Pretty in Pink - What do you think?

I know even before I finish writing this post, that there are going to be folks out there thinking that I am judging this girl and her family.

From the bottom of my heart, I am not judging, I am just scratching my head, wondering;

Is that all there is?

So, here's what happened. 

This past Sunday we ended up visiting another parish for Sunday mass. As we settled into our seats, within eye shot, I saw a young girl - about 7 or 8 years old reading a book.

She was very well groomed, her hair was carefully brushed into a very neat hairdo. She wore everything pink, including an adorable vest, pink Ugg boots, a pink little skirt and tights - She even had an adorable doll, all in pink. It was hard not to notice her, she looked like a little starlet.

I was impressed how engrossed this young girl was in reading her book, with book mark and all. Because of where I was sitting, it was easy to see that the book was about young girls who dance.

I really had to fight with myself to get my eyes off of her and focus on participating in the mass and praying myself.

I know I am a sinner, I know I shouldn't notice such things, and please be assured that I did my absolute best not to notice, but I did.

I know parents of children with autism, have gotten quite upset with at me for suggesting (in another post) that we need not always bring  paraphernalia to church to amuse children. 

This girl did not have autism. 

The young girl spent the entire mass in another world, the world of reading, reading her book about dance. She did not participate in the mass in any way shape or form, and I found my heart weeping...

She was in church, but at the same time, she wasn't at church at all. 

Personally,  I have vivid memories of my mom making sure I knelt and stood up at the right time. She took time to explain (way before my religion classes) that Jesus was truly present on the altar and that children's prayers were very powerful. 

My mom also talked about the importance of offering Holy Communion up for a very specific intention, telling me  that prayers offered up during the consecration and after receiving Holy Communion, had a special effect. Often times mom would pull out the Polish hymnal and point her finger to the words, so I would follow along. She always said that God blessed children who made an EFFORT to listen to the homily, just as much, if not more, than those who actually understood the homily.

God would bless my EFFORT to listen. Isn't that beautiful? Wasn't I blessed to have such a mom?

And, these are just a FEW of the lessons mom taught me at mass from the time that I was very little. 

I can't help but wonder if the habit of not engaging our children in the beauty of the mass, will affect their ultimate relationship with the Catholic Church?

I know when I wrote the post How to Behave at Mass, I got tons of nasty emails, accusing me of judgement and all that great stuff. The price of being a blogger, I guess. 

I am not sure if I should be putting my helmet on, over this post, but I can't help but think that this young girl will grow into a teenager who thinks,

Is that all there is?

I find myself thinking about that little girl daily, so I am taking her to prayer. 

The Pretty Girl in Pink is on my prayer list. 

Can you put her on yours?  

In the meantime, I think I will ask my husband to get me blinkers for Christmas!