etiquette at Mass

  • Thread starter Thread starter davy39
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
abesch:
I am amazed by all the people who come in late and leave early,
Click to expand...
I must say, as new “church goers” My husband and I are amazed at how many people come in after the church bell tolls! I mean, it’s so obvious (some are as much as 30 minutes late) that we have jokingly called being late a “Catholic Thing”.

It just drives me crazy!

As for the Pew thing, We intentionally sit in the middle of the pew on the back row, because we’re newbies. I look forward to the day we are comfortable with sitting in the middle of the pew on the front row…but we will always be in the middle, so we can move to the right or the left allowing room for anyone. And we generally get to church 15 minutes BEFORE Mass!

Happy to be a part of the Catholic world
Michelle:D
 
I sing in the choir. Occasionally, as we complete the recessional hymn, the congregation will applaud. This irks me to no end. We are not performers; we are there to praise God. I feel like saying, “Applaud for God, not us”.
 
Karl Keating:
Uh, Shemp, how is it you notice them doing that? 😉
Click to expand...
Like the Born Loser (a comic strip in the newspaper, for those not in the U.S.) at church who told his son “You’re eyes weren’t closed while we prayed.” (How did he know?) 😃

John
 
Karl Keating:
Whenever I hear of liturgical dancers, the image that comes to mind is from “The Music Man.”

The mayor’s wife, Mrs. Shinn, and her old-biddy friends are putting on a “cultural presentation” at the social being held in River City’s park. The women float around the outdoor platform, gowns billowing, hands extended in the air. They come together in the center and strike a pose: “One Grecian urn!” They flit around a bit and strike another pose: “Two Grecian urns!”

If you’ve seen the movie, you know how closely this comes to liturgical dance.
Click to expand...
Karl,

I’ve seen that movie four (maybe five) times, and that seen gets even more hilarious each time. But I sure wouldn’t want to see it in church.

John
 
My BIGGEST pet peave is people who chew gum in church and then go up to communion to receive Our Lord!! What do they do with their gum? Do they swallow it or tuck it somewhere (maybe under their tongue)?The next is the scantily dressed females. The next is the cell phones. I saw a few people at a First Holy Communion Mass talking on cell phones! :eek: How disrespectful is that!!?? I wish Father would speak out about some of these issues. The gum chewing has made me question my being an EMHC. I find myself judging them! (I KNOW, I’m not supposed to judge!! :o I’m working on this awful fault of mine. Please pray for me for this.)
 
People who leave early and then talk just outside while the doors are open or let the doors slam shut. Sometimes a person does have to leave early but they should make a real effort not to cause others to be disturbed.
 
I have several “pet peeves”
  1. People who think that they are in a social hall instead of a Sanctuary. The amount of talk in my parrish before and after Mass is very disturbing to me. I am there to Honor my God, to have a few minutes of solitude to pray and Thank God for all the blessings that he has showered on me. I have a terrible time concentrating with all the chatter going on. Why don’t these people realize that they are in the presence of God and should be more respectful?
  2. People who leave Mass right after taking communion. I used to attend a Church where about half the congregation took their purse with them and headed straight out the door after receiving communion.
  3. People dressed inappropriately. It’s one thing to dress in a casual manner, it is another thing to dress like you are headed to the beach.
  4. People chewing gum at Mass and parents who bring FOOD to feed their toddlers to keep them quiet.
  5. AND definately cell phones ringing.
 
Karl Keating:
… At my previous parish, after the other usher had packed his side of the church to what he was sure was maximum capacity, I’d go over and show him how to get nine chubby tourists into a pew built for eight regular people…

…I had no compunctions about dragging latecomers all the way up the side aisle to the front pew…

…No one was allowed to put a young child or a purse or a coat on the pew, to take up space when someone else needed to sit…

… All you need to do is to go to that pew, lean close to the guy hugging the end, and ask him to move in…

…The secret: Just be pushy. Real pushy…
Click to expand...
If I may be so bold as to offer an obvious remedy…

Take a cue from the “Eastern Lung” of our Catholic Church and get rid of the pews!! They’re a Protestant innovation anyway, and are not natural to the original format of worship in our Church. Sure, you’d wanna keep a few for the aged and infirm, but you’d be surprised at how quickly the rest of the congregation will adapt to “upright” worship (trust me! ;))!

Prayer seems to become more focused… the congregation assumes more of a community feel… inattention to the Liturgy virtually disappears… it becomes next to impossible to “nod off”… “room for one more” is always available… kids? let 'em sit on the floor! Besides, Roman Catholics are looking at… what?.. 50 minutes?.. 60 tops! Eastern Catholics regularly push the far side of the “hour-and-a-half” envelope on their feet each and every Sunday!

50 measly minutes?? Pshaw! *Piece of cake! *
Pew problems? They’re *history! 🙂 *

a pilgrim
 
just a quick question…
are you not supposed to cross your legs in church?
 
*pro-life_teen*:
just a quick question…
are you not supposed to cross your legs in church?
Click to expand...
I’m pre-Vatican II cradle Catholic.

