A fellow parishioner was enlightening me on how they could not hear anything at Mass last Sunday.  I felt that was my calling to say something in this blog in regards to the issue.  She felt like she was the only one disturbed by what has been going on during Mass, which is distracting and disrespectful towards fellow parishioners right to Mass.  I reassured her that last Sunday; certainly many had the same feelings.  We had a priest filling in while our priest was out.  This priest was at our church in the 1970′s-1980′s.  He is now retired, but we really wanted to hear what he had to say during the homily.  We could not even hear him.  I was sitting with my family towards the front and had a hard time hearing him.  There were several screaming babies and children, and the parents did not take them to the crying room to calm down.  Even during the consecration, there were people behind us constantly talking amongst one another instead of paying attention to the most Important thing in life.

In today’s culture, a lot of respect has gone to the wayside.  We seem to have lost the value of respecting others during Mass. Some people talk and have conversations, some let their children be disruptive.  There is a place and time for everything.  Mass is a time to honor and worship the Lord.  When it is noisy and people cannot hear what is being said by the priest and lecturer’s then there is a problem.

Mass is not a time to ignore your child’s behavior, it is a time to teach them discipline and obedience.  There should not be ongoing talking during Mass, or “Hot-Wheels” racing up and down the pews. If your child is throwing a fit, crying, screaming or gets hurt jumping around and there is an available crying room in the church, you should take your child there until they calm down.  If you do not have this available then you need to go to another place until the child has resumed proper behavior, or calmed down.  There are times when fellow parishioner’s can hear absolutely nothing.  It is hard for others to focus on the most important thing in this world, which is the Mass.  Because here we are joined with Heaven.  Please be respectful of others right to hear the Mass.  Please start disciplining your children so they too will respect others and the Mass.  It is not fair that the priest should have a hard time giving the his homily because of all the noise.

The developed attitude over the years has become “Oh, they are just children, everyone understands.” “If I ignore it they will stop.”  “It’s okay for my child not to try to pay attention, they are just a child.”  “Its okay to speak during Mass and carry a conversation, because I need to explain things to my child.”  The worst thing here is when people are discussing what they are doing after Mass gets over.  This lax way of thinking has lead to the me-me-me-me syndrome of society. Why are you there?  Are you there because you want to be with the Lord?  I certainly hope so.   I am not trying to discourage anyone from attending Mass, or make anyone angry.  It is a matter of respecting those around you, which almost ceases to exist in this day and age.  It is time to go back to our traditional roots, figure out what is important and be disciplined about it.  Be aware of your surroundings, and think of the first commandment when you go to Mass.  This will help the focus on how truly important the Mass really is.