Take the screaming baby out, please.

[Lorrie]

I couldn’t hear a word of the homily today because a baby screamed all the way through it. Why the parent(s) didn’t take him/her out to the vestibule is beyond me.

Actually, I was able to hear the last sentence - it sounded like we missed out on a good one.

 

[the_phoenix]

I’m with you, Lorrie.

Directly in back of me today there was a toddler munching VERY LOUDLY with his mouth open on popcorn or something. The irony was that he was doing this during the singing of the psalm “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” I ended up turning around and giving a bemused ironic look at the young crumb-crunching lad.

Fortunately, the mother got the idea and in a minute or two the crunching stopped.

~~ the phoenix

 

[Lorrie]

Ah, the crunch sound during Mass! Personally I would rather have that then the screamer, but it’s annoying nonetheless (and almost as bad).

Sigh, I just don’t get it. You hear your kid screaming at the top of their lungs you take him/her out. It’s just common courtesy. You could tell that even the priest was irritated with the situation.

 

[Catholic1954]

I’m not too crazy about the ones that wander up and down the aisle and then scream when they are brought back to their seat.

 

[passus]

Seriously? This topic? Again?

It’s really quite funny that you all can talk so snidely about children crying during Mass and how disturbing their chewing is to you. What happened to pro-life, pro-family, pro-babies? I guess we’re only anti-abortion as long as we don’t have to deal with the children we’ve saved.

Offer it up. Too bad if you missed a few words of the homily; you probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it anyway.

 

[RedSoxWife]

We take our little one out as soon as she starts to act up… and no food or drinks (after all, it’s only an hour). However I have more compassion then I did pre-baby for the poor mom who’s by herself with four kids trying to get the two year old to be quiet and not getting up and leaving because she doesn’t want to leave the other three (under the age of six) by themselves. I imagine the five of them could trudge back and forth down the aisle each time the little one cries, but then people would probably complain about that.

Of course we could just give the mom mean looks and then wonder why there’s hardly any young families in our parishes. I can think of quite a few things more inappropriate going on then some poor mother trying to keep her baby quiet (although I do agree that it’s just common sense to take them out). I find it far more annoying when adults sit in the car and smoke and then come in and reek for the net hour right next to me.

Our old priest used to stop mid homily when a baby would cry and go over, pick up the child and tell us that this child needed to be cherished… Just a thought, although I know it can be hard to focus on anything else when you’re annoyed… like how I feel when I’m next to a smoker who’s come in at the last minute and there are no seats left to move to!

 

[celticsfan1983]

I’d be willing to bet that those children that Jesus welcomed were not silent angels…they were probably loud and obnoxious, which is why the disciples probably told their mothers to take them away, so people could hear Jesus speaking.

Sound familiar? “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

I’m just so happy that the parents are bringing their kids to church. Keep that, along with Christ’s words, in mind next time you complain about crying babies.

 

[whatevergirl]

I’m with you, Lorrie.

Directly in back of me today there was a toddler munching VERY LOUDLY with his mouth open on popcorn or something. The irony was that he was doing this during the singing of the psalm “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” I ended up turning around and giving a bemused ironic look at the young crumb-crunching lad.

Fortunately, the mother got the idea and in a minute or two the crunching stopped.

~~ the phoenix

*your verbage here is hilarious!! *

 

[Lorrie]

Too bad if you missed a few words of the homily; you probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it anyway.

Yes, actually I do pay attention to the homily. I’m only left to assume by your post that you, however, don’t pay attention to it. You’re missing out on a lot.

I adore children (including babies), but I also expect their parents to be considerate of others during Mass.

I’d be willing to bet that those children that Jesus welcomed were not silent angels…they were probably loud and obnoxious, which is why the disciples probably told their mothers to take them away, so people could hear Jesus speaking.

Sound familiar? “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

I’m just so happy that the parents are bringing their kids to church. Keep that, along with Christ’s words, in mind next time you complain about crying babies.

I understand what you’re saying, I really do, it’s just sad when no one in the congregation can hear what the priest is saying (I was sitting in the front and couldn’t hear a single word) because a baby is screaming for a solid 10-15 minutes. It’s insanity at best.

 

[Lorrie]

I’d be willing to bet that those children that Jesus welcomed were not silent angels…they were probably loud and obnoxious, which is why the disciples probably told their mothers to take them away, so people could hear Jesus speaking.

Sound familiar? “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

I’m just so happy that the parents are bringing their kids to church. Keep that, along with Christ’s words, in mind next time you complain about crying babies.

I understand what you’re saying, I really do, it’s just sad when no one in the congregation can hear what the priest is saying (I was sitting in the front and couldn’t hear a single word) because a baby is screaming for a solid 10-15 minutes. It’s insanity at best.

 

[celticsfan1983]

Yes, actually I do pay attention to the homily. I’m only left to assume by your post that you, however, don’t pay attention to it. You’re missing out on a lot.

I adore children (including babies), but I also expect their parents to be considerate of others during Mass.

Yeah because all of us getting mad at the mother trying to attend to a screaming kid is really going to inspire her to come back to Mass.

I guess the women who wanted to bring their infants to Jesus should have stood at a distance to be considerate of others who wanted to hear him speak?

Just be glad that the kids are getting Mass at a young age. Heaven forbid that the kid screams so much that the mother and father decide not to bring him/her to church so they don’t disturb anyone.

 

[whatevergirl]

*I see your point, Lorrie…I belong to a parish now where the average age is about 55, I’m 40, and I’m one of the younger adults. There are a few younger couples with babies, but when the babies begin crying, and nothing works…then, one of the parents takes their baby outside.

