New book for children bringing Mass to life
When I go to Mass ...
What do I do? What do I see? What is happening around me?
This book, "When I go to Mass", is designed with the 3-6 year old child in mind. It's an opportunity to go deep into the Mass with your child. It is instructional, informative and contemplative.
It covers the basic behaviours you can expect from you a young child at Mass. It introduces them to the names of the Sacred Vessels, the Articles of the Mass, and above all, presents the Catholic teaching of the Eucharistic in a beautiful, simple and contemplative way.
Mother of seven, Sarah Hlavacek, had been looking for years for books that could assist in explaining the Mass to her children in a beautiful and simple way, without taking away from the sense of mystery and importance of what takes place. She was also looking for something that helped explain the sacred vessels and gestures used throughout the Mass.
When nothing became apparent, she took matters into her own hands by creating her own book, road testing the choice and flow of words and images with her children, along with other mums and friends, until she finally produced and self-published the final version of "When I Go To Mass".
Sarah’s 42-page picture book follows the Mass in chronological order and covers the basic faith formation elements that children experience during the Mass — the sign of the cross, genuflection, prayer before Mass and after communion. She also highlights the moments of consecration in the Mass, using bright colourful illustrations that will help children delve deeply into the mystery.
Sarah wanted something on the Mass that wasn’t just a missal and that she could read to her own children before Mass. She wanted to be able to explain what a tabernacle is and why we genuflect and bless with holy water. She wanted something that included all the sacred vessels with their proper names and what they are used for, such as the chalice and paten.
Sarah wanted something that taught in a beautiful way that could speak to the hearts of children. Sarah worked to let the illustrations do most of the talking. The book will inspire conversations between parents and their children.
The book is available at the link below.
Amazon