Catholic homeschooling families are in a unique position to take advantage of one of the greatest treasures of the Catholic church - daily Mass. Many families wonder why they should go to daily Mass. More importantly, when you have a lot of kids and life is hectic, you might wonder how you're going to fit it in. Here are 10 reasons to get yourself and your kids to daily Mass and a road map on how to get there!
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My Journey to Daily Mass
When I was a new mom with my first two kids, I had a reversion back to the faith. I was 29 years old at the time and had been raised in the Catholic faith. It was at this point that I first heard about daily Mass!
How could it be that this church I grew up in had Mass every day and I had never heard of it?
At the time we lived within walking distance from a church so my two little girls and I started our journey of attending Mass during the week.
For the next 10+ years I was busy being pregnant and having a lot of babies and toddlers, so getting to Mass every day wasn't a regular occurrence. We did, however, make it a habit to get there a few days a week.
A Major Turning Point
I was 7 kids in when I went on my first silent retreat. We had been kind of slacking in the daily Mass department at that point, mainly because the nearest church was 30 minutes away, when the priest asked me why I wasn't going to Mass EVERY DAY!
I'm sure my face betrayed my amazement at his question as I answered him. "Well, let's see, I have 7 kids and I live 30 minutes from the nearest church. Clearly you do not understand how difficult that would be."
His response? Do it anyway. I continued to argue how much time and effort that would take. We had school to do. Drive time alone took a precious hour out of our day.
He calmly proceeded to ask, "Who is in charge of your homeschool?"
"I am, of course."
"Well then, plan your schedule accordingly and bring books in the car so they can do some work while you drive."
The conversation went back and forth for a bit with him never giving me any ground whatsoever.
And you know what? That's probably the best advice I've ever been given.
Consider getting yourself a Daily Roman Missal to make following along during daily Mass easier. Check out my video tour of the missal here.
10 Reasons Why you Should go to Daily Mass
1. The Sacraments Strengthen You
Receiving Jesus every day in the Eucharist will strengthen you against sin, help you conquer your pride and humble you. You cannot help but be changed, for the better, by going to daily Mass. In addition, you will learn how to be more in tune with what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.
Of course, getting there might cause you to get frustrated and angry at your kids for not getting their shoes on fast enough and making you late. That's why it's so helpful to have your venial sins forgiven at every Mass you go to.
2. You Read Scripture Every Day
If you go to Mass every day, at the end of the 3 year cycle you will have gotten through the majority of the Bible.
It's a built-in scripture study that happens every day at the same time (roughly) so you don't have to figure out when you're going to do it. You just need to go and pay attention.
That's another reason why following along in either your own missal or the Magnificat magazine is so helpful for staying focused on the readings.
3. You Get to Know the Saints
Living out the liturgical life in your home is so much easier when you do it alongside the church. When you go to daily Mass, you fall into rhythm with the memorials and the feast days of the Saints the church celebrates.
If you have a priest who gives good homilies, he will hopefully add in a little something about that day's Saint. This is always a fun, educational bonus.
Have you been trying to live out the liturgical life in your home, maybe by using a book like "The Catholic All Year Compendium"? If so, make it even more rich by adding in the celebration of the Mass for the Saints on their feast days.
4. A Good Homily is Like a Religion Class
In all the years we've been going to daily Mass, we've met and been to Masses with a lot of priests. The one thing I have noticed is that a lot of them preach differently during the week than they do on Sunday.
During the week the crowd is smaller and more, shall we say, dedicated. For this reason I think the priests feel more comfortable diving deeper into the faith. We have had some incredible week-day homilies that serve as a great addition to our religion classes.
Hopefully in your daily Mass searching you can find an awesome homilist, too.
5. The Best Thing You Can Do All Day
As the priest told me during that first retreat: If you get to Mass and then manage to do nothing else all day, you will still have done the best thing you could possibly do.
In other words, the whole rest of the day could be a wash, but you got to Mass and encountered Jesus Christ. Anything else is just icing on the cake.
