Based on a story that Josephine Nobisso read in The Spirit of Medjugorje newsletter, The Weight of a Mass is an original fairy-tale intended to illustrate the significance of Mass, in the Catholic tradition, and the importance of attendance, for the faithful. The story of a miracle, it follows events in an unnamed kingdom, where the king's upcoming marriage to a neighboring queen is expected to be sparsely attended, because the ceremony is to be held in the cathedral, and the king's subjects have grown "cold and careless," in their religious observances. But when a humble beggar woman asks for a piece of bread at the local baker's - the very baker who created the king's wedding cake - in exchange for her evening Mass, which she offers to say for him, his scorn for her, and for the Mass, leads to an unexpected occurrence. For although he piles all of his baked goods on one side of his scale, the tiny piece of paper on which he has written "one mass," outweighs it all...

Although not a Catholic, and decidedly not a believer in the idea that religious ritual is necessary for spiritual sustenance and/or a relationship with the divine, I appreciated Nobisso's story, which - at the very least - highlights the fact that the spiritual realm has more "weight," despite being intangible, than many more material concerns. I'm not really the right audience for The Weight of a Mass, which I picked up, not because of its subject matter, but because the illustrator's work has been recommended to me. A Hungarian artist, Katalín Szegedí is a talented woman, and I appreciated her mixed media illustrations here, with their appealing blend of painting and collage, and wish that her work were more readily available in the states. So far, I have only been able to obtain this, and Nobisso and Szegedí's other joint venture, Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope.

Recommended to anyone looking for engaging children's stories that teach Catholic values, as well as to anyone interested in Katalín Szegedí's work. ( )

This story, based on an article in a religious newsletter, has a fiercely non-believing baker spurn a poor widow's request for a crust of bread in exchange for saying a mass in his honor. When he puts a sliver of paper saying "one mass" on one side of his scale, not all the goods in his shop are heavy enough to balance his scale.
SPOILER: When he offers her everything, she just takes a slice of bread. Asked why she didn't take more, she explains to the baker, "You see, my friend---like you---I, too, do not know the weight of a Mass." The pictures are yummy, setting the scene in late 19th century Europe. Although this is a story about faith and miracles---and an inspiring one---the author's postscript refers to it as an "original fairy tale." I like that the conclusion provokes you to think more: what does the widow mean by her comment? Why is the baker so angry? (There are hints in the story.) Are there similarities between the widow and the baker? ( )