I’ve never heard about people not being allowed to cross their legs in church.

The closest I think that would relate to this would be if you’ve worn a mini-skirt to Mass that the action of moving one foot away from the floor, upward to result in that leg getting crossed over the knee of your other leg would simultaneously expose a part of your body in an immodest way – even if only during the action, itself.

If you get my drift…

Wearing pants or a skirt that has a hem below the knee in the first place would not cause that effect.

Hope that helps!
 
I’ve never worn a mini-skirt to Mass (nor do I plan on it!) but for some reason, my grandma and aunts always tell me not to cross my legs, with a hiss “Descruza tus piernas! Estas en Misa!” Maybe its a Mexican Catholic thing…
 
One problem that is in many parishes is the laity imitating the actions proscribed to the priest. The congregation ends up performing a multitude of gestures that leave one wondering what next?
 
I’m surprise that nobody has mentioned this one yet:

Young couples who can’t keep their hands off of each other during Mass. And of course, when the Kiss of Peace handshake time comes 'round, they do it “literally.” A big smackeroo! :eek:

I’ve threatened to bring a pea shooter and ammo more than once to remind offenders that it’s not a movie theater they are in. 😃

Actually, I try to sit near the front to keep as few distractions in front of me as possible. That’s a good rule for the classroom also.
👍
 
My mother always taught us to sit quietly with our hands folded in our laps, during the sitting parts of the Mass–and never, never were we allowed to cross our legs at the knees! She said that we were at Mass, not a lounge. She had the same rule for dinner tables, too. Her other rule was: no standing on the kneelers. She reminded us that a gentleman or lady shouldn’t have their good clothing dirtied when kneeling, because some kid put their dirty-soled shoes on the kneeler. She said that it was not necesary to “see” over every one else at Mass.
My own kids, grown and almost grown, think I’m nuts, but I have insisted on the same behavior out of them. They are usually considered a rarity.
The worst thing that I usually see in church are the men who are wearing caps and boys wearing caps. I can cut alot of slack for a boy who has lost his hair to chemotherapy, but these folks have lots of hairl
The worst single incident was during Confirmation in 1999. It was a combined event among three parishes, and we were at a neighboring parish. Of course, the church was packed, and a little warm. Then a most obnoxious and nauseating odor enveloped me. A little girl was having her fingernails painted by her mom! During the Mass! :mad: :eek:
Karl, I only wish our ushers would usher people to seats! From the choir loft, I have seen folks standing in the side aisles because they did not see the empty seats. Our ushers seem to only collect the offeratory. I can remember in the mists of time (only 13 years ago) when an elderly usher urged me to a seat in a crowded Mass. He didn’t realize at the time, that I was standing in the back because I had an infant in my arms, who would only be quiet with a certain, standing only, rocking motion! He is my favorite usher, and I won’t embarrass him here by naming him. 👍
 
Ah. Some of the responses here are painfully worse than the list my parish comes up with but no one has mentioned extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion carrying purses in the procession. Lock it in the car or leave it in the ministers’ pew: who’s going to take it? And yes, the couple who live 9 houses away and who NEVER arrive before the Gloria.

As for my judgmentalism in this, I don’t have to worry about this serious character flaw, because so many other people are worrying about it for me!
 
Irishsh:
It must be pointed out that gum chewing during Mass (at least) for those intending to receive the Blessed Sacrament, (per Canon 919) have broken their one hour fast and thus should not receive. Seems inevitable however, they always do.
Click to expand...
Ah, and they put it under the pew. (Although I once had to tell off a member of a youth group I was in charge of. The guy had actually put the gum under his tongue :bigyikes: and gone up to receive. Boy did he learn not to do that again. The next week, I had one of the priests come in and give a talk on the correct way to receive, and in what cases they should not receive.)

John
 
40.png
nozierozie:
  1. AND definately cell phones ringing.
Click to expand...
I don’t recall ever actually hearing a cell phone ring, but at one weekday Mass. . .

One day, on my way home from a meeting at school, I had a chance to attend noon Mass. Well, I don’t like leaving my cell phone in a hot car, so I put it in my pocket (making sure it was turned off) and went in to Mass. As I started to kneel at the beginning of Consecration, it accidentally turned on :o . Was I embarrassed. Ever since, when I have had to take my cell phone with me, I put it on the pew next to me, so it won’t accidentally turn on.

John
 
Okay… on the 4th of July, an older teen/younger woman (around 16 or 17) wore a top that had spaghetti straps so thin that her bra straps underneath at least told you that she was WEARING a bra… not that the bra “did much good,” if you know what I mean.

Her thin cotton top was extremely tight. The front of her top was horizontal (not a “v”). From side to side, it showed half of her cleavage down from the point where her cleavage started – the neckline of her top came that low!!!

:eek:

The back of her top came halfway down her back.

Her skirt was VERY mini.

She sat in one of the front-most rows.

As distracting as it was for me all during Mass… I couldn’t help but think… “sister! give the poor man (the priest) a break!!”

😦

Maybe we should start providing paper drapes for women who do that…? Whaddya think?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top