Family Mass
We have a special Family Mass on the first Sunday of every month at 9:00 a.m. During this Mass, the presider delivers a homily that is engaging, easy to understand, and appropriate for kids. The Family Faith Choir provides the music, while the Family Faith liturgical team leads the congregation in prayerful movements and gestures. Additionally, children can take part in the Mass as altar servers, lectors, and hospitality ministers.
Class Mass
The Xavier High School chapel holds sporadic Mass classes at 9:00 a.m. for the program’s students, their catechists, and parents, which are led by Jesuit priests. The Mass is tailored to the children’s age and includes didactic elements to help them understand the liturgy. Attendees are welcome to ask questions during the Mass class.
Children Liturgy of the Word (CLOW)
The Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) meets at 9:00 a.m. Mass every Sunday, except the first Sunday of the month and holiday weekends, the presider invites children from 1st to 3rd grade to go with a liturgical catechist to the West Room, while the 4th to 6th graders go with a catechist to the Mary Chapel, for an age-appropriate examination of the Gospel from that Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word.
Altar Service
The Second Vatican Council expressed the importance of having a good number of ministers, in addition to the priest, for the full celebration of the liturgy. The inclusion of children in the liturgical service is important since the body of Christ is not formed solely by adults. Children are not only the future of the church, they are our present as well. The liturgies of inclusive communities are reflected by the diversity of participation. Diversity includes not only gender, but culture, generation, age. That is why our Sunday Mass at 9 a.m. includes boys and girls serving at the altar. Children who have received First Communion can take part in the liturgy as altar servers. Gerry Moss is the coach and coordinator of altar servers.
Family Faith Choir
The Family Faith Choir is an intergenerational choir organized by the Family Faith Program in collaboration with the Music Ministry. It rehearses in the Main Church at 8:00 a.m. on Sundays and it sings on every Sunday at 9 a.m. Mass and special liturgies such as Family Christmas Mass on December 24 and Lessons and Carols . You do not have to be part of the Family Faith Program to be in this choir. All children, teenagers, young adults, adults, and seniors are welcome to participate. The Director of the Family Faith Choir is Jacqueline Perez.
Family Faith Liturgical Dance
Dance has been a crucial part of religious practices in various cultures and religions worldwide throughout history. Although the Bible mentions dance, it was eventually phased out as a form of worship by the Christian church during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. It remained largely absent from Christian worship until the 20th century, except for some isolated instances such as the dance known as the “Baile de los Seises”, or the “Dance of the Six”. The Dance of the Sixes originated in medieval Spain and was practiced for several centuries until it was banned by Jaume de Plaxes, the Archbishop of Seville. He considered it a pagan practice. The people of Seville, however, were determined to keep this important tradition alive. They managed to obtain a papal bull from Pope Eugene IV, allowing them to continue the Dance of the Sixes.
Dance is used as an act of worship in Scripture and can continue to be used in that way today. Dance is a beautiful art form that can communicate truth, bringing glory to God and edifying others. Dance is a beautiful way for people of all ages and genders to actively participate in prayer during liturgy. The Family Faith Program offers Family Faith students the opportunity to participate in liturgical dance during the 9 a.m. Family Mass on the first Sunday of each month.