Kids Teaching Mass
St. Elmo for Kids: The Brave Story of St. Erasmus
Meet St. Elmo, also known as St. Erasmus, an early Christian martyr remembered for his courage and faithfulness to Jesus.
Around the campfire, Fr. Tim tells the Juice Box crew about St. Elmo, some of the dramatic legends and traditions that developed around him, and what his witness can teach kids about trusting Jesus when life is painful, frightening, or difficult.
Who Was St. Elmo? The Story of St. Erasmus for Kids
St. Elmo is a traditional name for St. Erasmus of Formia.
Later tradition describes him as a bishop associated with Formia, Italy, and the Church has long honored him as a martyr. A martyr is someone who remains faithful to Jesus even when doing so costs that person his or her life.
Christians faced periods of severe persecution in the Roman Empire, and St. Erasmus has long been honored by Christians as a bishop and martyr who remained faithful to Christ.
Over time, many dramatic stories developed around St. Erasmus. Later accounts attributed to him describe miraculous rescues, angelic assistance, and even a raven feeding him while he was in hiding. These stories belong to the legendary tradition surrounding St. Erasmus and cannot be confirmed as historical facts.
What the Church remembers most importantly is much simpler: St. Erasmus is honored as a martyr who remained faithful to Christ.
Key Takeaways
In this episode, kids will:
- See what happens during the entrance procession, including the crucifix, candles, and incense
- Learn why the priest genuflects toward the tabernacle, and why Jesus is present there
- Understand why there are always three Mass readings, and where the priest finds them in the lectionary
- Discover what happens during the Eucharistic Prayer, and how the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus
- Learn why Catholics offer one another a sign of peace, and what to pray if they haven’t had their First Communion yet
- See what the priest does after Communion to care for the sacred vessels
Episode Summary
Ever wonder what your kids would say if they had to explain the Mass themselves? In this episode, Father Tim invites a group of curious kids to do exactly that, walking through the Mass step by step from the sacristy to the final blessing.
We start by following the entrance procession, learning what the crucifix and incense represent, and stop at the altar steps to talk about genuflecting toward the tabernacle, since Jesus himself is present there.
The kids ask the questions real kids actually ask: why are there three readings, what is the lectionary, and what happens when the priest raises his hands and says the words of Jesus over the bread and wine. Father Tim walks through the Eucharistic Prayer, the Our Father, and the sign of peace, before answering one of the more tender questions of the episode, what a child should do if they haven’t had their First Communion yet and can’t receive Communion.
By the end, Father Tim quizzes the kids on everything they’ve learned, tabernacle, ambo, lectionary, and missal, and they get every one right. A fun, hands-on way to help kids recognize what’s happening the next time they’re sitting in the pew.
Episode Highlights
Transcript
Hey, JuiceBoxers! Today is no ordinary JuiceBox episode! Today we're... GOING TO MASS! There's a lot of important stuff that happens at Mass, and maybe you're a little confused sometimes. That's okay! Mass is the best and most important type of prayer we have. I love it so much! My friends and I are going to teach you about some of the things you see and hear at Mass. LIKE THE BELLS!! AND THE SMOKE!! Why does the priest dress like that?? We'll get into it all! Now, let's get ready!
Okay, so before Mass begins my servers and I get ready in a special room called the: Sacristy. OOOOOH, so that's what that room is... I always wondered what you guys were doing in there. In the sacristy, we have all of the stuff we need to make Mass happen. One of the important things that happens in here: I get dressed! I wear special clothes called vestments. There are all different colored vestments for different seasons: White is for celebration. Like Christmas and Easter! Purple is for preparation. Like Advent and Lent! Red is for sacrifice. Green is for Ordinary time, which is most of the year. Let's do green! Alright, now let's quiet down and head into the church!
At the very beginning of Mass, the priest and the servers walk down the aisle. This is called the: Procession! Sometimes the procession has a song, but not always. During the procession, you might see the servers carrying some things: A crucifix, an image of Jesus on the Cross. Candles! And sometimes you might even see a special kind of smoke called incense, this cool thing is called a thurible, and when you swing it the smoke comes out. As I get to the altar, I genuflect. Now, I have a question for you, which way should I genuflect?? Wait, what does genuflect even mean?? Great question! To genuflect means to get down on one knee. It's a sign of reverence. After all, we're coming before God Himself! Oh...so you genuflect up? Nope! But that's a good guess. Towards the Holy Water? Hmm! Interesting. But not that either. Towards the big golden box in the center? Bingo! That big golden box is called the: Tabernacle. I genuflect towards the tabernacle because Jesus Himself is in the tabernacle.
