Do you use an electronic missal at Mass?

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LisaB

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Question for those who attend the TLM: do you now or would you feel comfortable using an electronic missal (like iMass) at Mass? I’ve read some people say that it’s not appropriate for Mass and can be distracting to others. Unless the brightness on the device is high, I don’t see any reason why it would not be appropriate. Thoughts?
 
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I’d prefer a hand missal personally, because I’m fond of books, but do whatever works! I don’t think it would be distracting at all.
 
I don’t think that it is “wrong” or sinful to use an e-missal at Mass, however, I think may send the wrong message.

Many people will think you are simply reading email, surfing the net, etc. A lot of people feel using a cell phone or tablet during a meeting, class, church, implies you are not paying attention.

Also, I honestly think it might not be healthy. Most of us are on technology too much as it is. If we can’t use paper for mass, we really might have addiction to technology. 🤓
 
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Maybe that’s what people mean by distracting- that it makes it appear like you are surfing the net. You’d think that by 2018 this wouldn’t be the case, but maybe it is.

The reason I like iMass is that there is no flipping back and forth between the ordinary and the propers. Everything appears in order.
 
LisaB said:
Maybe that’s what people mean by distracting- that it makes it appear like you are surfing the net. You’d think that by 2018 this wouldn’t be the case, but maybe it is.

The reason I like iMass is that there is no flipping back and forth between the ordinary and the propers. Everything appears in order.
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Believe me, I understand. But there is still a vast difference between the generations.

I’m 40, Generation X. I was in a large training session once at work, and we were encouraged to express what we liked and what was distracting about the session.

I was checking my phone because I was receiving an important (work related email). A baby boomer raised her hand and said “I find it very distracting that he is looking at his phone!”

I had never met the woman before. I was both embarrassed and annoyed.

Point is: it will be a very long time (if ever) that electronic missals will become the norm. And personally, I hope it never becomes the norm.

God bless
 
No never seen one in Mass. I have only seen the Missal Book. It would be strange to see such electronics in Mass.
 
I wouldn’t be comfortable using an electronic missal at Mass, especially not the Latin Mass. I prefer using my missal. I think it’s best to use a prayer book instead of an electronic missal imo. I have seen at least one person at the TLM using his phone for prayers though.
 
Yes,when outside,but some priests are not very positive about it and I agree
 
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I’ve been to the old St John Crysostomos liturgies in the Bysantin Catholic Church where we used electronic missals. There were about 15-20 of us and since the liturgi was only celebrated a few times per year in that church we could either have printed the 25 or so pages for everyone or used electronic devices. Depending upon what we celebrated in the church year there were different tunes and responses so they couldn’t be reused unfortunately. It felt really strange to celebrate a liturgi that is so ancient using the latest electronic devices.
 
Well I’m a Senior. I’m downloading that app and taking my iPhone to church with me. I think it’s a wonderful idea. No page turning, germs or fighting over a large print edition. Thank you very much for this topic. I didn’t know this app existed.
 
I don’t think it’s wrong but I wouldn’t use one that has light emanating from it. So things like kindle without light is ok. Also healthier for your eyes.

The reasoning behind this is just imagine everyone using a light emanating book that would be quite distracting. But I can imagine everyone using kindle. It’s just like a book.
 
LisaB said:
I’ve read some people say that it’s not appropriate for Mass and can be distracting to others.
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There seem to be people who think that just about everything, including breathing too loud, is “not appropriate for Mass”.

Use what you want. It’s not their business. If you are concerned about distracting others, try to sit away from them. And make sure your sound is off.

The TLM crowd includes a good many people who would like to turn the clock back to 1940 or whenever, and of course nobody had electronics then, so you may get some fisheyes, but again, unless you are going there to make friends rather than worship Our Lord, it’s no one’s business but your own.

I currently use my mobile phone to pull up daily readings because almost none of the Church-provided missals have them and I do not have time to lug my own missal around to daily Mass when I’m rushing just to get the Mass itself in at odd hours like before or after work or on a lunch break.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
There seem to be people who think that just about everything, including breathing too loud, is “not appropriate for Mass”.

Use what you want. It’s not their business. If you are concerned about distracting others, try to sit away from them. And make sure your sound is off.

