who make and sell Mass sets for boys.

M Know of additional
M vestment makers?
M Email: seekenchantaspire@gmail.com

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Boy Chasuble, Child Vestments, Children Mass Set Vestments, Young Boy Playing Mass Last Updated: December 18, 2022

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About Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“The first tasks of the new pope will be to restore normality, restore doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, restore a proper respect for the law and ensure that the first criterion for the nomination of bishops is acceptance of the apostolic tradition. Theological expertise and learning are an advantage, not a hinderance for all bishops and especially archbishops.”

— Cardinal Pell (2022) about the pope who will succeed Francis

Recent Posts

  • Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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