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  Family - Weekend Effect

Encourage Vocations

Tony & Cathy Witczak

If children play house as part of their formation for life, why not play mass as part of their formation as Catholics?

We were encountered in 1979 when our children were still young. Our awareness of the value of religious vocations in our Catholic Church grew as the years passed, and our children met many wonderful priests and sisters during that time. We promoted vocations in every way we knew, but in the end our son and our three daughters all chose marriage.

This isn’t a bad thing, of course, because now they are giving us beautiful grandchildren to love. But we have new hope that there will be vocations to the religious life in the next generation. Inspired by a recent visit to a Montessori school, our daughter Risa decided to make a “Mass kit” for her three year old son, Sam. She gathered a brass cup, plate, candle sticks and a small bell by shopping at yard sales. Risa sewed some simple reversible vestments which she decorated with silver and gold fabric paints. She added a napkin for the corporal Playing mass (using the rattan coasters for bread) became Sam’s favorite pastime. He began asking questions about what the priest says and does during the celebration.

Sam

Since it was such a hit with Sam, she made a similar set as a gift for his two cousins Josh and Blaise. We enjoyed seeing them play with the set. At the very least, this is a wonderful teaching tool, a way to get children interested in what is happening on the altar at mass. It also fills us with joy to know that our children value the priesthood and are doing their best to encourage vocations in the next generation.

Blaise

Josh & Sam

Cathy & Tony Witczak
Philadelphia

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