Huh?? We'll explain that later, but for now... In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. After we make the Sign of the Cross, we want to have God clean our hearts. Sometimes our hearts want things other than God, and we want to come back to Him. So, we ask God to forgive us! You may see some people who pound their fist on their chest, like this: "Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault..." Then we sing the Gloria and we give praise to God!! That's the whole reason that we're here! [Sing piece of Gloria]
Ok, now we go into one of my favorite parts of Mass: the readings! We get to bask in the Word of God! I'm the reader! This is called the: Ambo. The Ambo is where the readings take place. But wait... What? How do I know what to read? It's all in the lectionary, it has all the readings for the whole year! Oh. Thanks. WAIT, WHAT?!?!?! Everything ok? Why are there three readings?? There's always three readings! One from the Old Testament, before Jesus came. A Psalm, which is an ancient song of praise to God. And an Epistle, which are letters the apostles of Jesus wrote a looooong time ago. Alright, I better get reading... "In the beginning..." [Comical Gibberish in high speed] The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. And now, I get to read from the Gospel! The words of Jesus! Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
After the Gospel, I talk for a little while. Sometimes I'll explain the readings or teach people how to come closer to Jesus. It's called a: Homily. After the Homily, we recite a prayer called the: Creed. In the creed, we proclaim all the things that we believe in our faith. I believe in One God... The Father the Almighty... Maker of Heaven and earth
Next we pray for people in need! This is a great time for you to pray in your heart for people you know! I want to pray for my friend who got hurt! I want to pray for my grandma! We pray for everyone who is sick, everyone who is suffering, and everyone who is lonely. Lord, hear our prayer.
Alright, JuiceBoxers, it's game time. This is where we get into the most important part of the Mass: The Eucharist. Eucharist is a word that means "thanksgiving." Like thanksgiving dinner?? Well...I guess it's kind of like that. There won't be any turkey. But we are giving thanks to God and reliving The Last Supper, so...a little bit. Guys, we gotta get ready. I need some help. YOU! Get bread. Aye aye, captain. YOU! Get wine. I'm not allowed to drink wine... This is different. Meet me back here in two minutes. On it.
I'll get things ready over here. Altar cloth. To set the table. Crucifix. To remember why we do what we do. Corporal. To give our gifts a special place. Paten. For the bread. Chalice. For the wine. Mission accomplished. Well done. Well done, indeed. Ok, so now everything is on the altar...let's pray! During the Eucharistic prayer, I read prayers out of this special book called the missal. In this book are all the prayers for the whole Mass.
During the Eucharistic prayer, I ask the Holy Spirit to come down on the bread and wine. Then, I do something very special: I bow down and I recite the words of Jesus over the bread: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is My Body, which will be given up for you. Once I say those words, the bread actually becomes the Body of Jesus! And, how do you know that it's happened?? THE BELLS!! As the bells are rung, I elevate His Body so that everyone in the church can adore Him. Then, I do the same with the wine: Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. And now, the wine is the Blood of Jesus!
As we move on in the Eucharistic prayer, we all stand up and pray the prayer that Jesus taught us: The Our Father! I KNOW THAT PRAYER!! Now, have you ever wondered why everyone starts shaking hands in the middle of Mass? Yeah, why the heck do we do that?? Well, after we pray the Our Father, we have the opportunity to make peace with the people around us, to show them love and forgiveness! This is usually done by saying: Peace be with you! AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT!! Exactly! Now, after that, we get ready for the most amazing part of Mass: Communion!
During Communion, everyone in church comes forward to receive Jesus by eating His body. Sometimes you might see that you can receive the Blood of Jesus as well, and sometimes just His Body, either way, He gives His whole Self to us anytime we receive Communion. Body of Christ. Amen.
Wait, but what if I haven't had my First Communion yet?? Well, Jesus wants you to receive Him and He can't wait until it's your first Communion! I can't wait either! For now, you can say a prayer to Jesus saying how much you love Him and want to receive Him. Jesus, I love You and I can't wait for my first Communion...
After Communion, while you pray and give thanks to God, you may notice that I do some cleaning up here at the altar. I purify the sacred vessels. I wipe them down with a special cloth called a purificator to make sure that they are fully cleaned out, because we want to take special care of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Now that I'm done with that, I'll go back to my chair, we'll pray a closing prayer, and then I give the final blessing. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And now, Mass is over! We process out. And we're all done!
Alright, guys, quiz time! Here's the church, can you help me find the... Tabernacle Good job! Ambo? Great! Lectionary? You got it! Missal Yes! Man, you guys are good! Parents, if you want your kids to be able to take Mass home and keep learning, click the link in the description for the pop-up Mass kit from our friends at Saintly Heart. JuiceBoxers, I always love playing and praying with you! I hope that next time you're at Mass, you recognize the things we learned about in this video. I will see you guys next time for more fun! Bye!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens in the sacristy before Mass?
Each color corresponds to a season or occasion in the Church's liturgical calendar. White is worn for celebrations like Christmas and Easter, purple for preparation during Advent and Lent, red for sacrifice, and green for Ordinary Time, which makes up most of the year.
Yes. St. Elmo is a traditional name for St. Erasmus of Formia.
Why does the priest genuflect toward the tabernacle?
Why are there always three Mass readings?
What happens during the Eucharistic Prayer?
What if I haven't had my First Communion yet?
If your kids asked a big faith question this week, you’re not alone. Subscribe so you’ve always got a short, safe, Catholic video ready for car rides, bedtime, or Sunday prep.
Free Saint Elmo Activity Worksheet for Kids
Search the Sanctuary” worksheet attached and ready to use, an I-Spy style activity where kids circle each Mass item they find (Tabernacle, Altar, Bread, Chalice, Altar Cloth, Ambo, Wine, Crucifix) in a hand-drawn sanctuary scene. Final approved version per the Slack thread (INRI plaque and centering fixes applied).
What's Inside:
A St. Elmo coloring page
A simple “circle the right items” activity
Catholic symbols kids can recognize and discuss
A reminder to turn to Scripture, prayer, the Cross, and the Rosary
A short reflection on courage and faithfulness to Jesus
Perfect to use while watching the companion Juice Box video
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