If you can’t hear any of the homily, that is something…

Sometimes, these moments in life can give us an opportunity to grow in patience. *

 

[Lorrie]

*I see your point, Lorrie…I belong to a parish now where the average age is about 55, I’m 40, and I’m one of the younger adults. There are a few younger couples with babies, but when the babies begin crying, and nothing works…then, one of the parents takes their baby outside.

If you can’t hear any of the homily, that is something…

Sometimes, these moments in life can give us an opportunity to grow in patience. *

Thank you very much for your post. Yes, this was definitely an opportunity for growth in the patience department.

 

[Sean11]

Seriously? This topic? Again?

It’s really quite funny that you all can talk so snidely about children crying during Mass and how disturbing their chewing is to you. What happened to pro-life, pro-family, pro-babies? I guess we’re only anti-abortion as long as we don’t have to deal with the children we’ve saved.

Offer it up. Too bad if you missed a few words of the homily; you probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it anyway.

As the father of 3 kids, I get totally embarrassed when my kids are disrupting Mass for my fellow brothers and sisters. It takes me about 15 seconds to haul them out of there until the little buggers decide to shape up.

 

[sharmin]

We take our little one out as soon as she starts to act up… and no food or drinks (after all, it’s only an hour). However I have more compassion then I did pre-baby for the poor mom who’s by herself with four kids trying to get the two year old to be quiet and not getting up and leaving because she doesn’t want to leave the other three (under the age of six) by themselves. I imagine the five of them could trudge back and forth down the aisle each time the little one cries, but then people would probably complain about that.

Of course we could just give the mom mean looks and then wonder why there’s hardly any young families in our parishes. I can think of quite a few things more inappropriate going on then some poor mother trying to keep her baby quiet (although I do agree that it’s just common sense to take them out). I find it far more annoying when adults sit in the car and smoke and then come in and reek for the net hour right next to me.

Our old priest used to stop mid homily when a baby would cry and go over, pick up the child and tell us that this child needed to be cherished… Just a thought, although I know it can be hard to focus on anything else when you’re annoyed… like how I feel when I’m next to a smoker who’s come in at the last minute and there are no seats left to move to!

Beautiful post.

 

[DeannaMarie]

As Catholics, are we not called to respond with compassion? If a parent is struggling with a screaming baby, is it not our duty to offer help?

 

[sharmin]

No, we only criticize and tsk tsk. It’s easier that way.

(Not picking on the OP, just noticing a general trend in the congregations lately.)

 

[allhers]

Here’s what I don’t get, when I was growing up, entire families use to fill one pew.

Sometimes babies cried, we didn’t have a crying room and usually the Priest just spoke louder, they had microphones then too.

Never have I heard any Priest say, “Take that baby out of here!” Never did I see anyone give anyone else “that look”, everybody just pretty much took it in stride, because everybody else had a crying baby at one time or another too.

Sometimes I do sit near crying babies, but usually in the Parish I am in, the people take them out. We don’t have a crying room either, but we do have many rooms that they can go to that the mics are heard in and so Father is still heard by the parents that do leave at times. They always look so embarressed that I offer a silent prayer for them and ask
Jesus during Holy Communion if perhaps He could bless them in a special way with babies that won’t cry until the singing masks it at least. (but has anyone ever noticed how they usually like the singing and don’t cry much then?)

I can understand that if they are crying the entire time he is giving his homily that they ought to leave for the sake of others not being able to hear, but usually its just for a few minutes and I get the jist of the homily even if I miss a few words. However, I am deaf in one ear and sometimes miss a few words anyway.

I also remember when I was young and one of my babies would cry once in awhile, but I was blessed with my husband being right there beside me and one of us always left with them when they cried for more than a minute or so. We didn’t have a crying room then either.

 

[the_phoenix]

*your verbage here is hilarious!! *

Why thanks, whatevergirl,

To give credit where credit is due, I first heard Rush Limbaugh refer to kids as “crumb crunchers” and have liked the term ever since.

~~ the phoenix

 

[cyberwolf001]

Here’s what I don’t get, when I was growing up, entire families use to fill one pew.

Sometimes babies cried, we didn’t have a crying room and usually the Priest just spoke louder, they had microphones then too.

Never have I heard any Priest say, “Take that baby out of here!” Never did I see anyone give anyone else “that look”, everybody just pretty much took it in stride, because everybody else had a crying baby at one time or another too.

Sometimes I do sit near crying babies, but usually in the Parish I am in, the people take them out. We don’t have a crying room either, but we do have many rooms that they can go to that the mics are heard in and so Father is still heard by the parents that do leave at times. They always look so embarressed that I offer a silent prayer for them and ask
Jesus during Holy Communion if perhaps He could bless them in a special way with babies that won’t cry until the singing masks it at least. (but has anyone ever noticed how they usually like the singing and don’t cry much then?)

I can understand that if they are crying the entire time he is giving his homily that they ought to leave for the sake of others not being able to hear, but usually its just for a few minutes and I get the jist of the homily even if I miss a few words. However, I am deaf in one ear and sometimes miss a few words anyway.

I also remember when I was young and one of my babies would cry once in awhile, but I was blessed with my husband being right there beside me and one of us always left with them when they cried for more than a minute or so. We didn’t have a crying room then either.

I never understood this. Down here a kid cries, he is taken out, I’ve even seen the Priest nod the parent and offer a smile as they head out. Is this sorta thing dead else where?