Before Mass Silence

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Cecilia_Dympna said:
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AugustTherese:
my greatest sufferings is a lack of silence before Mass
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I know it can be annoying. But I can’t help but feel that if this is your greatest suffering, you’re probably doing alright.
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It’s not my greatest suffering. I said it’s ‘[o]ne of my greatest sufferings’. And, yes, it is, because Mass is my one, absolute favorite thing on this Earth, next to preparing for it; and, when anything gets in the way of those two things, then yes, that is absolutely one of my greatest sufferings!
 
I don’t think we as Catholics realize how good we have it. While at my home parish, if there is conversation happening it is in very hushed tones. Yesterday I attended the funeral of a long time family friend at a protestant church. The loud conversations taking place and the cackling (as my wife called it) were like fingernails on a blackboard to me. Irreverent and disrespectful of the deceased and her family.
 
Yes I have a similar problem, either chit chat or the organist practicing. I often close my eyes to decrease some stimuli when praying - does help.
 
I forgot about the organ practicing -
It’s funny, the chit chatters - they don’t like when she starts to play -
the organ drowns them out - they shrug and become mute -
I’m surprised they don’t text one another -
I wish she’d practice more - before church !
 
It could very well be that the organist is playing on purpose then…
 
Seriously I have to pray really hard not to give dirty looks. There is more concern for chit chat and coffee than praying the Rosary which truly saddens Our Lord. Such a peeve of mine. I go to Mass everyday by 8am just so I can have quiet for 30 min. Then stay til about 10-11 so people leave. Silence is so important.
 
moonflwr003 said:
Seriously I have to pray really hard not to give dirty looks… Silence is so important.
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my brother’s church has a “kiddy room” in back of the nave, a small room with a big glass window looking out into the nave. Once, my bother’s boy got a little fidgety, and I volunteered to take him out into that room and sit with him for a while until he settled down. Which he quickly did. We sat there together in dead silence for a while and it ended up being one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had in my life. That was when I realized how important silence can be in one’s spiritual life. And how rare silence is in our modern everyday world.
 
Silence is so important if we want to HEAR God. Even our minds (guilty myself) are loud sometimes 😧
 
Cardinal Sarah’s Power of Silence is a fabulous work, and so desperately needed. I mention it in the same breath as The Imitation of Christ.
 
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I have a few in my church who always chat oblivious to others in the church. I find it VERY annoying. I really feel like telling them off. I even go just before mass starts because it is so annoying. I really cannot concentrate with them chatting away.

Doesnt matter where you are in the church. You can hear them! I told the priest but nothing.
 
I can’t help thinking of obnoxious ways to retaliate! What if you sat right behind them, and started praying out loud, loud enough to disrupt their conversation? Maybe they would get the message! 😂
 
I recently confessed my annoyance with those who linger and chat in the pews after Mass. The priest said I had every right to be annoyed, and he would be too.
Guess I should mention, he’s an FSSP priest.
 
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I went to Reconciliation at another parish, thinking I’d stay for Mass. But hearing the electric guitar and bass warming up…sorry.
 
I remember this old beloved priest - a real cutie 😇
He would hang his cane on the end of the altar…
Well, one morning mass…he had a slight heart attack…
There was only 15 of us in attendance…someone got him chair…
Ambulance came…cops…sirens…
Never seen mass delayed before…
off they rolled him on a stretcher…
I gave him a thumbs up as he went by, he smiled and did likewise…
And…the Pastor continued mass…

Well outside the stainglass windows…,the Catholic school kids played…
About 30 of them…bouncing ball, laughing…etc…
And they heard and saw all this…,
They weren’t phased…life goes on…
And it was like music to my ears…as mass continued 🙂
 
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My problem is starting to be a temptation to become totally alienated towards going to Mass because of the people talking before Mass. In some local parishes the noise level from people talking is incredible. In one parish, a visiting priest said (seriously) boy, you folks are chatty – and the people laughed because they thought he was making a joke. In the same parish, the priest rings the largest hand bell in the set, to get people to quiet down – it doesn’t stop them – only when the singing starts does most of the talking stop.
 
Never stop going to Mass for that reason, offer it up to Jesus. There is a man in our parish who is very chatty, and sometimes before daily Mass, goes around the pews talking to people. At first I found him very distracting. However one day I went there, and he saw I was distressed, and asked parishioners to pray for my intentions when we said the Rosary. It was a blessing. We just can’t judge people, no matter what the reason. I pray for him and all parishioners, and find that helps. There’s some good in all people.
 
It’s funny how this varies in different churches. My parish usually has a quiet, reverent atmosphere before church, even with the normal noises of people coming in and sitting down. Conversations are usually hushed, if any. And we pray the Divine Mercy just before Mass, which I LOVE. I usually don’t have any trouble blocking out the small noises to pray, especially if I can get there early enough.

But last January I went to Mass in a different city, my first time at Mass anywhere other than my home parish. I was shocked at the jovial, loud, chatty atmosphere. It was just like my old protestant church. Everyone was talking loudly and visiting and socializing. And there was no group prayer before Mass started. I tried to kneel down and pray but I felt really out of place and couldn’t concentrate at all. So, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
 
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It was a lesson in humility for me, first feeling annoyed, and then experiencing his Faith in action. The real test came weeks later at a Memorial Mass for a parishioner. The fellow beside me was lost, when to sit, or kneel or stand. Worse yet, he was mimicking the Mass, and the priest with mutterings like Come on, impatiently, and saying dingaling under his breath at the Consecration. I just prayed for him, and really felt compassion instead of anger. That’s God’s grace.
 
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