As you may have noticed, I took a 40+ day break from blogging. Yes, it was because of Lent, but it was God’s timing as I became busy with a lot of work projects that required my total attention. I have a few posts in the queue but first I wanted to share a wonderful way that we celebrated the Lenten season with our children.
Monthly subscription boxes are very popular and are a great way to introduce you to new products. Hopping on to the scene (with a higher purpose) comes The Mass Box. The Mass Box is a monthly subscription that helps your family reflect on the upcoming Sunday’s Mass through activities and reading. The Mass Box is geared towards 3-7 year olds and contains craft supplies, a spiritual guide for children, and coloring pages. Every Wednesday, a video is posted on The Mass Box’s website that previews the following Sunday’s craft and reading.
We were quite excited to receive The Mass Box. What kid wouldn’t love a box full of craft supplies? Personally, I liked the idea that my kid would want to do something related to Mass!
Every activity is based on the following Sunday’s readings and it opens up an opportunity to explain what the Gospel is about. The video that is posted really helps parents explain the readings in a way that is not “preachy” and more conversational. It’s very close to introducing Lectio Divina to kids.
MagnifiKid by Magnificat is also included with the Mass Box subscription. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it and I was glad to have this valuable resource. Each booklet of MagnifiKid has the Sunday’s readings, prayers and an explanation of the more challenging words used in the Mass and in the readings.
My 7-year-old can’t sit still through Mass and is always finding someone to fiddle with—whether it’s a string on her dress or the velcro on her shoe. I never know if she’s paying any attention. The most rewarding moment was when at one point during the Gospel, she leaned to me and said, “Mom, I remember this one. I know this story!”
The Mass Box is now offering pre-subscriptions for their official launch on Advent 2016 and offer options for one child, siblings, and a family box. Pre-subscriptions filled by July 1st will receive a bonus activity for the First Sunday of Advent on November 27. They will fill monthly subscriptions beginning in January 2017. For more details, you can visit their website at: http://themassbox.cratejoy.com
You can gift a Mass Box subscription, too! I think this would be great for significant events, maybe an early Christmas gift or even for a 1st Communion. Even though the Mass Box is geared toward 3-7 year olds, my 11 year old was quite interested in the crafts, too. In my opinion, I think the best age range for the crafts and understanding the readings would be more school-age kids from 5-10 years old. It helps to have a little manual dexterity for some of the crafts.
When it comes to faith, parents should be the primary educators of their children. I realized this when my kids were in CCD and found that a lot of parents are relying on the CCD teachers to teach them about the Catholic faith — mostly because they don’t understand it themselves. This is the beauty of The Mass Box. It’s a way for the whole family to participate in the Catholic faith and be on the same page (literally and figuratively) during Mass.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary subscription to The Mass Box for Lent to preview and review. All opinions are my own.
That’s awesome!