Cell Phones at Mass!

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On Sunday, I was at Mass and some nincompoop’s phone rang loudly during the readings. I thought (s)he had shut it off or put it on vibrate after the first occurrence and then it happened again during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The cell phone was so loud and distracting that I and a few others missed one of the responses! :mad:

Anybody else had something like this happen at Mass? What did you do about it? I don’t normally attend the parish where this occurred so I don’t know the person whose phone rang and didn’t feel comfortable speaking to them about it.
 
Happens at weddings and funerals too.

I use my cell phone instead of a watch so its on silent a lot. However the other day I couldn’t find my cell phone and of course I couldn’t just call it to find it because it was on silent!
 
…waited for the embarrassed person to shut it off…and again. Then I forgot about it.
 
NewEnglandPries said:
Happens at weddings and funerals too.

I use my cell phone instead of a watch so its on silent a lot. However the other day I couldn’t find my cell phone and of course** I couldn’t just call it to find it because it was on silent!**
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I hear you there, my phone is always set to vibrate!
 
People forget. Sometimes people carry more than one phone - I have one for work and one for personal. Usually they are both on silent and often I don’t even bring my purse into the church.

I wouldn’t let it get to you. At least she didn’t answer it and start talking! :eek:
 
Given that almost everyone and their five-year-old cousin carries one, I think we’re getting better about keeping them appropriately silent. I dunno, but I remember ringing cellphones being a bigger problem 15-20 years ago when they were still status symbols.

Luna
 
It’s a holiday weekend. People are visiting and distracted so their normal routines (like turning off phones or putting them on vibrate) are off. People get new phones as Christmas gifts and haven’t mastered the controls. People borrow phones from someone else. And people just forget. (My guess is that most bishops, priests and deacons are offenders at some point or another.)

Yes, it’s distracting. But most parishioners know to have a sense of humor about these things since they are usually infrequent. (But as NewEnglandPries reminds us, they are often MORE common when people who might not otherwise be in Church are there.) Regular Church-goers usually have no need to have something said to them. They are usually traumatized enough - especially if it happens more than once at a single Mass.

While it’s not something that gets said every week, on holiday weekends and for special events, the cantor at my parish usually makes an announcement before Mass reminding people to turn off their cell phones.
 
It happens at Mass, at plays, at dinners, at weddings, at funerals, etc., etc.,…it’s part of modern life. C’est la vie. The worst part is almost all of us have been guilty of it once or twice mea culpa :eek:
 
It seems that there will always be distractions no matter which parish you attend. It helps to forgive that person immediately and focus even more intently on the sacrifice when the distraction finally stops. Also, there are signs that some parishes put up that say “turn off all cell phones and pages or pay $500 fee”. Jk about the fee part. Sorry for the distractions as I have been one to forget to turn off my phone as well :confused:
 
Luna_Lovecraft said:
Given that almost everyone and their five-year-old cousin carries one, I think we’re getting better about keeping them appropriately silent. I dunno, but I remember ringing cellphones being a bigger problem 15-20 years ago when they were still status symbols.

Luna
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Now that you mention it, this has been my experience as well. I don’t notice it happening nearly as much as I did 10 years ago. Did cell phones even have a “vibrate” option back then? Perhaps that is part of it. I never put my phone to “silent” else I would miss every call, but I almost always have it set on vibrate.

Or maybe it just took time for etiquette to catch up to the technology. 😛

For the OP, I wouldn’t do anything about it if I were at another parish and did not know the person. Just assume it was a fluke and move on with your life.
 
NewEnglandPries said:
Happens at weddings and funerals too.

I use my cell phone instead of a watch so its on silent a lot. However the other day I couldn’t find my cell phone and of course I couldn’t just call it to find it because it was on silent!
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LOL!! I know exactly where you are comming from!!
 
Ringing cell phones are an infrequent occurence at our Masses anymore. My favorite response was from a priest with a sense of humor. He pretended to answer the phone saying something about God calling. Then said it must have been a wrong mumber the person didn’t want to talk to him. Everyone laughed - no negativity there-and I’m sure the person whose phone rang was sufficiently embarrassed that it never happened again!

A bigger problem I see is people texting and playing games on their cell phones during Mass. I saw a child scold her father for that in Church last Sunday. They say a little child will lead us!
 
Sometimes people forget. I have forgotten to turn off my phone a number of times, then realized it later.

My phone hasn’t rung during Mass so far, but once driving elsewhere I got nine wrong numbers in a row. :eek:
 
Hi everyone.

I think that largely it is because someone has forgotten to turn off their cell phone and most of the time, they are greatly embarrassed when it rings. However, there are all types of persons.

I do want to mention that I have often thought that it would be nice to carry one’s cell phone to the Blessed Sacrament (or even to Mass) to be able to access the aps for reading the Scripture, Gospel and even the Divine Office. As there are many very good aps out there particularly one for the Magnificat. It is much easier to bring a little iphone than a big book. However, I have not done this as I am not too sure as to how it would be perceived.

People tend to think that one might be texting when in actuality they might be looking up a quote from a saint or a Scripture verse.

It is really out of respect for others that I have not ventured to do this. God knows what my or any other person’s intention would be in using a cell phone during these times.

Neden
 
Mrs_Sally said:
I wouldn’t let it get to you. At least she didn’t answer it and start talking! :eek:
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But that does happen in our parish. Inspite of constant reminders to silence cell phones and pagers. Usually it’s people who don’t know how to turn it off.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
… At least she didn’t answer it and start talking! :eek:
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I’ve seen at least one person do that. You wouldn’t believe the difficulty in getting a “please turn off your cell phones” announcement just prior to Mass. They tried posting signs in the entrance, but they did no good.

I have noticed that people are bringing bottled water to drink during Mass also.
 
Don’t know why, but the people at my parish are pretty good about turning them off. There’s always a statement made at the beginning about turning off or muting cell phones, an adult should be with minors at all times, and don’t leave until after the last song, etc. etc. etc.

On a funny note, the announcement used last year was to “turn off all cell phones and pagers.” Somebody finally told the church hierachy that pagers, in large part, didn’t exist any more. Went the way of the telex. Oh well.
 
That doesn’t bother me so much, since I assume it is a mistake that could happen to any of us. What bothers me more is people deliberately texting through the entire Mass. I saw a father text through his son’s entire First Communion Mass.

I wonder why we all feel like we even have to bring our cell phones into Mass. They are like security blankets now, myself included.

We lived for many years without them surgically attached to our bodies. Would it hurt us to throw it in the glove compartment during Mass?
 
There are few things I detest more than cell phones, to the point where many people I know joke that I am a Luddite. But seriously, turn the thing off. The world can wait for an hour or so.
Grrrr…:banghead:
 
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