In a perfect world everybody would come early, be well-disposed, have observed the communion fast, be in a state of grace, be attentive to the Mass, sing perfectly, pray always, and leave quietly after the priest has left and the last hymn sung, to then assemble in good fellowship with one’s fellow Christians outside the church.
In our imperfect world some come late though they could have come on time (IOW, are not late through no fault of their own or for good reason), are not well-disposed, have not observed the fast, are not in a state of grace, are not attentive, don’t sing at all or sing poorly, talk to others, disrupt others, carp, complain, leave early though they could have stayed the entire time (IOW, do not have to leave early through no fault of their own or for good reason).
To me there is a difference between three broad groups:
A. Those who legitimately have issues (illness, care for sick or the young, work demands) which cause any of the above, lateness, inattention, disruption (unintentional), etc.
B. Those who through lack of support and education are simply not aware of the need for being on time and staying through, of being attentive, of the need for the fast, the need for being in a state of grace, etc. . .ignorant is a loaded word so I will say unaware, and that unawareness can range from those who WERE taught properly but did not pay attention to those who were taught incorrectly themselves.
C. Those who deliberately, for any reason, choose to flout the teachings, whether it is due to laziness, entitlement, disdain for others, disdain for God, covert hostility to God or others, a wish to appear 'different and/or cool/rebellious to others, a wish to annoy or distress parents or authority, and above all, a rejection of God’s authority.
So often it seems that people are assuming that leaving Mass early is automatically “C”.
In fact, it seems that there’s a lot of judging going on. If person A is Polly Punctual, she’s likely to be making the "Judas charge’ to any person who leaves early, even if it happens to be Emily the EMT on a call. If person B is Robert Rubrics, he is likely to be carping that Father left out the word “and” in the gospel reading while ignoring the fact that Father is 91 and his glasses were broken so he is reading using his 10-year-old ‘spare pair.’ If person C is Mary Musical, she’s likely finding fault with whatever the music is, even if it’s her own personal ‘style’, unless SHE is the one singing, leading, playing etc. We all have either our talents or our failings, and so we’re likely to be harder on those who don’t meet our standards, and more lenient to those who have the same troubles, because we can understand and sympathize.