6. It's a Hard Start to the Day
And I mean hard in the sense of a set time. Having to get everyone to Mass at a set time has done wonders for our homeschooling over the years. While getting up and getting out the door is not what a lot of homeschoolers want to do everyday, I still maintain that it's the best way to get your school day going.
We mostly manage to find an 8:00 or 8:30 Mass time, so the kids get up around 7:00, eat and get dressed. When we get back home, everyone is ready to start school.
If we didn't have this schedule, I know that I would be inclined to waste a big chunk of that productive morning time. I'd let them sleep in (not a bad thing sometimes) and would find myself puttering around - more than likely wasting that time on social media if I'm gonna be honest here.
It's much better to just get up, get ready and go be with Jesus.
7. Daily Mass is More Intimate
A friend stated it that way to me recently and I have to agree with her. Going to Mass with basically the same small group of people every day creates a bond. These people become part of your "family", especially if you're bringing a group of small children.
Over the years we have met so many wonderful people who have watched our kids grow up. They've helped me when things would get out of hand. We've prayed for them when they've been sick and gone to their funerals when they've died.
If you're lucky, you'll meet other homeschooling families that you can become friends with. It then becomes an added source of motivation to get your kids out the door every day. A few moments of playing with friends after Mass can go a long way!
8. You Become Friends with a lot of Priests
Why go to daily Mass? To become friends with priests so you can invite them over to dinner and foster vocations within your family. We have met so many awesome priests and it's always a joy to have them over for dinner so they can experience our unique brand of chaos.
If your priest is open to it, your kids could also get extra altar serving experience during the week. This has proven very beneficial for our two sons. Of course, it has meant that we need to be early to Mass, which can be a challenge some days!
9. The Prayer Life of Your Family Deepens
This is a definite outcome of going to Mass more often than just on Sundays. It can't help but happen. You show up, pay attention and participate and you will find that you and your children will be drawn deeper into the faith.
I can guarantee you that even though your children may not seem like they are getting anything out of it - they are.
This is not to say that they will always embrace the faith, but that seed will have been planted deep in their soul for them to draw upon when they become adults.
10. God is Never Outdone
Yes it is hard to get to daily Mass every day. It will most certainly seem as if you're beating a dead horse trying to get your kids to behave. Crying, by you not just your children, will most likely happen.
However, always remember that God sees your sacrifice and He will always be more generous in return. Never, ever forget this!
Now, How You Can Accomplish This?
It's easy for me to tell you why you should go to Daily Mass but maybe you need help with the how part of it.
My best advice? Plan it out ahead of time.
Sure, spontaneity can work sometimes, but having a plan will ensure that you actually get to Mass when you want to.
- Decide where you will be going to Mass. Obviously there has to be one that is relatively convenient to you. A 6:30 a.m. Mass that is 30 minutes away probably won't cut it. Unless, of course, you can get there yourself before your husband goes to work.
- Figure out what days you want to go during the upcoming week, or month, or school year, and write it down on the calendar.
- Based on the distance, determine what time you will need to leave in order to get to the church on time. Then add 10 minutes. If it's winter and you have a bunch of kids, add 10 more minutes.
- Now back it up to determine what time you'll all have to wake up in order to be ready to leave on time.
- Go to bed early enough the night before in order to wake up on time. Not doing this can sabotage the ENTIRE plan.
Why go to Daily Mass? Because It's Worth It!
This plan will work if you implement it consistently. Pretty soon your kids will become accustomed to this schedule and it will become routine for them, too. It still will be difficult some days, don't get me wrong.
There were many times when we would get up with the best of intentions but the mission would be aborted for some reason or another: illness, car problems, we realized we would be getting there when Mass ended.
The most important thing, though, is to get up the next day and just try again. If you have an extended run of missing Mass due to illness or a new baby or a move, just fall back into the routine as soon as possible.
Remember, God will reward you for your generosity and effort.
Trust me on this one: You can do it and it is SO worth it!