The celebration of the Liturgy of the Word with Children is about having the children: Hear the Gospel at their level of language and understanding; Share the Gospel through their own reflections on its meaning in their lives; and Act the Gospel so that they can share more fully in the Gospel message and take it as their own.

The Directory of Masses for Children recognizes that the weekly Liturgy of the Word may not be meeting the needs of our children and urges efforts to create a more appropriate and supportive experience. The Newman Center's Children's Liturgy program is an effort to respond to this call.

When we began celebrating mass at the Newman Center in the Fall of 2001, we quickly discovered that there were many children joining us for the weekly Liturgy. This observation prompted a discussion of how we could provide an experience that would help these children to be more involved in and to get more personal meaning and understanding from the weekly celebration. The outcome has been the creation of a weekly Children's Liturgy of the Word celebration.

Initially, although the children we certainly present at mass, we were unsure as to whether or not they would attend our celebration. With a lot of enthusiasm, however, we decided to launch this program. Our efforts have been rewarded! What began as a humble gathering of 3 or 4 children has now grown to an average of 14 children! In fact, since the start of this program, we have had close to 50 different children (not all at once!) join us for this weekly celebration.

Due to the success and growth of the current Children's Liturgy program and a desire to meet the needs of more of our fellow worshipers, we offer:

Junior Children's Liturgy (3 and under) - We will follow a liturgy program appropriate for this age group. Parents who would like their children to participate in the Junior Children's Liturgy may accompany their child to the Cardinal Newman room 15 minutes before Mass and pick them up shortly after Mass. Please note that this is not a child care service, but rather a program that offers stories, songs, and activities related to the weekly gospel messages as well as time to develop Catholic values through interaction with one another. Parents are welcome to gather with their children.