JW wrote:In our parish, we now have 2 homilies at the main Sunday Mass. One for the grown ups, then one for the children after they return from their Liturgy at the Offertory Procession. I have heard only praise for this arrangement, even though our main Mass is now about 75 minutes long. A purist would frown on this but it is important for the priest to preach to the children at their level (literally: he sits with them on the step up to the Sanctuary). This enables the priest to review with the children (and adults) what has been learnt during Children's Liturgy; otherwise, Children's Liturgy can be seen as a form of creche or Sunday School, rather than being an integral part of what our worshipping community does on a Sunday. The children can also teach the adults in the way they respond to the priest's questions.
Excuse me for picking up on this, but
(a) there is really no need to review what the children (and adults) have
learnt during the Liturgy of the Word with Children, because in fact they should not have been learning anything, in the sense that you mean it, and
(b) there should already have been a species of homily in what happened when they were outside the main body of the church.
To explain:
What happens, or should be happening, during the LOWC is the same thing as is happening in the main church — in other words, a celebration of the word, but at the level of the children. That means simplified 1st reading and Gospel, but also singing — ideally a psalm and gospel acclamation setting by Chris Walker, or something similar — and a homily. In this case, homily does not mean someone talking at the children. It means the leader dialoguing with the children and eliciting from them what they have heard in the proclamation of the word, talking about it with them, and (when appropriate) delivering information. It's like
lectio divina in common, but at the children's level. There are excellent resources available to help leaders do this well; and if the leader asks the right questions then a lot can be accomplished. Yes, the wisdom of the children can be very enlightening for the adults present. If time (and there often isn't), this can be followed by a profession of faith and/or intercessory prayer.
But to have another "quizzing" session or interrogation after the children return to the church not only takes time but duplicates what has (or should have) already taken place. In more than a few instances it can be cringe-making. The correct child's response to the question "What have you been doing out there today?" ought to be "The same as you — celebrating the Word!" End of story. (If, however, what has been going on outside the church has not been a celebration of the word, but activities, colouring in drawings, sticking things on boards, etc, etc, in lieu of the dialogued homily, then there is a justification for the priest speaking to the children.)
If it is thought desirable that the adults in the main body of the church benefit from what the children have been doing (not learning), the optimum solution is to have the LOWC in the body of the church in the course of the Mass on a regular basis. A large number of parishes do this once a month, perhaps on the 4th Sunday. The children might sit on the sanctuary steps (if there is room) or on the sanctuary itself; the leader of the LOWC does what she or he normally does; the simplified translation is used; the 2nd reading is omitted; the Walker settings (or whatever) are used; and the adults witness the dialogued homily (led by the leader, preferably, or by the priest if he is capable of it) with the children. Then all say the Apostles' Creed and pray the intercessions together.
On a serious note though, the homily is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and we are the losers if we don't try to get as much from it as possible.