Cell phone use during mass

[yessisan]

This makes me so mad. It’s so disrespectful! Two Sundays ago, I went inside the Church, sat down on my pew, and then someone’s phone rings. This was right before the Mass started, in fact, the music had already begun. But this lady actually picked up the call and was still talking even when the Priest was walking to the altar. I still wonder why the Priest didn’t tell her to stop talking or to leave and return after her call.

It’s rude and disrespectful!! Please people, turn the phones off!! How hard is it to leave your life aside for 1 hour?

 

[WenckebachCath]

My husband is a physician and I am an RN. Sometimes we will be on call and need to check our voice mails during Mass. I’ll leave it on vibrate, but sometimes have forgotten to change it. There also might be some other pressing reasons why someone might need to check their messages, such as having a loved one in the hospital, or other personal reasons.

Don’t pre-judge without knowing all the facts.

 

[DiscerningDave]

My husband is a physician and I am an RN. Sometimes we will be on call and need to check our voice mails during Mass. I’ll leave it on vibrate, but sometimes have forgotten to change it. There also might be some other pressing reasons why someone might need to check their messages, such as having a loved one in the hospital, or other personal reasons.

Don’t pre-judge without knowing all the facts.

I work in cardiac surgery and am sometimes on call when at mass. I still leave my cell phone in the car. That is why we carry pagers. I always make sure my pager is on vibrate.
When I am called to the hospital, 9 out of 10 times it is life and death. If I see it is an emergent call, I will walk out to my car to use my phone. Anything else can wait an hour to be called back.

 

[catsrus]

We have a sign as well as an announcement prior to Mass beginning.
One sunday, as Father was giving his homily, a phone began to ring.
Father stopped talking, turned in the direction of the ring and just stared towards the sound until it stopped.
Bet that’s the last time that person brought a live cell to Mass!

 

[MusicMan]

Some people need to have a phone or pager with them at Mass. Often, as has been observed, they are people on-call in the medical field. Funeral home directors often need to have a phone or pager with them when they are on-call too.

It has been my experience, however, that you never notice the people who have business having a cell phone at Mass actually having a cell phone on them, it’s only the people who have no business with their cell phone at Mass that you notice. Doctors, nurses, funeral home directors all typically have the “ability” to slip out of the nave undetected and answer their phone in a place where the won’t disrupt. It’s quite eerie, but quite polite.

 

[barbfromtucson]

At one church here in Tucson, they have a sign up front, and also in the bulletin, that says something like “If God calls you, it won’t be on your cell phone”

I remember being at Mass (at a different church) when someone’s cell phone went off. It was the Lone Ranger theme. The priest said “And Jesus is coming!” in response.

–Barbara

 

[Gentile]

Cell phones are like the cigarettes of the 21st century. Some people can’t beat the addiction and they feel lost without their security blanket on their person at all times.

To suggest there are people at Mass who must have cell phones is wrong, no matter what their profession. For their own good they should be switching them off and leaving them in their vehicles before entering God’s house for an hour.

If they feel they can’t then it is a matter of priorities, not need. Even if they are not disrupting others with their phones they are disrupting themselves.

I guess in the end, I can’t find too many things that are more important than being at Mass. Even doctors, law enforcement and funeral directors can “sign out” for an hour when they need to.

 

[Gentile]

My husband is a physician and I am an RN. Sometimes we will be on call and need to check our voice mails during Mass. I’ll leave it on vibrate, but sometimes have forgotten to change it. There also might be some other pressing reasons why someone might need to check their messages, such as having a loved one in the hospital, or other personal reasons.

Don’t pre-judge without knowing all the facts.

Go to another Mass. If there is no other Mass you can attend, then given your apparent inability to ensure your phone is on vibrate, I would suggest not going at all and maybe watching on EWTN?

 

[Gentile]

Last summer I was in line with about a dozen other people at the Post Office. It was hot and people were just trying to zone-out and meditate while waiting.

Someone new joined the line. After about 15 seconds you could hear the squeal of her cell phone being turned on as she called someone. Her loud “hey, what’s up I’m just checking in” broke that beautiful silence in those difficult conditions.

Then I heard “if you don’t turn-off that DELETED phone right now I am going to ram it up your DELETED!” Then someone else started clapping and everyone joined, except the cell phone addict.

