Is it Wrong to Call or Text Someone
- Thread starter SMHW
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lizaanne
Guest
If you know they are at Mass, why can’t you just wait till it’s over? What if they didn’t turn their phone off? That could be very embarrassing for them.
Just wait. Before we had cell phones you didn’t get a hold of someone till after they got back home and could pick up the real phone.
~Liza
Just wait. Before we had cell phones you didn’t get a hold of someone till after they got back home and could pick up the real phone.
~Liza
Mary_Gail_36
New member
I think only if it’s an emergency, otherwise, don’t.
I usually just text a few moments before Mass to let the choir director know to ask the choir to pray for a sick family member (when I am out of town, off course; otherwise I’d tell him in person.) Or sometimes I have to remind my daughter to grab a bulletin as she’s walking out of Mass if I forgot to get one at the earlier Mass.
I usually try to text right before or right after Mass but sometimes Mass can run longer than normal.
I usually try to text right before or right after Mass but sometimes Mass can run longer than normal.
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dixibehr
Guest
Speaking as one with many years experience as a choir director, the last thing I would want just before a service is a text message.
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Lost_Wanderer
Guest
As someone here already said, a case of emergency is the only exception.
People shouldn’t take such situations lightly though. I mean, I wouldn’t want it on my conscience knowing I refused a call from someone only to find out later that the person calling was in serious danger or something.
People shouldn’t take such situations lightly though. I mean, I wouldn’t want it on my conscience knowing I refused a call from someone only to find out later that the person calling was in serious danger or something.
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Digitonomy
Guest
Maybe you can’t wait till it’s over because then you’ll be at mass. In general it is the recipient’s obligation to do what’s necessary not to disturb mass. The phone should be left in the car, or on silent mode if it’s in church. Unless one is expecting a critical call, the phone should be ignored if it’s vibrating during mass.
Having said that, if you know the person is likely to leave his phone on at mass, either because he’s forgetful or expecting a critical call from someone else, it’s obviously proper to take that into account and not call.
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puzzleannie
Guest
unless the matter is urgent, as in life and death,
not wrong as in sinful, but possibly thoughtless and imprudent. I have to keep my phone on vibrate since there is so much going on Sunday morning, but I turn it off during Mass itself, since it vibrates constantly, esp. on day of 1st communion and I will not answer under any circumstance. In 8 years on this job I never had a call on a matter that could not wait until after Mass–except once when I had to rush to the hospital for a close relative, and that call I was waiting for and even answered in church (not during a service). I don’t enable texting because I can’t read it anyhow, and find it even more annoying than phone calls.
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Digitonomy
Guest
I have to disagree. Perhaps culturally things are different here than in the Philippines, but the odds that someone is calling me or most people because he is in danger are very slim. While at mass, I don’t see a moral difference between ignoring my vibrating phone, or having the phone turned off, or leaving the phone in the car, or leaving the phone at home, or having the phone’s battery run out. If I don’t get the call right away for any of those reasons, I wouldn’t worry about it being on my conscience, because it was the right thing to do. On the other hand, it’s the wrong thing to interrupt mass to take a call unless a serious call is expected.People shouldn’t take such situations lightly though. I mean, I wouldn’t want it on my conscience knowing I refused a call from someone only to find out later that the person calling was in serious danger or something.
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peregrinator_it
Guest
I absolutely don’t want to advocate the (active) use of cell phones during Mass and certainly there’s not much reason to call the average person when you know they’re at Mass.
But, I have to confess, I don’t personally have a problem with people trying to reach me during that time. I mean, I would never check my phone during Mass and it’s always on silent on Sundays 'til after Mass (it doubles as my alarm, so I put it on silent when I turn the alarm off in the morning.)
I sing at a parish in another part of the city about 45 mins travel time away (don’t have a car) and I don’t have a home phone. Anyone who’d be trying to get a hold of me knows a) that I’m at Mass and won’t check my phone 'til afterwards b) that my phone’s on silent so they won’t be interrupting. So, I don’t have a problem, if, for example, my college student sister leaves me a message asking me to pick up cold meds for her on the way home.
OTOH, I wouldn’t call someone else if I knew they were at Mass…
But, I have to confess, I don’t personally have a problem with people trying to reach me during that time. I mean, I would never check my phone during Mass and it’s always on silent on Sundays 'til after Mass (it doubles as my alarm, so I put it on silent when I turn the alarm off in the morning.)
I sing at a parish in another part of the city about 45 mins travel time away (don’t have a car) and I don’t have a home phone. Anyone who’d be trying to get a hold of me knows a) that I’m at Mass and won’t check my phone 'til afterwards b) that my phone’s on silent so they won’t be interrupting. So, I don’t have a problem, if, for example, my college student sister leaves me a message asking me to pick up cold meds for her on the way home.
OTOH, I wouldn’t call someone else if I knew they were at Mass…
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Lost_Wanderer
Guest
Perhaps it’s because you live in a safe environment. Things are generally peaceful in this city here but the area I live in has been labeled by authorities as a sort of Danger Zone and is a likely target of militant communists (google New People’s Army). And unlike my area, there are also provinces here with a very intimidating crime rate.
