Enter with Reverence

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CyrilSebastian said:
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?
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Not that I’ve ever noticed.
 
Bonnie said:
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.
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Same at my Church. 😦
 
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Rosebud77:
That is a very very good question…👍

In my parish, the ones talking loud right before Mass are the elderly, who, IMO, should know better. Then again, maybe they can’t hear very well and don’t realize they’re being so loud.
In any case, I sometimes pray the rosary before Mass and can’t concentrate because of the noise.
 
Faith1960 said:
In my parish, the ones talking loud right before Mass are the elderly, who, IMO, should know better. Then again, maybe they can’t hear very well and don’t realize they’re being so loud.
In any case, I sometimes pray the rosary before Mass and can’t concentrate because of the noise.
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I’ve noticed that, too. It’s not the babies, toddlers, small kids, or teens - it’s adults. I can’t concentrate with that either, so I’ve pretty much given up praying before & after mass. We used to get to mass early to pray, but now we’re there only about 5 minutes before.
 
Faith1960 said:
In my parish, the ones talking loud right before Mass are the elderly, who, IMO, should know better. Then again, maybe they can’t hear very well and don’t realize they’re being so loud.
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I had an elderly parent whom I used to take to church. I can confirm that a lot of the elderly who do this in church are hard of hearing. Also, for many of them church is their big outing, perhaps their only outing, of the week, because they have physical difficulty going places. I know quite a few elderly, including my mom when she was alive, who are homebound except for doctor visits and the occasional appearance at Mass. Much of the chitchat I’ve overheard with these elderly folks involves how other people are doing, including who has not been at church because they had to move in with their kids/ go to a hospital/ enter a nursing home/ or in worst case, died.

These are people who were for many decades the backbone of the parish churches when they were younger and well, and they likely don’t have much longer on earth. They don’t see what they’re doing as disrespectful; rather, they see the Church like their home away from home. I think we can and should be a little patient with older folks if they talk a bit loudly in the church before Mass. I doubt that Our Lord finds them bothersome.
 
CyrilSebastian said:
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?
Click to expand...
It’s sad that the state of things demands signs such as these, but thank God it’s there.

In my parish, I’ve sometimes seen a reminder in the bulletin about appropriate attire in summer. We are reminded before each Mass to silence our cell phones.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I had an elderly parent whom I used to take to church. I can confirm that a lot of the elderly who do this in church are hard of hearing. Also, for many of them church is their big outing, perhaps their only outing, of the week, because they have physical difficulty going places. I know quite a few elderly, including my mom when she was alive, who are homebound except for doctor visits and the occasional appearance at Mass. Much of the chitchat I’ve overheard with these elderly folks involves how other people are doing, including who has not been at church because they had to move in with their kids/ go to a hospital/ enter a nursing home/ or in worst case, died.

These are people who were for many decades the backbone of the parish churches when they were younger and well, and they likely don’t have much longer on earth. They don’t see what they’re doing as disrespectful; rather, they see the Church like their home away from home. I think we can and should be a little patient with older folks if they talk a bit loudly in the church before Mass. I doubt that Our Lord finds them bothersome.
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Surely not but hard to think that there is no reverence as well as chat? before mass in the cathedral I was always impressed by the reverence of those who came early to pray in a deep silence and am sure that their presence influenced those coming in by their example.

One of the last times I was in the cathedral in Killarney ( STILL homesick for Killarney) it was about half an hour after Mass. A lady was still, at the side, chatting to an older lady. We got talking and as I said, the older lady was lonely and could they not maybe organise tea etc after daily mass sometimes so the old ones could stay in the warm and chat a while . She thought it an excellent idea; said she had been to a service at I think a local Baptist church where that had been done.
 
Rosebud77 said:
Surely not but hard to think that there is no reverence as well as chat? before mass in the cathedral I was always impressed by the reverence of those who came early to pray in a deep silence and am sure that their presence influenced those coming in by their example.

One of the last times I was in the cathedral in Killarney ( STILL homesick for Killarney) it was about half an hour after Mass. A lady was still, at the side, chatting to an older lady. We got talking and as I said, the older lady was lonely and could they not maybe organise tea etc after daily mass sometimes so the old ones could stay in the warm and chat a while . She thought it an excellent idea; said she had been to a service at I think a local Baptist church where that had been done.
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Well, I haven’t prayed the rosary before Mass in awhile, except about a month 1/2 ago while waiting for Father to begin Confessions in Avery quiet, nearly empty church.
I’ve just been praying a brief prayer upon entering the pew. Sometimes I miss praying my rosary during that time.
 
