The Crying Game / Daytona 500?

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TennMark38016

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Let me begin by saying that after visiting several churches in my area, my wife and I have decided on one and I will go through RCIA after Labor Day. I have been an active churchgoer (Church of Christ & Methodist) my entire life and I have now found truth. I’m very excited and anxious to get started.

I have noticed two things at the churches that we have attended that are very annoying. Number one is kids crying / talking during the Mass. I mean really loud and the parents don’t take them out. It’s like it is just accepted. Number two; at the end of the Mass, people rush out during the final hymn, before the song is over. We stay until the song is over but even then we are dodging cars in the parking lot as we are walking to ours. We get to ours and no one lets us out, it’s like the Daytona 500 meets Monday morning rush hour! It’s Sunday people, what is the big hurry?!

I hate it when folks use broad generalizations / stereotype but my wife is a cradle Catholic and she says this is not uncommon. Can anyone provide any feedback on why this is? Thanks.
 
Beats me! :rolleyes: Personally, I like praying the Rosary before a statue of Our Lady after Mass… no hurries, mate!
 
Because many people live their faith, Catholic or otherwise only ONE out of one hundered eighty six hours a week.
 
Don’t know how many Masses your church offers on a Sunday but I prefer the earliest (8:30am) to avoid the crying babies (more common at 10:30 mass). Also, we have a "crying room"room at the back of the church for parents with little kids that has a large window and sound system so that they can see and hear the mass.
As for the parking lot, I usually take my time leaving the church after the last hymn, stop to talk to the priest or other parishioners and if I find myself unable to leave the parking lot because of traffic jam, I read the church bulletin or listen to one of my many cassette tapes (you can order these from the Mary Foundation).
Sunday is a day of rest. We need to slow down.
 
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TennMark38016:
Let me begin by saying that after visiting several churches in my area, my wife and I have decided on one and I will go through RCIA after Labor Day. I have been an active churchgoer (Church of Christ & Methodist) my entire life and I have now found truth. I’m very excited and anxious to get started.

I have noticed two things at the churches that we have attended that are very annoying. Number one is kids crying / talking during the Mass. I mean really loud and the parents don’t take them out. It’s like it is just accepted. Number two; at the end of the Mass, people rush out during the final hymn, before the song is over. We stay until the song is over but even then we are dodging cars in the parking lot as we are walking to ours. We get to ours and no one lets us out, it’s like the Daytona 500 meets Monday morning rush hour! It’s Sunday people, what is the big hurry?!

I hate it when folks use broad generalizations / stereotype but my wife is a cradle Catholic and she says this is not uncommon. Can anyone provide any feedback on why this is? Thanks.
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I agree with almost everything here… when Christ was giving the sermon on the mount a would imagine that children and infants were present… (supposedly 5000 there)… there had to be babies crying i would think and its that, that i don’t personally have a problem with… if you have entire families present, your going to have crying babies… now, as for the loud and uncourteous unnessary talking and the charge of the 7th cavalry at the end of mass before the choir is done… well you and i are of one mind here, and i really think if the priest would give a directed sermon aimed at behavior in, at or during Mass and not one of those please don’t get mad at me homilys… oh, don’t get me started,…well so much for trying to be charitable…Peace… 👍
 
Personally I have no problem with crying babies. If someone is going to stand at the back of the church when the baby is crying they might as well not be there at all and I think it’s better for them to be there.
As far as the early exits… One time our priest commented on it and it solved about 90% of the problem. I don’t see much of it these days but maybe I just don’t notice it cause I usually say some prayers after mass while I wait for my altar boys to finish.
 
I have no problem with crying babies (unless it is one of my grandkids). I agree with the rest of it however. I don’t worry about the traffic, though. I get home in three minutes - on foot. When I used to go to a chapel a bit further away, I would just make sure I parked in a place that would allow me to get out no matter what the traffic jam in the parking lot was like.

John
 
I dont have this trouble because I walk to church! 😃

However, as far as people rushing out before the end of mass and crazy parking lots, you should kneel down after mass and thank the Lord for this glorious day to come and be with Him. Just take ten to fifteen minutes to pray and to really connect with your Lord. As you stated, it’s Sunday, what’s the hurry? Just sit and be with Him. Everyone rushes out of his home, why not take the time to just be there. Just a thought…
 
One of the things I always find funny is when an altar server decides to wear running shoes, shorts and a much to short alb.

God Bless
 
You could always leave right after receiveing communion to beat the crowd. Just kidding. Please do not banish me.

I’ll tell you a related problem we have. People double park, park in the drive, fire lane, etc. We have dozens of empty spots fity yards away, but that is too far for some. I have taken to parking there just to make room.

The problem is so serious that we are considering putting up towing signs and towing cars. This part is not a joke. Obviously we are slow to take such a drastic step.
 
I agree that Jesus probably had crying babies around, when he talked. Also, the early Christians gathered for the Eucharist in private homes, where children and crying babies were part of the scene. There would be a simple table for an altar. It is thought that folks stood as a sign of respect. No microphones so you had to stand close to hear everything. Some of the Eucharist was given out to the faithful, usually the women, to take to the sick and those in the family who could not attend.

As there were no cars in the early church, they had no parking lot problem. Just a basin for those with dusty feet. Oh…the good old days.
 
Welcome, welcome, welcome, my fellow Convert! Coming into the Church, I wasn’t so troubled by the babies because I go to an early Mass, but the dashing out before the end made me cranky, and I found the music (folk-pop-rock) to be EXECRABLE! However, when I read Donna Steichen’s book, Prodigal Daughters, which chronicles the return to the Church of 17 women who had left, several of them said of the Sunday morning experience that if you want the authenticity, you just have to STAND it. Scott Hahn in The Lamb’s Supper also mentions that for Converts it is very hard to understand why people come to church in their “Souvenir of Las Vegas” t-shirts. You just have to STAND it. Marcus Grodi of EWTN’s The Journey Home says that God is sending all of us converts into the Church so we can save it!

OK, I’m being obnoxious. But once again, WELCOME. May the indescribable peace that comes with embracing the fullness of the faith never leave your heart.
 
As a fellow Tennessean I welcome you. If a child makes a sustained distubance it is just good manners to take him/her to the cry room. Most churches I’ve been in have them but some older ones may not.

I wish the pastor would mention about leaving early at least once a year. I think some please get lazy and just get into the habit of leaving early. They need to be reminded that the liturgy isn’t over until the last song.

Your (and my) good example will rub off. Don’t let it get you down!
 
I would venture to add that the problem of being in such a hurry to leave after Sunday Mass is not only a Catholic issue. It is indicative of the type of society we live in, where time is money and money is everything.

Just this morning after Mass, I visited a Protestant church with my roommate (a sort of you-show-me-yours-I’ll-show-you-mine thing), and I was pleasantly surprised to see most of the congregation stay afterwards to talk to one another. I have an idea that this may be because their church places a greater emphasis on personal fellowship; many of the members participate in groups that meet during the week, and thus get to know one another better.

In contrast, these types of fellowship groups are not very common in the Catholic churches that I have been to. People seem to attend Mass to fulfill their Sunday obligation and then decide that they don’t have to be Catholic the rest of the week. I think that we Catholics, as a group, could take a lesson from our Protestant brothers and make an effort to get to know each other, but that is a topic for another thread…

TennMark, don’t let this discourage you! We are all delighted to welcome you home. May God be with you on your journey. 🙂
 
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