What a beautiful thing.

 

[Katie1723]

Cell phones are like the cigarettes of the 21st century. Some people can’t beat the addiction and they feel lost without their security blanket on their person at all times.

To suggest there are people at Mass who must have cell phones is wrong, no matter what their profession. For their own good they should be switching them off and leaving them in their vehicles before entering God’s house for an hour.

If they feel they can’t then it is a matter of priorities, not need. Even if they are not disrupting others with their phones they are disrupting themselves.

I guess in the end, I can’t find too many things that are more important than being at Mass. Even doctors, law enforcement and funeral directors can “sign out” for an hour when they need to.

Could not have said it better myself!

Kathy

 

[WenckebachCath]

Go to another Mass. If there is no other Mass you can attend, then given your apparent inability to ensure your phone is on vibrate, I would suggest not going at all and maybe watching on EWTN?

Why, aren’t you the charitable and pleasant poster.

 

[MusicMan]

There are professions that require a weekend of on-call, and most Funeral Directors are on-call all the time. These people need to have a line of communication so that in an emergency they can be reached.

As I said, those people who absolutely need a phone or a pager at Mass because of on-call status, will handle the situation in such a way that no one knows they have a phone/pager on them. Many of them slip out completely unnoticed.

My town’s Funeral Director and I were sitting together at dinner at Lions Club. All of the sudden, I notice him return to the table, pocket his cell phone and say, “Glad that wasn’t an emergency.” I told him that I didn’t even notice he had been gone. His response: “Good. That means I’m doing my job well.” If this guy is that courteous about slipping out to take a call during Lions Club dinner, NO ONE is going to be the wiser if he has an emergency during Mass.

WenckebachCath, I don’t know if your situation is one that allows for carrying a cell phone to Mass, but it’s not my call to make. I would, however, very charitably suggest that you try to get better at remembering to switch your phone to a silent mode before you go into church.

 

[WenckebachCath]

Excuse me, but I stated that we do turn our phones on vibrate, but occasionally will forget. Actually, it’s usually my husband, who is a cardiologist and has weekend call once a month. I actually don’t work very much, but I will occasionally be on call, and yes we both need to be contacted immediately.

On the rare occasions that we’ve forgotten, we turn off the ringer and then immediately check the voicemail message.

My suggestion to the CAF posters is to relax and stop making rash judgements. This website is full of the most judgemental, uncharitable, poor representatives of our faith, who hide their crankiness behind a fascade of religiosity!

 

[Sir_Knight]

Just turn off the darn phone.

Guess you were never had to care for a sick family member.

My father was literally on his deathbed because he died that very same day. My wife & I were taking turns so that both of us could go to Church. While I was at Mass, he had taken a turn for the worse and the doctors needed a signature from a next of kin to perform a procedure. My wife couldn’t sign because she was not his daughter and she had to call me and I ended up leaving Mass early.

My phone was on vibrate but to “turn off the darn phone” is not always an option.

Cell phones are like the cigarettes of the 21st century. Some people can’t beat the addiction and they feel lost without their security blanket on their person at all times.

To suggest there are people at Mass who must have cell phones is wrong, no matter what their profession. For their own good they should be switching them off and leaving them in their vehicles before entering God’s house for an hour.

If they feel they can’t then it is a matter of priorities, not need. Even if they are not disrupting others with their phones they are disrupting themselves.

I guess in the end, I can’t find too many things that are more important than being at Mass. Even doctors, law enforcement and funeral directors can “sign out” for an hour when they need to.

If a loved one was dying, would you rush to see then for those final moments or would you still “sign out” for that hour?

 

[MusicMan]

Excuse me, but I stated that we do turn our phones on vibrate, but occasionally will forget. Actually, it’s usually my husband, who is a cardiologist and has weekend call once a month. I actually don’t work very much, but I will occasionally be on call, and yes we both need to be contacted immediately.

On the rare occasions that we’ve forgotten, we turn off the ringer and then immediately check the voicemail message.

My suggestion to the CAF posters is to relax and stop making rash judgements. This website is full of the most judgemental, uncharitable, poor representatives of our faith, who hide their crankiness behind a fascade of religiosity!

If you reread my post, you should see it as being in your defense. The only thing I asked is that you make a better effort to remember to set your phone to vibrate when you get to church. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a charitable suggestion like that.

