Cell phone use during mass

[missuszippy]

A couple of months ago a pre-teen girl held her cell phone in her open bag where her mom couldn’t see it, and was text messaging someone during Mass. I should have alerted her Mom, but I thought I would wait until after Mass, hurry up and catch up to the girl outside of church, and ask her if Jesus had answered her text message. Unfortunately, but to no surprise, the whole family left at Communion, so I couldn’t do it. It really bothered me, but all I could do was offer up a prayer.

 

[maryjk]

The man came into the chapel where Thomas More, then Chancellor of England, was hearing Mass and informed him that the King required his presence immediately. More told the man he would come later. The man insisted that as Chancellor he was required to obey the King’s summons. More’s answer?
“I am paying court to a higher King.”

I don’t care if both your parents and all four grandparents are at death’s door. The cell phone belongs back at home.

Matthew

:bigyikes: :bigyikes:

I have to think that either both of your parents are dead or it wouldn’t matter to you to see either of them before they died. Same with your grandparents. Sad state of affairs.

 

[daeve]

:bigyikes: :bigyikes:

I have to think that either both of your parents are dead or it wouldn’t matter to you to see either of them before they died. Same with your grandparents. Sad state of affairs.

Don’t most phones have a vibrate setting? If there’s a possibility of an emergency, set it to vibrate. I do agree that most calls can just wait, but there are legitimate reasons to remain available.

 

[bluerose]

I remember, back in the day, when I used to take a book or a stuffed animal to keep my small son quietly occupied during Mass (before he was old enough to understand what was going on).

He’s 13 now, and an altar server and has been an attentive Mass attendee since he was about five. But I see a lot of teenagers who apparently still need some kind of “toy” to get them through Mass without… I don’t know, having some kind of nervous breakdown. So they bring their little cell phones and text their friends or play games… and I’ve seen some preteens with their Gameboys (which don’t seem to have a mute button or else using it would destroy the game experience, I don’t know, my son’s never had one).

My husband and I have a cell phone for emergency purposes (wasn’t that the whole idea behind cell phones in the first place?) and unless we are stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere (assuming we can get a signal), the phone stays off. We got along without it for decades, surely we can survive without it now. But a lot of people (and I’m not talking about the people with legitimate emergency needs, so please let’s don’t beat that dead horse!) can’t seem to function without that blasted phone glued to their ear, every waking minute–shopping, driving, having lunch with Mom, whatever. That stupid phone is always the fifth wheel and takes precedence above everything else. The cashier rings up a total, there are 10 people in line, just before the customer can get her money or check or credit card out, the phone rings and EVERYTHING goes on hold while she takes the call! Defensive driving takes a back seat to cell phones ringing in the depths of bottomless purses. And Mom can just wait to visit with you over lunch while you take that phone call. Obviously everyone else in the whole world is more important, or the phone would be OFF!

People, get a life already! Starting at Mass!

 

[Sarabande]

Happy Lent!!

Anyway…
Tonight I was at mass and I noticed a light to the left of where I was setting. To my surprise I saw a women on her cell phone sitting in the second row possibly checking her voice. Granted that mass had not began yet, but I was just couldn’t believe this was going on. Not only was she listening but she passed the phone to her daughter. Later in the mass as it was almost over with I heard a cell phone ringing. I wasn’t able to go to my usual mass this weekend, and now I remember why I don’t go to this mass anymore.
Has anyone ever seen this going on?

Thanks

Something like this happened a few weeks ago. I can’t remember what part of the mass, a man’s cell phone went off. I understand if people forget to turn it off and quickly grab the phone to shut it off. But this guy actually answered the phone and started having a conversation. I think it must have been during the Offertory because the organ was playing. Anyway, the man kept saying in a loud whisper, “I’m in church…” then would just keep talking. Something about it was very comical, yet it was very annoying and disrespectful at the same time.

I do have a confession story, though. A few years ago, I was cantoring at this church and left my purse up in the choir loft while I was up front. I usually always turned my phone off or put it on silent. Of course, during the priest’s homily, my phone goes off. As I was about to get up and just go to the back of the church to turn it off, it stopped. (The organist was old and didn’t know how to work it.) It then started ringing again, at least this time during the offertory hymn, so it wasn’t as noticeble. Luckily, my husband (who was my fiance at the time), made his way up to the loft and turned it off. I was so embarrassed. I never told the priest it was my phone. And it turned out that it was my mother — one of the people who would have known better not to call me at that time.