As she opened the door, the mother shot back, "You're bothering the baby!"

All of us have either personally experienced being at Mass with a crying infant or rambunctious toddler, or been sitting near someone with noisy children. Many times those parents with noisy children find it difficult to get through Mass and can feel embarrassed that their child is acting out. And for those parents who struggle some times their embarrassment and frustration can lead them to the decision to not attend Mass, or to seek out a Protestant church that offers childcare and more of what they see as a community environment.

What's the matter with us Catholics? Why aren't we offering childcare? Why aren't we offering a greater sense of community?

To answer these: Nothing is the matter with us. There are several reasons we don't offer childcare. And we do offer a greater sense of community, it just looks different than other churches'.

Let's further address the first question: What's the matter with Catholics? The answer begins with another question: What does the Catholic Church offer that no other church offers? The answer is the Holy Mass, and within the Mass, the Eucharist. The very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. No other church offers that. We have the very presence of Christ in our midst each and every Mass. We are the body of Christ, therefore there is nothing innately wrong with us.

Why don't we offer childcare? The answer ties in with the answer for the first question posed. In his article "The Contraceptive Sanctuary: Why you Should Bring Baby to Church," Dr. Gregory Popcak rightly insists that," The Mass is for families. When parents say they aren't 'getting anything out of Mass' when they bring small children they are missing the point. What you get out of Mass when you have small children is the joy of passing your faith on to them. That's what you signed up for when you became a Catholic parent. Yes, it can be tough, and yes, you may certainly do other things to get your spiritual needs met, but Sunday mass is for your family. Go as a family." He further unequivocally states, "As far as Catholics are concerned, babies are not merely tolerated. They have a right to be in Church.  If you are baptized, you belong.  Period. End of story." And "Education begins unconsciously before it begins consciously. Your baby or toddler needs to be given the opportunity to learn the rhythm, sights, sounds, and smells of the Mass before he is conscious enough to understand the Mass. Robbing a child of the sensory education makes catechesis that much harder later on. Spirituality is primarily a sensory call (from God) that leads to a transformative response. Robbing a child of that early sensual experience of God and His Church is a very serious impediment to future catechesis and spiritual development."

Lastly, let's address the sense of community offered within our church. Is there something appealing about a church that offers childcare, coffee and donuts, moms' night out, summer bible camp for kids, men's study group, women's study group, etc... Sure, that is appealing. But many of those things we do offer here at St. Anthony: Children's Liturgy of the Word, Bible Study, high school youth group, pro-life committee, choir. St. Vincent de Paul Society, etc. What sets us apart is that many of the opportunities at our parish , and other Catholic parishes, to be part of the greater church body are activities that involve acts of service. It was only two Sundays ago that we heard the Gospel of Mark when Jesus calls to Simon and Andrew, "Come after me,  I will make you fishers of men." It's a call to action, a call to serve, not be served. From the very beginning, we as disciples of Christ, were called to serve. The apostles, the first community of disciples, were a made a community because of their nearness to Jesus and their need for Him, their need to serve Him.