Enough with the cell phones

[Sarabande]

They didn’t. They even slept at work.

If you watch old action movies from the 1970s, you sometimes see emergency workers being called out of bed in a little cubby hole at their job site - they had to stay there 24 hours a day over the weekend, in case anything happened - that’s why they always look so tired. Some fire stations and hospitals even still have little bedrooms in them today, although that’s becoming a lot less common.

Thank you. Resident physicians still do that, as I related my father’s and many other young/new doctors’ experiences of basically spending all 24 hours at the hospital with maybe a couple hours of sleep, if that. At that time, I doubt many residents can go to mass if they are not working in a Catholic hospital.

I also answered in my very long post, so if you missed it, I understand. My point was that during the time when they didn’t have these modern gadgets and did attend mass, if a patient or someone died or became severely impaired because of lack of immediate assistance, it was accepted, BECAUSE we didn’t have the modern gadgets, medicines and technology to help speed up the response time to emergencies. Back then they considered it God’s will and part of life. And perhaps that was God’s will at that point in time. Is it now? We will never know for certain.

If we look at it from another angle, God gave men and women the intellect to create these medical discoveries and technologies. Could it possibly be His will now that we can respond and treat emergencies better, faster and with less pain than in prior centuries?

With your line of thinking, you make it seem as if since our ancestors lived without these things, then we should too. If you would prefer to live like our ancestors in prior centuries so that you do not have any of these modern techologies and medical “miracles”, then that’s fine. How did our ancestors live without all of those things and more? Since you are against it, also live without also live without modern medicine, clean water supply, house phones, cars, quick response time to emergencies, etc.

It’s ok that some people would rather not have their firefighter/on-call doctor/EMT not respond to an emergency that they or their loved one was having and would rather risk it even if they know there is that technology out there to help prevent unneeded pain or suffering. It’s so easy to say one is ok with it until one or one’s loved one is the person who is suffering.

But since we were given these gifts to help us in our lives there isn’t a reason to deny it to those who would rather not risk it. Besides, what’s so wrong with having a pager or cell if most people have it silent through mass? It’s only when people use them improperly that make them wrong.

 

[jmcrae]

But since we were given these gifts to help us in our lives there isn’t a reason to deny it to those who would rather not risk it. Besides, what’s so wrong with having a pager or cell if most people have it silent through mass? It’s only when people use them improperly that make them wrong.

I don’t think anyone here would disagree with that. I think what annoys most people is when someone who is not an emergency worker and has no serious reason even to have a cell phone, forgets to turn it off, and it blares in the middle of Mass because their friend is in a mood to gossip.

Emergency workers are not guilty of this kind of thing; they know how to be unobtrusive - I have even seen ambulance workers come and take a heart-attack patient out of the Church with a gurney and the whole kit that comes with it, without distracting anyone except those sitting next to the patient.

 

[Sarabande]

I don’t think anyone here would disagree with that. I think what annoys most people is when someone who is not an emergency worker and has no serious reason even to have a cell phone, forgets to turn it off, and it blares in the middle of Mass because their friend is in a mood to gossip.

Emergency workers are not guilty of this kind of thing; they know how to be unobtrusive - I have even seen ambulance workers come and take a heart-attack patient out of the Church with a gurney and the whole kit that comes with it, without distracting anyone except those sitting next to the patient.

I couldn’t agree with you more regarding non-emergency workers and I do know that most of the people here wouldn’t disagree with what I was saying regarding emergency workers. But we have those here who believe that even emergency workers shouldn’t have their cell phones and pagers on them. Just because people in the past didn’t have these technological devices, means that our emergency workers shouldn’t have them? That’s nonsense. We have been given these gifts which can be used to help aid in emergencies. Every time a new medical discovery or technology was made throughout the centuries, people grabbed hold of them right away. They didn’t sit there and say, “Well, my ancestors got along just fine without it, so I will too.” People fought smallpox immunizations at first, too, because of the way it was administered, but once they saw it was helping people, they rushed to get immunized. I doubt most people would want to go through smallpox and risk dying or disfigurement just because our ancestors were still able to get on with life prior to the discovery of that vaccine. So why would we want to risk a quick response to an emergency with the use of a cell phone or pager?

 

[CarrieH]

So what did people in your parents’ positions do before cell phones? Just hang around the house all weekend in arm’s reach of a phone? Could they even go grocery shopping?