All I’m saying though is you have to consider the odds and your current situation. If you feel that your life is normal and secure, of course its natural for you to not expect such calls. I’m not sure you can say the same though for people who live in dangerous areas of the world.
So are you saying that if I am at home and a fire/riot/other emergency unexpectedly breaks out on the street just near my home and I text my spouse who is at Mass then I don’t have cause to be disturbed because he ignored the text (assuming he noticed the phone vibrating.)
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IrishAm
Guest
You would be disturbed, of course, because it is a frightening situation that you are describing. But no one has the right to assume others are at their instant beck and call just because technology makes it possible. I would never even look at my phone during Mass (or when I was out for dinner with a friend, for that matter) unless I was anticipating a life and death type call. Nobody needs to be that blasted accessible 24/7 (well, maybe doctors on call, those waiting for organ transplants, or drug dealers are exceptions) . If it is a true emergency, presumably people will find a way to get in touch.
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whatevergirl
Guest
*Why wouldn’t you be at mass with your spouse?
But, if you’re not…then the house catching on fire, rioting in the streets, would be cause for an emergency. Asking for someone to bring a bulletin home isn’t an emergency. Asking someone to pray for a sick family member isn’t an emergency either…both instances can be something you call the night before the mass, to request.
But houses on fire, riots, yes those are emergencies. I guess I don’t understand why you wouldn’t be at mass with your spouse, if you are sitting at home? (unless you’re sick)
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Digitonomy
Guest
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
That’s not a hard and fast rule, but I think a good guideline for most people. If other arrangements are in place, then obviously they would apply. For instance, if Sunday morning phone calls are more frequently used to warn of armed revolutionaries, rather than to suggest a meeting place for brunch. Or if your spouse never ever calls during mass, and by whatever manner you have high confidence that it’s him causing the phone to vibrate.
I expect most people to respond to their cell phones in the way puzzleannie does. I don’t expect to get hold of them while at mass, regardless of how important I think the matter to be; they’ll check their messages after mass, and if that’s too late, well that’s life. One weekday evening I called a friend and was having a hard time understanding what he was saying. Turned out he was keeping his voice low as he had stepped out of mass to answer my call. As soon as I found out, I told him to get back in there and call me later. He was on call that night and so had to be prepared to answer at any time. I think he should have looked at the screen to see it was me, then ignored it rather than answering.
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kage_ar
Guest
Unless I was on call for work and required to keep my phone on, it is OFF during Mass. Should a riot break out, I am pretty sure that my eyes and ears would inform me.
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WetCatechumen
Guest
My view on whether it’s wrong is this:
If someone’s in Mass, their phone should be off unless they’re expecting an emergency phone call. Hence, calling them to leave a message or texting them wouldn’t be wrong because they should be good on their end not to let it disturb them.
If someone’s in Mass, their phone should be off unless they’re expecting an emergency phone call. Hence, calling them to leave a message or texting them wouldn’t be wrong because they should be good on their end not to let it disturb them.
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Aramis
Guest
Every parish in Alaska except my own asks people to turn off their cell phones just before sunday mass begins.
At St Nicholas, however, you’d have trouble noticing a phone go off half the time. Byzantine liturgy has very few quiet moments…
That said, unless it is an emergency, it’s a bad idea.
On more than one occasion, I didn’t know that Dad was preaching, and called him after mass, only to hear mass in progress… he’d forgotten he had his phone in his pocket, and hit the wrong button to silence it… He now puts it in his drawer in the sacristy prior to vesting for mass. He checks it after mass.
At St Nicholas, however, you’d have trouble noticing a phone go off half the time. Byzantine liturgy has very few quiet moments…
That said, unless it is an emergency, it’s a bad idea.
On more than one occasion, I didn’t know that Dad was preaching, and called him after mass, only to hear mass in progress… he’d forgotten he had his phone in his pocket, and hit the wrong button to silence it… He now puts it in his drawer in the sacristy prior to vesting for mass. He checks it after mass.
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graceandglory
Guest
DON’T DO IT!
Those aren’t emergencies. If you forgot, skip it. Can the person have 30 minutes leeway either side of Mass for praying and recollection?
DON’T call or text in that window…I think really inappropriate, and … probably irritating.
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graceandglory
Guest
And how many times in your whole life before cell phones has Mass been disturbed by a physician on-call receiving notice via his beeper???
NEVER!
Physicians are smart enough to not make a scene, when there is an emergency.
Now, I have seen physicians walk out silently during Mass, so I suppose, that meant they were just called to an emergency.
If you can’t figure out how to silence your cell, you shouldn’t bring it into Mass, period.
I’d say that every single Mass I attended during Holy Week had phones going off. And that was at a reverent Dominican parish…And each time, it was someone older than me… It is SO DISTRACTING when, at the CONSECRATION, the priest must hold Jesus up, and WAIT FOR THE PHONE TO STOP RINGING…Before continuing on…
If you know someone is at MASS, Don’t even think you are more important than Jesus. Give it time. Or forget about it.
Be at peace… Everything’s gonna work out.
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