It’s not my place to judge who should and who shouldn’t have a cell phone at Mass. All I’ve ever said is that those who need them don’t let on that they have them. Perhaps it’s taken a bit of practice for them to get good at not being noticed when they have an emergency call come in.

 

[Lance]

My husband is a physician and I am an RN. Sometimes we will be on call and need to check our voice mails during Mass. I’ll leave it on vibrate, but sometimes have forgotten to change it. There also might be some other pressing reasons why someone might need to check their messages, such as having a loved one in the hospital, or other personal reasons.

Don’t pre-judge without knowing all the facts.

As someone else already said even doctors, nurses, policemen, firemen, etc. can checkout for an hour. All of these professions seemed to be able to function just fine before cell phones, why do you just absolutly have to be ‘on’ 24/7? When was the last time you got a life or death call at mass?

When I am out in our factory working on a computer many of the areas are very noisy and require ear protection, even the noise in the room with all the servers make it difficult to hear the phone ring so I just leave it on vibrate all the time. That way if I do forget to turn it off at mass I don’t have to worry about someone calling and disrupting others around me.

 

[Lance]

Excuse me, but I stated that we do turn our phones on vibrate, but occasionally will forget. Actually, it’s usually my husband, who is a cardiologist and has weekend call once a month. I actually don’t work very much, but I will occasionally be on call, and yes we both need to be contacted immediately.

On the rare occasions that we’ve forgotten, we turn off the ringer and then immediately check the voicemail message.

My suggestion to the CAF posters is to relax and stop making rash judgements. This website is full of the most judgemental, uncharitable, poor representatives of our faith, who hide their crankiness behind a fascade of religiosity!

IMO a self check for ‘crankiness’ might be just what he doctor ordered for you since you are the one who is accusing people of being “judgemental, uncharitable, poor representatives of our faith, who hide their crankiness behind a fascade of religiosity”. Remember the beam in your own eye before trying to remove the mote from your brothers.

 

[Meggie]

Before cell phones/beepers medice was’t advanced enough to need a specialty doctor THAT immediately…there weren’t transplanets, instant heart surgery, etc…it was just beginning…and the advent of “on-call” 24-7 doctors helped make these life saving measures possible

 

[MusicMan]

As someone else already said even doctors, nurses, policemen, firemen, etc. can checkout for an hour.

And several of these people have said that they are often on call for an entire weekend, meaning they cannot check-out for “just an hour.” On-call means on-call.

All of these professions seemed to be able to function just fine before cell phones, why do you just absolutly have to be ‘on’ 24/7? When was the last time you got a life or death call at mass?

I’ll leave it to the folks in the profession to say for sure, but I’d guess that before cell phones, these people used pagers, and before that, they probably didn’t go to Mass when they were on-call. At least now, they can go to Mass and be on-call.

This particular thread topic appears every six months or so. It always starts with someone complaining about a fellow Mass-goer talking on their phone inappropriately before Mass or their phone going off in the middle of Mass. Then we get into a debate about the legitimacy of phones at Mass at all. Then we get into an argument about whether or not on-call professionals should have their phones at Mass.

What we forget is that the OP that started it all was about someone babbling with their friend on the phone before Mass or forgetting to shut their phone off. No one ever starts this type of thread with, “I was at Mass this morning and the hospital cardiologist’s cell phone rang and he answered it as he rushed from the nave. How dare he!” You know why we never have the thread start with this statement? Because the people who need to have their phones at Mass know better. We also never have a thread about, “I saw the town’s Funeral Director leave Mass during the Homily. What’s wrong with him that he can’t stay for the entire Mass?” Why don’t we have such a thread? Because Funeral Directors are masters of not being noticed… it’s part of the job.

 

[Lance]

I suppose I could not put up a strong argument for cardiologist or other doctors who may be in a life saving position not to have their cell phone on during mass. I doubt there is ever any life threatening thing that a nurse, G.P., opthomologist, dentist, etc. must be able to respond to while in mass. You may be needed but if you get there in 10 minutes or 45 minutes it is not going to save any lives. As for funeral directors, they certainly aren’t saving lives and the funeral arrangements can wait for an hour at the most. I think most of these people are worried that if they are not available their patients/customers will use the doctor, nurse or funeral director who is and they will lose money.