I am a nurse who had to take call when I worked in the ICU. That was exactly what I did – it was like being on “house arrest.” If I absolutely had to run out to the corner store, I called the hospital and told them that I would be back in 15 minutes, and I was. But I planned ahead so that I wouldn’t have to make unnecessary trips during my call time. I was so glad when pagers came out, because then I could at least leave the house as long as I was going someplace where they had a phone in case I had to answer a page.

I am no longer working in the ICU, but I am “on call” 24/7 for dealing with my elderly parents, esp. my mother who is just today coming home from the hospital for the third time since Easter. If my cell were to be blocked at church, I would go elsewhere to Mass, taking my offering money with me!

You know, the people reading these forums are probably not the ones who need the reminders to turn our ringers off. You’re “preaching to the choir” here. :getholy:

 

[Sarabande]

Thank you. Resident physicians still do that, as I related my father’s and many other young/new doctors’ experiences of basically spending all 24 hours at the hospital with maybe a couple hours of sleep, if that. At that time, I doubt many residents can go to mass if they are not working in a Catholic hospital.

I also answered in my very long post, so if you missed it, I understand. My point was that during the time when they didn’t have these modern gadgets and did attend mass, if a patient or someone died or became severely impaired because of lack of immediate assistance, it was accepted, BECAUSE we didn’t have the modern gadgets, medicines and technology to help speed up the response time to emergencies. Back then they considered it God’s will and part of life. And perhaps that was God’s will at that point in time. Is it now? We will never know for certain.

If we look at it from another angle, God gave men and women the intellect to create these medical discoveries and technologies. Could it possibly be His will now that we can respond and treat emergencies better, faster and with less pain than in prior centuries?

With your line of thinking, you make it seem as if since our ancestors lived without these things, then we should too. If you would prefer to live like our ancestors in prior centuries so that you do not have any of these modern techologies and medical “miracles”, then that’s fine. How did our ancestors live without all of those things and more? Since you are against it, also live without also live without modern medicine, clean water supply, house phones, cars, quick response time to emergencies, etc.

It’s ok that some people would rather not have their firefighter/on-call doctor/EMT not respond to an emergency that they or their loved one was having and would rather risk it even if they know there is that technology out there to help prevent unneeded pain or suffering. It’s so easy to say one is ok with it until one or one’s loved one is the person who is suffering.

But since we were given these gifts to help us in our lives there isn’t a reason to deny it to those who would rather not risk it. Besides, what’s so wrong with having a pager or cell if most people have it silent through mass? It’s only when people use them improperly that make them wrong.

jmcrae - I didn’t mean the second part of my post to you. I just re-read it and realize it sounded like that. Only the first paragraph was to you. Sorry.

 

[vZwire]

Here are my thoughts- I used to sit in mass and the slightest thing would set me off. Cell phones, babies crying, talking, revealing clothing by our teanagers, etc. Than one day it dawned on me.

I would spend most of the time leaning over to the wife, pointing out all of the behaviors that disgusted me. Not only was I losing out on the entire reason I was there, but now I was pulling my wife in too.

I realized that all of these distractions may be there to test our faith.

I now silently pray for the crying baby, in hopes to soothe whatever may be ailing her. I also sit in my pew and pray that God watch over the teenage girls while they innocently are ignorant. And finally, for the cell phone junkie. I pray that they find less stress and peace in their lives.

In conclusion- Do not lose focus. Your time in church is valuable. If you spend it worrying about others you are just as lost as they are.

 

[Sheeniac]

Good advice for the spiritually mature, but for the vast number of people who may not be there yet, good manners are all that is being asked for.

 

[drafdog]

The “convenor” announces before the processional that we are to turn off our cell phones because they interfere with the sound system.
I don’t believe in cell phones. I don’t have one and don’t want one. We got by without them for all this time because they are not necessary. If they were necessary, we would have been born with one. I admit that many find them a great convenience, but that is what they are: convenient.
There will always be those among us who abuse the conveniences of modern life.

Matthew

 

[Cat]

I asked my husband, and he said that jamming has always been illegal.

So it ain’t gonna happen in church, everyone. If it was legal, theaters, concert halls, lecture halls, restaurants, schools–all would have been “jamming” years ago!

 

[anamchara]

The “convenor” announces before the processional that we are to turn off our cell phones because they interfere with the sound system.
I don’t believe in cell phones. I don’t have one and don’t want one. We got by without them for all this time because they are not necessary. If they were necessary, we would have been born with one. I admit that many find them a great convenience, but that is what they are: convenient.
There will always be those among us who abuse the conveniences of modern life.

