One Mass

In the beautifully written and illustrated children's book, The Weight of a Mass, the faith of the subjects in the kingdom has grown cold. The king and his bride are to be wed in the evening at a Mass in the cathedral; yet, the people do not plan to attend. 

In the kingdom's bakery, preparations are being made for the royal feast, including the prized wedding cake. A beggar woman enters the shop, and says,

If you give me crust of bread, I will offer the Mass tonight for you.

The baker is indignant; though, his son insists he listen to the woman. Instead, the baker taunts her by writing "one Mass" on a torn off piece of tissue paper. He places it on the balance and flicks in a dried out crust of bread. Miraculously, the bread does not cause the balance to be weighed down. So, the baker adds more items - fresh donuts, cakes, and breads - yet there is no change. The people are incredulous. Finally, the baker puts the wedding cake on the scale. 

Nothing.

As the bells toll to call the people to the wedding Mass, those in the shop process into the streets. The baker, his son, and the beggar woman follow. In the end, the baker apologizes to the woman for not having faith. She, too, apologizes, for she only wished for a crust of bread in exchange for one Mass. They realize that they did not know the weight of the Mass...

Read the book - it's beautifully told and illustrated!

I read this book to my 7th graders, and then they did some reflection using post-its to answer questions around the room based on the book and its symbolism. I have included some of their responses below; though, you may have to click on the photos in order to actually read the writing, as it is very small. My apologies. Many of them really seemed to get the story, and I hope they keep this story at the forefront of their minds as we begin our next unit on the Catholic Mass.

Q: What is the role of the beggar woman in the story?

Q: Why is the story set in a bakery?

Q: What is the last item weighed against the Mass? What does it represent?

Q: Who experiences a conversion of heart in this story?

Q: How much does a Mass weigh?

I feel like adults would very much benefit from this story too, as it is easy in today's society to forget the weight of the Mass.

P.S. - I got a BONUS this weekend by getting to head to Notre Dame for the day to meet the new ACE Chicago teachers (and to spend time with some of the current ones). Even though it was a short visit, I tried to make the most of it (rotten weather and all):

Grotto visit

Golden Dome selfie

Touchdown Jesus!

post-dinner smiles with the crew

It's hard to believe that the next time I will be on campus is going to be this summer for the final wrap-up, presentation, and graduation. Love thee, ND!