Enter with Reverence

[CatholicFireman]

That’s a good one. I saw that a few months ago in a Church bulletin item exhorting people to not leave Mass early. Made me chuckle, I never thought of it that way. I usually hang around because I like to get the blessing at the end.

At one of the churches that had it, they either moved it or removed it. I wonder if one of the early “escapees” complained.

 

[Bonnie]

I attended a Sunday evening Mass at an away Roman Catholic church.
The front entrance is sectioned from the main sanctuary. On the wall is a sign which states: ENTER WITH REVERENCE.
Does your church have a reverence sign?

I wish - but don’t know if it would do much good. We have so many people who talk among themselves before, during, and directly after mass that reverence is difficult to come by.

 

[Dorothy]

I saw a sign once that said simply, SILENCE.

I did also.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

The only sign I saw in a church was, “Remember, the first person to leave the Last Supper was Judas”.

While I have seen this and gotten a chuckle out of it, I also think it is in very poor taste to hang this in the Church vestibule.

I do not make a habit of leaving after Communion, but as a family and professional caregiver, sometimes it cannot be avoided. I know that this is not always the case and that in many locals, leaving after receiving is a big problem. I am just not sure a passive-aggressive reminder is a good way to get people to understand that.

 

[pianistclare]

The only sign I saw in a church was, “Remember, the first person to leave the Last Supper was Judas”.

My mother’s church in New Mexico had one of those. Cross stitched, over the 2 back exit doors.
She used to say that it slowed down the post-communion exodus,

My last parish had a sign with “Love one another as I have Loved you” over the back doors.

Current parish, no signs. Although I’m working on lettering for the confessional, because we changed the confession times, and Father and I laughed because we had to change the wording : Confessions will now be heard in the Cry Room.
Sounded a but harsh, LOL

 

[pianistclare]

While I have seen this and gotten a chuckle out of it, I also think it is in very poor taste to hang this in the Church vestibule.

I do not make a habit of leaving after Communion, but as a family and professional caregiver, sometimes it cannot be avoided. I know that this is not always the case and that in many locals, leaving after receiving is a big problem. I am just not sure a passive-aggressive reminder is a good way to get people to understand that.

I think this trend was started by the same people who thought an opening joke for the homily was a good idea. SO glad my new pastor doesn’t do that.

 

[pianistclare]

My current parish does put a sign on a small table at the read of the church on Good Friday each year that says "please observe Sacred Silence. I almost forgot about that. We have many Mexicans and South Americans in our parish, and they are pretty quiet and reverent anyway, so it’s not real hard to enforce.

 

[OraLabora]

That’s a good one. I saw that a few months ago in a Church bulletin item exhorting people to not leave Mass early. Made me chuckle, I never thought of it that way. I usually hang around because I like to get the blessing at the end.

Yes that was funny!

No “Reverence” sign at our abbey, but there are plenty of signs that say “SILENCE”, which are about as universally respected as the one that says “This is a house of God, modest attire is requested”.

 

[janeway529]

No, but I have seen a sign next to the full-immersion Baptismal Font at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels that says, “HOLY WATER - NO COINS.”

 

[CyrilSebastian]

The REVERENCE sign would be good at Masses for Christmas.
How can one pray when everyone else around you is speaking loudly and laughing.
When did a Catholic church become a substitute for a fun house?

 

[Rosebud77]

The REVERENCE sign would be good at Masses for Christmas.
How can one pray when everyone else around you is speaking loudly and laughing.
When did a Catholic church become a substitute for a fun house?

That is a very very good question…

 

[DebChris]

When I lived in the Middle East, the sign outside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel read,
“Remember this is Holy Ground. Please Remove Shoes.”

Yes, many of us removed our shoes/sandals during Mass as well.

 

[Rosebud77]

When I lived in the Middle East, the sign outside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel read,
“Remember this is Holy Ground. Please Remove Shoes.”

Yes, many of us removed our shoes/sandals during Mass as well.

Perfect. Thank you.

 

[CyrilSebastian]

The REVERENCE sign should be in all Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals.

 

[Ontheway]

The REVERENCE sign would be good at Masses for Christmas.
How can one pray when everyone else around you is speaking loudly and laughing.
When did a Catholic church become a substitute for a fun house?

A large percentage of the people attending services at Christmas attend only at Christmas. Typically they are visiting the parents or grandparents and attend as a group. This is where much of the loud talking and laughing originates.

 

[ConfusedLucy]

A short description of how to show reverence might be more useful. A person who understands how and why to be reverent doesn’t need a sign to remind them. It’s something we all have a responsibility to model.

 

[Rosebud77]

A large percentage of the people attending services at Christmas attend only at Christmas. Typically they are visiting the parents or grandparents and attend as a group. This is where much of the loud talking and laughing originates.

So? AFTER Mass is the time for that, surely.

 

[Rosebud77]

A short description of how to show reverence might be more useful. A person who understands how and why to be reverent doesn’t need a sign to remind them. It’s something we all have a responsibility to model.

A quick, easy sign is perfect.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I doubt very much that the people who are chatting with their recently reunited family members at a holiday Mass feel they are being irreverent in any way, so the sign would fall on deaf eyes, as it were.

This is another one of those situations where people are going to have all different opinions on what constitutes “reverence”. The only way to get a message across would be if the priest stood up in the pulpit and thundered at the congregation, “No talking in the church! Talk in the vestibule or outside, not in the church!” Obviously this would not go over very well, especially at a holiday time like Christmas or Easter and at a time when many people who do not normally attend a Mass are making their annual or semi-annual appearance at one.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Yes - with a note about mobile phones and a reminder that;
…He said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,'

The quote cut itself short. The actual words in context are:

‘My house will be a house of prayer for all nations (people).’ Isaiah 57:6b

It is about the foreigner who is welcome to offer sacrifices on the Altar of the Lord.