Breastfeeding At Mass

[StColette]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1596039' date='Jul 9 2008, 11:51 AM']The prayers for "Churching" are available at the link below:

[url="http://www.goarch.org/en/Chapel/liturgical_texts/churching.asp"][u]Prayers for the Churching of a Mother and Child After Forty Days[/u][/url][/quote]

That's very interesting, thanks Todd

lol Me bringing the baby to Mass with me may not be a choice I have lol Our priest for our parish (where Micah works) is most likely going to demand that we come together lol

[Apotheoun]

In the Byzantine tradition children (including babies) are brought to the Divine Liturgy, because they are full members of the Church, and should receive holy communion.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1596035' date='Jul 9 2008, 04:46 PM']I think that the ritual for the "Churching of women" and the "Churching of the child" were done away with in the modern Roman rite.[/quote]
Oh, well it worth looking into.

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1596039' date='Jul 9 2008, 04:51 PM']The prayers for "Churching" are available at the link below:

[url="http://www.goarch.org/en/Chapel/liturgical_texts/churching.asp"][u]Prayers for the Churching of a Mother and Child After Forty Days[/u][/url][/quote]
Thanks.

[Apotheoun]

In the "Churching of the child" ritual, boys are taken to the altar behind the iconostasis, while girls are taken only to the royal doors, and are then placed in front of the icon of the Holy Theotokos. These rituals signify the child's presentation in the Temple of God, and his or her dedication to the Lord.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1596057' date='Jul 9 2008, 10:09 AM']Oh, well it worth looking into.[/quote]
Sadly, the revised Roman rite did away with many ancient customs because the members of the Consilium (i.e., the group that wrote the new missal) felt that "modern" man no longer understood the rituals and signs used by the ancient Church.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Apotheoun

[Archaeology cat]

I had thought it was still something you could ask for in the Latin Rite, just that it wasn't customarily done. It seems like a beautiful thing, though, and I love the connection to presenting Christ in the temple at 40 days.

[kujo]

I think that it should be done discretely, meaning that the mother should remove herself from the pew and go to the back of the Church to do it. It's not a sexist thing and I am not, as some have insinuated, just looking for something to complain about. I think that seeing a woman breastfeeding can be distracting and the mother should try to minimize the distraction at mass.

$0.02.

[friendofJPII]

Unless you are raising particularly saintly kids, I think it is really hard for children 5 and under to sit still. But I don't think parishioners should get that perturbed about it. I personally like to see little kids being quirky at mass. It makes me smile.

If someone is really bothered by that, tho, they should go to the early mass where there are more older people.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='kujo' post='1596102' date='Jul 9 2008, 05:57 PM']I think that it should be done discretely, meaning that the mother should remove herself from the pew and go to the back of the Church to do it. It's not a sexist thing and I am not, as some have insinuated, just looking for something to complain about. I think that seeing a woman breastfeeding can be distracting and the mother should try to minimize the distraction at mass.

$0.02.[/quote]
The thing is, if done discreetly, people truly think the child is just sleeping in the mother's arms. Believe me, most people around me think Kieran is sleeping. Now, I don't sit front and centre or anything; I'm off on one of the side aisles, where few can see me anyway.

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='kujo' post='1596102' date='Jul 9 2008, 11:57 AM']I think that it should be done discretely, meaning that the mother should remove herself from the pew and go to the back of the Church to do it. It's not a sexist thing and I am not, as some have insinuated, just looking for something to complain about. I think that seeing a woman breastfeeding can be distracting and the mother should try to minimize the distraction at mass.

$0.02.[/quote]


I totally agree. And what exactly is the time limits for a mother to stop breastfeeding? i have seen a mother doing this at Mass with a child who looked to be like 4 years old or so....I found it very distracting!

[kujo]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1596106' date='Jul 9 2008, 01:59 PM']The thing is, if done discreetly, people truly think the child is just sleeping in the mother's arms. Believe me, most people around me think Kieran is sleeping. Now, I don't sit front and centre or anything; I'm off on one of the side aisles, where few can see me anyway.[/quote]

I dunno. I mean, if it can be done, go for it. If I were a woman, I would feel uncomfortable with even the possibility of taking someone's attention away for the Holy Mass. Just my personal view.

[quote name='dominicansoul' post='1596109' date='Jul 9 2008, 02:01 PM']I totally agree. And what exactly is the time limits for a mother to stop breastfeeding? i have seen a mother doing this at Mass with a child who looked to be like 4 years old or so....I found it very distracting![/quote]

Yeah...that would distract me and make me want to tell the mom to stop!!!

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='dominicansoul' post='1596109' date='Jul 9 2008, 06:01 PM']I totally agree. And what exactly is the time limits for a mother to stop breastfeeding? i have seen a mother doing this at Mass with a child who looked to be like 4 years old or so....I found it very distracting![/quote]
The WHO recommends a [b]minimum [/b]of 2 years for breastfeeding.

IMO, people shouldn't be distracted by my son bfing because they shouldn't be looking at me in Mass. I do what I can to be discreet and don't draw attention to myself or Kieran, but I shouldn't have to leave Mass. I actually think it would be more distracting for me to walk to the back. As it is, people only know if they watch me, because once he's latched on, it just looks like he's asleep in my arms.

[rizz_loves_jesus]

[quote name='kujo' post='1596116' date='Jul 9 2008, 01:04 PM']I dunno. I mean, if it can be done, go for it. If I were a woman, I would feel uncomfortable with even the possibility of taking someone's attention away for the Holy Mass. Just my personal view.[/quote]

If some people are bothered by a natural human process that God designed especially for babies, maybe they should be the ones to go to the back of Mass.

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1596120' date='Jul 9 2008, 12:06 PM']The WHO recommends a [b]minimum [/b]of 2 years for breastfeeding.

IMO, people shouldn't be distracted by my son bfing because they shouldn't be looking at me in Mass. I do what I can to be discreet and don't draw attention to myself or Kieran, but I shouldn't have to leave Mass. I actually think it would be more distracting for me to walk to the back. As it is, people only know if they watch me, because once he's latched on, it just looks like he's asleep in my arms.[/quote]


yeah, you are right. People shouldn't be watching anybody doing anything at Mass. In the convent we practiced "custody of the eyes" and weren't allowed to look at anyone but kept our attention to God and towards the Altar...not like robots, mind you, but to practice keeping our whole attention on the Mass. You probably breastfeed in a way where it isn't a distraction. In the case of the 4 year old I saw breastfeeding...it was not discreet at all, and they were in the pew right in front of me! I had to get up and go to the back of the church...!

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='dominicansoul' post='1596132' date='Jul 9 2008, 06:18 PM']yeah, you are right. People shouldn't be watching anybody doing anything at Mass. In the convent we practiced "custody of the eyes" and weren't allowed to look at anyone but kept our attention to God and towards the Altar...not like robots, mind you, but to practice keeping our whole attention on the Mass. You probably breastfeed in a way where it isn't a distraction. In the case of the 4 year old I saw breastfeeding...it was not discreet at all, and they were in the pew right in front of me! I had to get up and go to the back of the church...![/quote]
Keeping my eyes on the altar is something I've had to work at a lot! I can imagine that it would be harder to discreetly feed a 4-yr-old (and a child that age probably could wait until after Mass, unless there are special circumstances). I'm hoping to make it to 2 years, but probably just at morning & night by that point.