--- title: Will You Carry the Baby Jesus? description: After a difficult Mass with her young children, Janelle Peregoy received consolation in an unexpected way. image: https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/20221220%20JPeregoy%201.png --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/will-you-carry-the-baby-jesus#) [PARENTING](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/tag/parenting) # Will You Carry the Baby Jesus? Dec 20, 2022 10:00:00 AM  |  by [Janelle Peregoy](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/janelle-peregoy) ![featured image](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/20221220%20JPeregoy%201.png) *After a difficult Mass with her young children, Janelle Peregoy received consolation in an unexpected way.* --- Our parish doesn’t have a cry room. We typically sit in the back along a side wall, which is mercifully close to the bathroom and the back door for when our 3-year-old inevitably gets antsy. This past Sunday, it had already been a *morning* even by the standard of the typical morning hustle. Spilled milk. Brothers fighting. Cat managing to chew through Christmas tree lights. Meanwhile, I am recovering from a lingering cold and the congestion is keeping me up at night. Needless to say, I was already tired by the time we pulled into the parking lot for 8:30 AM Mass. An initial scan of the church confirmed that our normal pews were filled. My husband proceeded towards the middle of the center section, directly facing the altar. I trailed a few steps behind, mentally willing him to change course. It was to no avail. When we sat down, I looked around the church from my new vantage point. There were no other families with young children in our section. Other parishioners would be able to see every fidget and hear every outburst. As the presider began reading the Gospel, I caught my son using a blue crayon to “decorate” the back of the pew. After I took the crayons from his grasp, he proceeded to roll on the floor under the pew ahead of us. I rubbed my temples to help relieve my worsening headache. By the time I brought my full awareness back to the altar, other members of the congregation were chuckling at an observation shared during the homily. I was completely lost. *Had I even heard the Gospel? Would there ever be a point that I could take my children and be able to concentrate on Mass? * My eyes pricked with tears. I found myself battling an intense set of internal feelings. Call it Catholic guilt. Call it mom shame. All of it felt so heavy.   ![null](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2021220%20JPeregoy%203.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=2021220%20JPeregoy%203.png)   After the closing prayer, we were gathering our scattered crayons and a woman we didn’t know walked up to us. She introduced herself as the head of the liturgical decoration committee. “I couldn’t help but notice your sons during Mass.” Our heads hung low as my husband and I exchanged a sidelong glance at each other. Was this going to be a public reckoning? “I am hoping that your boys will carry the Baby Jesus and place him into the manger during Mass on Christmas day.” My husband repeated her words slowly: “You want our boys? To carry Baby Jesus on Christmas day?”   > [Click to tweet: > God was there, reminding us through a kind stranger, that we always belong here. #catholicmom](https://ctt.ac/3u01f)   I felt the tension in my body immediately release and suddenly I was sobbing. My husband gingerly took my hand as he suggested that we exchange cell numbers to finalize all the details. As I sat at the pew continuing to cry, my older son stepped towards me to offer a consoling hug. “Are you okay, Mommy?” I nodded and began to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Give me a moment to talk to Daddy and then we’ll go get donuts.” My son scampered off to go share the news of the forthcoming donuts with his brother. Scrutinizing my face, my husband leaned in closer to me. I whispered to him, “I should have known that God wanted us here with the boys. I spent all of Mass feeling insecure and doubting myself. And then God was there, reminding us through a kind stranger that we always belong here.” We both instinctively looked toward the Nativity with its still-empty manger. I thought about this displaced child, born far from home in humble surroundings. Of course, the Christ Child would welcome home our imperfectly perfect family.   ![null](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/20221220%20JPeregoy%202.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=20221220%20JPeregoy%202.png) --- Copyright 2022 Janelle Peregoy Images: Canva ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwill-you-carry-the-baby-jesus%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwill-you-carry-the-baby-jesus%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwill-you-carry-the-baby-jesus%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Will%20You%20Carry%20the%20Baby%20Jesus%3F) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwill-you-carry-the-baby-jesus%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwill-you-carry-the-baby-jesus%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Janelle Peregoy](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Janelle%20Peregoy%202024.jpg) ### [Janelle Peregoy](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/janelle-peregoy) Janelle Peregoy, M.Div, is an Associate Director in the Office of Family Life & Spirituality at the Diocese of San Diego. So yes, she has found one of the few positions where it is professionally acceptable to contemplate the spirituality of potty training. A Pope Francis bobble-head sits on her desk for inspiration. See more from Janelle on her blog, Faithfully Irreverent. ## Related Blog Articles [ Teaching our Children to Love, not Fear Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/teaching-our-children-to-love-not-fear) [ God-Grandparents Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/god-grandparents) [ The Desert of Divorce Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/the-desert-of-divorce) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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