Matthew

I agree with much of what you are saying here but I would have to disagree when it comes to my three daughters. Do you have children? I think it’s easy to say this until you have older children. Our cell phones are for safety. One of our daughters has epilepsy so the cell phones have been very helpful. I do admit abusing the use of our cell phones though. Many people make very unnecessary phone calls on their cell phones. I’ve caught myself doing this. what drives me crazy is these people who have them in their ear. I’m sorry but unless you are working at the stock market and need your hands completely free then you don’t need the darn ear phone is your phone calls so important that you have to have that in your ear while casually shopping at the Mall?

 

[drafdog]

Just another note on people who are “on call.”
The Chancelor of England was second only to the King and was the King’s chief advisor. He was on call at all times. When the King called he was to drop everything and go to the King.
One day the King wanted to speak to his Chancelor and sent someone to bring him. The page found him in the chapel attending Mass. Upon being told to come he said the King would have to wait; “I am paying court to a higher King.”
Thomas More had his head on straight. (At least until the King ordered it removed.)

Matthew

 

[Sarabande]

The “convenor” announces before the processional that we are to turn off our cell phones because they interfere with the sound system.
I don’t believe in cell phones. I don’t have one and don’t want one. We got by without them for all this time because they are not necessary. If they were necessary, we would have been born with one. I admit that many find them a great convenience, but that is what they are: convenient.
There will always be those among us who abuse the conveniences of modern life.

Matthew

You are right. There are abuses with the conveniences of modern life. Cell phones are one of them and can be bothersome when used during improper times. It’s actually more annoying when it happens on an hour train ride more than in a churhc because at least most people will turn it off in church, with some exceptions. On the train, the person will just talk for the hour long ride really loud.

But I’m a little confused regarding your statement that if we weren’t born with it, it’s not necessary. We weren’t born with electricity, running water, medicine and other modern medical technologies, house phones, any travel apperatus whether automobile, airplane, wagon or horse (our feet can get us there just as well), immunizations, shoes, clothing, heating, cooling, etc.etc.etc. These things aren’t really ‘necessary’. As we’ve seen in those pbs shows of Colonial House, Frontier House, The Iron Age, etc. people can “live” and "get by"without most of these modern marvels, although when someone would get really sick, they’d get medevaced back to modern day. So why aren’t we making a claim to just go back to the “simple” ways of life? Let’s not just focus on the cell phones. Let’s also focus on all of these other modern conveniences. Since we weren’t born with them, we should be consistant and not have any of those either.

 

[Sarabande]

Just another note on people who are “on call.”
The Chancelor of England was second only to the King and was the King’s chief advisor. He was on call at all times. When the King called he was to drop everything and go to the King.
One day the King wanted to speak to his Chancelor and sent someone to bring him. The page found him in the chapel attending Mass. Upon being told to come he said the King would have to wait; “I am paying court to a higher King.”
Thomas More had his head on straight. (At least until the King ordered it removed.)

Matthew

St. Thomas Moore is one of my favorite saints… Read a huge biography on him by Richard Marius and we even have the Holbein painting up on our wall. I also love the 1960s movie, “A Man for All Seasons”. One of my favorite periods of history to study about is the Tudor period. He also said on the chopping block that he “died the king’s good servant, but God’s first”.

But his “on-call” status was totally different from the “on-call” status of those who are dealing with life and death. He was right to say that the king would have to wait while he was in chapel. It wasn’t life threatening. Where he was dealing with a king who just needed him to do courtly and State duties which had nothing to do with caring for God’s people or doing God’s work, the “on-call” status of most people today are for helping God’s people. They are dealing with life threatening situations. I would understand if you disagree with helping those who are on the brink of death or otherwise while at church, but would you rather have someone try to save your wife’s or child’s life quickly or make them wait in pain or let them die because the caregiver wouldn’t answer an emergency call. If you prefer the latter, then that’s fine and that’s all I have to say. At least it’s consistant.

 

[sdfwe]

Everything has two coins,we have benefited from the cell phones for a long time,however,on the other hand,we are also tired of the unwanted and noisy calls created by it . Sometimes,a cell phone jammer is really helpful to us.

 

[Irishgal49]

I was sitting in mass and then adoration and someone’s phone rang (I swear) FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES. I actually turned to try to see who it was! It was so outrageous! I mean REALLY???