Be Prepared: How We Can Teach Our Children to Love the Mass

Christine Hanus shares a reminder to be proactive if we want our children to love and appreciate the Catholic Mass. 

Scouting for Boys was written about 100 years ago, and it explains the meaning of the Scout motto, “Be prepared.” 

When my sons were Boy Scouts, I had the vague impression that “be prepared” referred to the practical things one would need in scouting, like ropes to make knots (because you never knew when you might need a knot). But Robert Baden-Powell, the author of Scouting for Boys, has a more substantive definition of preparedness. He says that being prepared equips the young man to be “in a state of readiness in mind and body to do [his] DUTY.” 

Wow. That goes way beyond making sure you have a compass on hand or pack clean underwear for your camping trip.  

When Scouting for Boys goes on to describe what a duty is, it looks a lot like self-sacrificing love. The kind of love that fosters noble attitudes which lead to human flourishing. While some people seem to think duty is a dirty word, the examples the author uses in Scouting for Boys highlight the fact that doing one’s moral duty is beautiful and life-giving. A very Catholic concept! 

Our Duty Toward God 

If we don’t prepare ahead of time, we may not be able to do our duty when the time comes. Or we may do it poorly, harming ourselves and those who are dependent on us.  

The most important duty we have in this life is our duty to God. 

And what is our duty to God? The Catholic Church speaks to this topic throughout the entirety of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but one fundamental way we can do our religious duty is by attending Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation. As Catholic adults, we should ask ourselves: How can we be prepared for this “duty”? And as parents, how can we prepare our children? 

Perhaps your family's church-going routine looks more like a last-minute plunge than a sacred event for which you have prepared. If you go to Mass regularly every Sunday and holy day — good for you! But if you want your children to learn to love the Mass and remain Catholic, good preparation can truly make all the difference. 

Preparation for Mass Leads to Conversion 

Over the years, my husband and I learned many things about taking our children to church and how to prepare our children for Mass. We raised four sons and a daughter and as we sat with them in the pew, they seemed to bounce all over like popcorn in a hot kettle. My husband and I had all we could do to keep them from “popping.” Nevertheless, we could and did prepare them for the sacrifice of the Mass ahead of time in small ways and, as they grew, we learned to catechize them in short, whispered phrases during the Mass.  

The Mass, and all liturgy, is designed by the Church and the Holy Spirit to help us experience conversion. Even when our children are very young we can foster their personal relationship with the God who loves them by helping them enter into the Mass more deeply.  

Watch for my next article at Catholic Mom for some simple suggestions about how to prepare yourself and your children for Mass. In the meantime, I recommend this video from the Diocese of Wichita to help you become better informed. 

You can also order a book like My First Interactive Mass Book, which I have used with my small grandchildren and highly recommend. The more you are educated about your faith, the better you can educate your children and prepare them to do their beautiful, life-giving duty. 

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Copyright 2026 Christine Hanus
Images: (top, bottom) iStockPhoto.com, licensed for use by Holy Cross Family Ministries; (center) Canva