Children at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, have a little more incentive to attend Mass during Lent.<\/p>\n
The parish instituted an incentive program called Massports during Advent in 2025 and brought it back for Lent this year. All children from 3 years old to eighth grade are encouraged to bring their passport booklets to Mass each weekend to receive a sticker after Mass, personally handed out by the priests and deacons.<\/p>\n
After the Feb. 21 Saturday night Mass, kids swarmed pastor Father Daniel Velasco, associate pastor Father Joji Reddy Allam, and Deacon Quinton Thomas, eager to get their first sticker.<\/p>\n
After Easter, children who received a sticker for all six Sundays in Lent will get a special treat. For those who are traveling during spring break, they can attend Mass at another parish and ask their parents or the priest to sign the booklet. For school students who aren\u2019t Catholic, they can ask their minister or parents to sign off each Sunday they go to church.<\/p>\n
Principal Amber Bagby said the pastoral council began discussing how to encourage greater attendance at Mass, especially among families with children, and the idea of Massports was born.<\/p>\n
Bagby said she was encouraged by how the program went during Advent, seeing children attend Mass with neighbors or grandparents if their parents couldn\u2019t bring them. The program expanded during Lent to include seventh- and eighth-graders this year.<\/p>\n
Of the 350 students in pre-K through sixth grade, 220 turned in their Massports after the Christmas break and received a treat from the snow cone truck. After Easter, Bagby said they will plan for another surprise for the students who participated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids thrive off incentives and just the sheer challenge of it all,\u201d Bagby said. \u201cWe started small with the Advent season to see how it would play out the first time around, and it was wildly successful. So I told Father, \u2018Why don\u2019t we try it one more time at Lent,\u2019 and then we will see how it progresses from there, if it grows into maybe a summer challenge. It\u2019s just a way to get more kids actively invested in their Sunday Mass obligation and try not to put any guilt or shame in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sixth grader Harper Couch said: \u201cSometimes I would put Mass off, but the Massports motivated me to go. It was more about being with God rather than the big prize. So now I like going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Classmate Lillian Richards agreed. \u201cI think it is good for kids who typically don\u2019t like going to Mass. It brings me closer to Jesus and keeps me motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, Massports were given to all children in the parish, including those who attend Youth Faith Formation classes on Sunday mornings. Andrew Baka, youth faith formation director, said Massports were given to the 49 students in parish religious education during Advent, but sadly, none of the children turned them in after Christmas.<\/p>\n
He said he had already begun promoting it to the parents and students on Feb. 22 in the hope that most of them would get more involved. He said he already noticed that at Sunday Masses, he saw some new families or one student brought a friend to Mass so they could get their sticker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there are a lot of people who don\u2019t go to Mass. I can\u2019t tell you in Advent and (the first Sunday in Lent Feb. 22) how many of the people that I see normally at Mass, with their friends with them that don\u2019t normally come to Mass or families that I don\u2019t always see all the time,\u201d Baka said. \u201cYou could tell it was one mom or one dad or one parent was there so the kid could get their sticker. I definitely think the kids are pushing mom and dad or asking if they can go with a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Velasco said he supports the program, encouraging the children at the end of Mass: \u201cBring your parents to Mass next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to see kids that I didn\u2019t see regularly at Mass,\u201d he said of when Massports was introduced during Advent. \u201cThe kids had to have the initiative to go to Mass. Sometimes I remember the kids saying they had to ask grandma or grandpa to bring them.\u201d<\/p>\n