We have Totus Tuus going on this week at our Parish, and as usual it is an amazing feat of Catechesis, fun, and Worship of the Only Living and True God. However, as is often the case, we do have a few kids that aren't quite getting it. Typical, really, and I am not concerned, as God has his hand upon all of us and guides us as we are ready. Nevertheless, today one young boy was found in the bathroom all alone and would not come out. I was summoned and went in to talk to him. A smallish boy of around 7 dressed all in basketball shorts and t-shirt, I found him in a stall just sitting on top of the tank of the toilet. He was sort of holding his knees and seemed quite sad.
I questioned him to make sure he was okay, and then asked what had happened. It turned out he had been made fun of by some of the kids, later I found it out it was because he did not have a good guess for hangman. Well, I asked him if he wanted to come out, but he said no. Then I said okay, when you want to come out, then you can. And I walked out of the bathroom and chatted with a team member and a few teen volunteers. About a half hour later, he finally began very tentatively peeking out and looking if anyone was paying attention - he preferred to leave his "cave" on his own terms. He went to a corner of the gym and sat down. I noticed him and walked over and sat down beside him. we chatted a little about what had happened, and then I asked him if he wanted to play basketball as we waited for the other kids to come in or until mass began at 11:15. We played basketball, until a group of other kids about his age came in. Then a game spontaneously was organized. Unfortunately, this young boy would not pass, nor would not let anyone take a shot, except himself whenever he got the ball.
After the game, I headed to the Church to prepare for Mass. It wasn't until after the readings that I noticed that he was two rows directly in front of me. This same young boy was messing around with the books, and not standing when he was supposed to stand. When it came time for the consecration, he would not kneel. There was a volunteer teen next to him, who was trying to encourage him but with little success. I decided to step up and speak to him directly, about his playing with the books and not following proper decorum during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
After Mass, I was praying for this boy and I had a sort of epiphany of how to explain the mass to him analogusly: The Catholic Church is like a basketball team! Now, what we do all week is "practice" our Faith. We seek to be charitable, to be kind, to be forgiving because of our Coach - Jesus. But Mass, that is "The Game" you need to be in and fully involved. We can't just stand around, we need to be in and attentive - focused. We need our proper uniform (which, contrary to popular belief, is NOT shorts and a t-shirt) that is dress-up clothes. At mass, if we aren't focused, like playing with the books or flopping around or not doing our proper things, then we will not get it! We will not have the experience we ought! What if someone walked out of the big game? The whole dynamic would fall apart, and this is why people find mass boring! They are not invested, they are not focused on what is happening. Finally, who are in the bleachers? Well obviously it is the Saints and Angels who gather around us to encourage us to draw nearer to the Coach, to hear his cousel, so that the game can be won (which it will, but we must do our part in it!).
To me this summarizes a lot about what Mass is and i think it can be a good sports analogy explanation of why Church is important and we need to go to Mass. The Catholic Faith is not merely something we do for one hour, we must practice we must prepare our hearts for the sacrifice of Jesus and our ability to unify with it at Mass.
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