Rosebud77 said:
Surely not but hard to think that there is no reverence as well as chat? before mass in the cathedral I was always impressed by the reverence of those who came early to pray in a deep silence and am sure that their presence influenced those coming in by their example.

One of the last times I was in the cathedral in Killarney ( STILL homesick for Killarney) it was about half an hour after Mass. A lady was still, at the side, chatting to an older lady. We got talking and as I said, the older lady was lonely and could they not maybe organise tea etc after daily mass sometimes so the old ones could stay in the warm and chat a while . She thought it an excellent idea; said she had been to a service at I think a local Baptist church where that had been done.
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The tea or some get-together for older folks after a Mass is a nice idea. Occasionally there has been a coffee and donuts outside my hometown Church but in the attached building, with a lot of chairs for the older people, and that is a nice place for them to socialize and have a snack with friends. It also encourages them to move out of the church after the Mass ends as they are usually eager to have the coffee and snack.
 
Faith1960 said:
Well, I haven’t prayed the rosary before Mass in awhile, except about a month 1/2 ago while waiting for Father to begin Confessions in Avery quiet, nearly empty church.
I’ve just been praying a brief prayer upon entering the pew. Sometimes I miss praying my rosary during that time.
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There were always a few who simply knelt and prayed in silence. Scattered around. Not the rosary, Just silent devout prayer.

The one day that this was not so was Monday when the cleaners were in. Never heard such noisy chatty people . 😉
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I had an elderly parent whom I used to take to church. I can confirm that a lot of the elderly who do this in church are hard of hearing. Also, for many of them church is their big outing, perhaps their only outing, of the week, because they have physical difficulty going places. I know quite a few elderly, including my mom when she was alive, who are homebound except for doctor visits and the occasional appearance at Mass. Much of the chitchat I’ve overheard with these elderly folks involves how other people are doing, including who has not been at church because they had to move in with their kids/ go to a hospital/ enter a nursing home/ or in worst case, died.

These are people who were for many decades the backbone of the parish churches when they were younger and well, and they likely don’t have much longer on earth. They don’t see what they’re doing as disrespectful; rather, they see the Church like their home away from home. I think we can and should be a little patient with older folks if they talk a bit loudly in the church before Mass. I doubt that Our Lord finds them bothersome.
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I agree. This is the case at my parish. My father is in his 80s and there are parishioners in the same age range as he, and they know my dad (and remember my mom). In some cases, they even remember my grandfather who died in 1978!
 
No, my church does not.

It should be assumed that one should enter the house of God with reverence. Perhaps your parish had to put up the sign due to irreverent behaviour…perhaps from noisy teens or something?
 
CyrilSebastian, is it really necessary to shout in your posts? One post, okay, but posting the same thing over and over in giant letters is a bit much.
 
ClearWater said:
No, but at the Blessed Sacrament, nextdoor, there’s a sign that says God can contact us a lot of different ways, but not by cell phone! It went on to say to shut cell phones off while at the Blessed Sacrament. 😃
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Our day chapel (old church) has signs that say NO CELLULAR PHONES. I’m pretty sure everyone has a phone on them. I think our pre Mass introductory announcement still asks people to silence their phones and pagers. I still chuckle internally at wondering how many people still have pagers.
 
Rosebud77 said:
There were always a few who simply knelt and prayed in silence. Scattered around. Not the rosary, Just silent devout prayer.
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How would one know someone else’s silent prayers are devout? And since when is praying the Rosary not devout? :confused:
 
dconklin said:
Our day chapel (old church) has signs that say NO CELLULAR PHONES. I’m pretty sure everyone has a phone on them. I think our pre Mass introductory announcement still asks people to silence their phones and pagers. I still chuckle internally at wondering how many people still have pagers.
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Our pre Mass announcement says “electrical devices”. This is straight from the priest who’s primary language is not English. When I do the introductory I change the word to ‘electronic’! Still, there’s always one phone that goes off - usually during a silent portion of the Mass.
 
Roseeurekacross said:
indeed, and Rosary can be silent too
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And when I see older people saying it, it usually is both silent and devout…

By the way if you see someone mumbling the Rosary quietly but out loud in a church, it may be because in order to try to get the plenary indulgence you need to “recite” the rosary while in the church (has to be in a church or oratory, not outside)…silent prayer is not considered “reciting”. I try to “recite” really softly in a quiet place but I cannot do it completely silently if my purpose is to perform the indulgenced work.
 
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