Pope: Pre-Mass Time Is Meant for Silent Prayer, Not Chitchat. (An article reporting what he said.)

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Brendan_64

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“Prayer is, “first and foremost dialogue, a personal relationship with God,” he said. And in prayer, just like in any dialogue, it needs moments of silence “together with Jesus.” This, he said, is because it is only in the “mysterious silence of God” that his word can resound in our hearts.”

Well said Pope Francis!

Truth & Beauty <3
 
Rest easy, some overzealous fellow already flagged and asked my comment to be removed because it is ‘out of topic’…
 
All Church bulletins should have a space “The Pope says” every week, starting with this bit of advice.
 
After Sunday Mass was over at my previous parish, the chatter was always so loud I came very close one time of shouting “bingo !” as loud as I could 😏
 
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I would think people in general, would understand the disruptive nature, and act accordingly.
The issue during the mass I was referring to, was children playing with toy cars. In the pew, making “vrooOOoooom!” sounds, and bumping them into the wooden side of the bench. Parents(?) did nothing. After a few minutes, they stopped. (Finally “Shushed” by God? Thanks be)
Dominus vobiscum
 
I’ve come to expect it before Mass. If there’s a quiet area I go there until Mass begins. Talking during Mass is something different and completely uncalled for. I don’t mean a parent briefly saying something to a child. I mean two adults holding a conversation throughout Mass. It’s rare among regular Mass attendees but on Masses that draw people who rarely or never attend it can be an issue. I was at a blue Mass recently and several people were talking throughout the Mass. I told a friend and he said when he goes to Masses before baptisms it’s the same thing with people who are there just for the baptisms talking throughout Mass.
 
Bill6 said:
Sometimes, when I come to Church it is so loud and people are talking across the pews
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At the Protestant church I attended for 22 years this was not just standard practice but was openly encouraged. I had nothing to compare it to when I began going at age 17, but I did want to be left alone. This was never a possibility, of course. Anyone seen standing or sitting by themselves is assumed to be in need of “fellowship”, a word I cannot abide to this day. The decibel level from 300 people all talking at once sometimes made it difficult to hear anyone. Toward the end of my two decade foray into that brand of Christianity I was a higher profile member, a song leader and mens speaking club president. Nevertheless, I tried sitting by myself during those last months and just quietly reading the church newsletter. It didn’t work. Inevitably, someone would seek me out and want to chat. Or think that I wanted to chat.

Much later, about 4 years ago, I ventured into my first Catholic Mass. I felt immediately embraced by the silence and I just sat and soaked it up. This is still my favorite aspect of attending Mass- the silence.
 
Pre-Mass chit-chat has become such an ingrained habit that the people may need to see the rules overtly spelled out for them.

At the entry to a Presbyterian sanctuary, I saw a sign stating something like, “You are entering a sacred space. Please keep noise to a minimum so that others can pray.” That’s one idea I’ll gladly steal from the Protestants. 🙂
 
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blackforest said:
Pre-Mass chit-chat has become such an ingrained habit that the people may need to see the rules overtly spelled out for them.
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It is something that has become a habit over the last several decades for sure.

In the past, it wasn’t that way. Catholics were more respectful and quiet when entering the Church, before and after Mass. I remember there was a huge difference inside the church compared to outside. Everyone would be very quiet and respectful while inside and then step outside and everyone was talking.

Sadly we lost it, but fortunately the Pope and many priests have been trying to bring that reverence back.
blackforest said:
At the entry to a Presbyterian sanctuary, I saw a sign stating something like, “You are entering a sacred space. Please keep noise to a minimum so that others can pray.” That’s one idea I’ll gladly steal from the Protestants
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That is good to hear some protestants are doing the same thing. When I was a protestant, we didn’t have that request to be quiet. People didn’t really pray when entering the Church, the same as Catholics do, so we all just talked until services started.
 
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If so many of us are on here in agreement, I wonder how many people in our home parishes would support it.

Silence in the sanctuary is good for other reasons, too.

In my parish, the line for confession is in the sanctuary. We have one priest hearing confessions in a large parish, so there’s a long line and a lot of waiting. Recently, a couple of men came in before Saturday vigil and started conversing loudly, like it was coffee hour. People in line for confession were wincing because that’s a very reflective time that’s best spent in silence. There were also people praying in penance. 😦

Under those circumstances, I should probably come up with a charitable and diplomatic way to confront the talkers . . . or see if the ushers will take on that delicate task.
 
MagdalenaRita said:
In the past, it wasn’t that way. Catholics were more respectful and quiet when entering the Church, before and after Mass. I remember there was a huge difference inside the church compared to outside. Everyone would be very quiet and respectful while inside and then step outside and everyone was talking.

Sadly we lost it, but fortunately the Pope and many priests have been trying to bring that reverence back.
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So very true.

I’ve been guilty of this too, so now I time my arrival so I run into others with whom I would normally briefly chat - outside the Church. This way I can avoid having a conversation at the back of the Church.

Actually I remember when this started at my childhood parish, and the priest telling the congregation that as we are all ‘cells in the body of Christ’ and as cells talk to each other in the human body, then it was permitted to greet each other at the back of the Church in hushed voices, anymore and we were to take our conversations outside. So a 'Good morning" or a ‘hello’ was ok but conversations were to occur outside.
 
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