The TLM crowd includes a good many people who would like to turn the clock back to 1940 or whenever, and of course nobody had electronics then, so you may get some fisheyes, but again, unless you are going there to make friends rather than worship Our Lord, it’s no one’s business but your own.

I currently use my mobile phone to pull up daily readings because almost none of the Church-provided missals have them and I do not have time to lug my own missal around to daily Mass when I’m rushing just to get the Mass itself in at odd hours like before or after work or on a lunch break.
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I have not celebrated Mass in the vetus ordo in decades – happily.

However, as I have aged, my vision has suffered greatly. The liturgical books I can still manage…we will see for how long. But the breviary, before and after Mass, I am able to pray only thanks to an electronic device. Large print editions no longer work. I need the larger text that I can blow up on the screen plus a special light and contrast.

Frankly, I could not care less if there are lay people who are disquieted by the use in the church of what modern technology makes possible – that is their problem and they need to learn fundamental custody of their own senses as well as mortification of their own thoughts and even preferences.

There is something wrong with lay people who over-involve themselves in the actions of others in the church building – of whom they neither have full knowledge nor any appreciation of what these people are living. Such lay people should be focused on themselves instead of judging others. They are to be chastised for any judgementalness of things that are, in fact, NONE of their concern in the least.
 
E-missals really aren’t a traditional practice, if someone is at Latin mass because they prefer tradition, I don’t understand why they would use one.

However, that being said, what would I care what others do- I wouldn’t question their motives , ideas or preferences as it doesn’t concern me.
 
I have…in my early days of practicing the Catholic faith…what media used was not a concern for me then, and is not a concern for me now.

But, that being said, now I see no particular usefulness (although, this is not a condemnation, just a personal preference) in a missal. After years of attending daily and Sunday Masses, I am familiar enough with the Order of the Mass, and the responses of the faithful, in the participation of the Mass.

The one thing the missal provides that is good, but not necessary if I properly prepare myself for participation in the Mass, is the readings from the Liturgy of the Word. I try to already have read, studied, and pondered the word to be proclaimed before the Mass, so that even if the Lectors are difficult to hear or understand, I perceive the word proclaimed.

I guess for the traditionalists who might feel electronic media is too new fangled, I might comment: In the traditional periods, the faithful walked to Mass (or took carriages drawn by animals). Does driving a car to Mass today make the experience somehow less meaningful or reverent?
 
phil19034 said:
Point is: it will be a very long time (if ever) that electronic missals will become the norm. And personally, I hope it never becomes the norm.
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I would like to clearify something I wrote and didn’t express. Perhaps the main reason I would not be happy with electronics being used at mass is because I’m a parent.

Psychologists and psychiatrists say that children should be limited in their use of technology… elementary aged children should not be on a tablet or smartphone more than a combined 1 hour for the entire day, 2 hours for middle school, and high school should be monitored. It’s simply not good for their development.

Steve Jobs was once asked if his kids had iPhones and iPads and he responded with “Actually we don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them in effect.”

Furthermore, if we are all using iPhones and iPads during mass, how do I know as a parent that my kid isn’t reading something else on the phone during Mass?

So I think in general it’s bad for the Church to support electronic missals because it’s frankly harmful for kids. We need kids to learn to sit though mass, lectures, classes, etc without deferring to technology.

 
We have a priest who uses a tablet for his homilies. If he can use electronics, we can too.
 
MtnDwellar said:
We have a priest who uses a tablet for his homilies. If he can use electronics, we can too.
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I don’t have a problem at all with the use of electronics. But it doesn’t make it a traditional practice, so it just seems incongruent to use it during a traditional Latin Mass.
 
phil19034 said:
Perhaps the main reason I would not be happy with electronics being used at mass is because I’m a parent.
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If you think it’s harmful for your kids to use electronics at Mass for any reason whatsoever -distraction, or you want them to be able to use a paper missal, or you just don’t like it - it’s your prerogative as a parent to forbid them from doing it.

However, I am an adult, you are not my parent, and if I wish to use an electronic device that is not making noise or shining a bright light into your eyes, it’s not your place to prohibit an activity for all adults, or even for the children of other people who let their kids use electronics, just because you don’t want your children doing it or have an opinion that it’s bad for kids.
 
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