The picking-up some Pampers or a gallon of milk Mass?

[Prodigal_Son1]

Everybody, leave this poor man (or boy) alone. He’s absolutely in love with all this attention he’s amassed, negative though it be. He’s sad. Pray for him, and don’t descend into anger at his insults.

Prodigal Son !–there are many people in my parish who wear scrubs, both to Sunday Mass in our Church, and daily Mass in our chapel. Those who wear them are, as part of the job I imagine, scrupulously clean and neat. In fact, I live in Florida, and when the snow birds go away for the summer our parishes decline in population. At daily Mass the “regulars” are gone so a young man in scrubs named Jim–that is all I know about him except that he is kind and genuinely pious–and I have alternated in leading the Rosary after Mass. I am sorry that you and your wife were so maligned.

At Mass this evening, at the end, our priest asked visitors to raise their hands. Then he asked the ‘locals’ to raise their hands. Locals made up about 1/3 of those in attendance. Our parish has about 100 families that are members. That counts the Saturday, Sunday and Sunday evening Hispanic Mass.

It’s okay. I can take it fine and only lost my cool when he started in on my wife, without knowing either of us. Like Christ said, forgive them for they know not what they do.

I know our priest and our fellow parishioners. They are very supportive of my wife and I, and our employment. That’s the way it is in a ‘rural’ area. (Ever been through the Apalachicola area?)

 

[heathernoel]

My mom used to say that you changing the world starts with changing yourself.

I was raised in a methodist church and used to wear hose and Sunday best at every service. Mass feels different to me. We are still dressed up, and while I have my standards for the children and I, the connection to Our Lord is so much stronger at Mass that I feel he looks less upon my clothing and more upon my heart.

I have four children. They are usually dressed in dress shirts/slacks (I have four girls…an infant, a 5 year old, 9, and 11) or dresses. I get started getting them ready at 7:30 to get out the door at 9 for 10:00 mass (I insist on 30 minutes of QUIET contemplation with the Lord before Mass begins). Sometimes I CAN’T get dressed well. I wear a nice top and jeans. It’s as much as I can do.

And know what? I don’t care what others think.

 

[ElToro]

What if the kid refused and told you to leave him alone because he wants to spend time with Jesus and you are interfering with that? How would you respond to that? Would you prevent him from doing so?

I would have asked him again which option he would like? to change out the shirt, to cover it or to turn it inside out. I would also have reinterated that we could led him a garment for the length of the Mass. No other options come to mind but he still could have chosen any of the three.

 

[annaevers]

My parents were poor. I did not have “Sunday” clothes. I lived in Poland in the area where most people were getting packages from then Western Germany. Those were nicely clothed.

I can’t even explain how much humiliation I endured, how many remarks I heard. Although I loved Jesus, I stopped going to church, I was hiding in the cellar for the time of the Holy Mass. As a young twelve-year old I couldn’t bear all the disapproving eyes.

Now, tell me if why one would condemn bad clothing during the Holy Mass?

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

My mom used to say that you changing the world starts with changing yourself.

I was raised in a methodist church and used to wear hose and Sunday best at every service. Mass feels different to me. We are still dressed up, and while I have my standards for the children and I, the connection to Our Lord is so much stronger at Mass that I feel he looks less upon my clothing and more upon my heart.

I have four children. They are usually dressed in dress shirts/slacks (I have four girls…an infant, a 5 year old, 9, and 11) or dresses. I get started getting them ready at 7:30 to get out the door at 9 for 10:00 mass (I insist on 30 minutes of QUIET contemplation with the Lord before Mass begins). Sometimes I CAN’T get dressed well. I wear a nice top and jeans. It’s as much as I can do.

And know what? I don’t care what others think.

AMEN and welcome to the Catholic Church.

 

[ElToro]

My mom used to say that you changing the world starts with changing yourself.

I was raised in a methodist church and used to wear hose and Sunday best at every service. Mass feels different to me. We are still dressed up, and while I have my standards for the children and I, the connection to Our Lord is so much stronger at Mass that I feel he looks less upon my clothing and more upon my heart.

I have four children. They are usually dressed in dress shirts/slacks (I have four girls…an infant, a 5 year old, 9, and 11) or dresses. I get started getting them ready at 7:30 to get out the door at 9 for 10:00 mass (I insist on 30 minutes of QUIET contemplation with the Lord before Mass begins). Sometimes I CAN’T get dressed well. I wear a nice top and jeans. It’s as much as I can do.

And know what? I don’t care what others think.

That seems very common at some Masses.

 

[agnes_therese]

She chooses not to change her clothes. That makes absolutely no difference to me. But I might well be offended if somone felt the need to tell me they didn’t have the time to change.

It would be even more offensive if someone (other than perhaps my pastor) thought they had a right to an explanation for how I dress for Mass. It’s really none of your business why someone may wear scrubs, or whether they do it out of choice or from necessity.

I am so very glad you don’t attend my parish. Where, by the way, parishioners do dress respectfully without assistance from busybodies.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Is it fair to compare this man to the people you speak of? Should we have the same expectations?

How do you know this man is not in the same situation?

 

[ConstantineTG]

Why isn’t it OK to smoke during Mass? After all we should not judge others. Maybe they really crave a smoke? At least they are at Mass, right?

Many people step out to smoke. Even in the pre-Vatican II era when smoking was not seen as a health risk. And in many places where the church doors are wide open because its hot enough outside year round or through most of the year, yes this does happen.

 

[ElToro]

It would be even more offensive if someone (other than perhaps my pastor) thought they had a right to an explanation for how I dress for Mass. It’s really none of your business why someone may wear scrubs, or whether they do it out of choice or from necessity.

I am so very glad you don’t attend my parish. Where, by the way, parishioners do dress respectfully without assistance from busybodies.

I didn’t ask for any explanation. It’s none of my business why someone would wear scrubs to Mass.

BUT if someone felt the need to explain to me that they were wearing scrubs because they had not time to change, I might well be uninterested in listening to that.

 

[Arkadin]

I would have asked him again which option he would like? to change out the shirt, to cover it or to turn it inside out. I would also have reinterated that we could led him a garment for the length of the Mass. No other options come to mind but he still could have chosen any of the three.

There’s a fourth option that I specified and want an response to. What would you do if he refused?

 

[ElToro]

Many people step out to smoke. Even in the pre-Vatican II era when smoking was not seen as a health risk. And in many places where the church doors are wide open because its hot enough outside year round or through most of the year, yes this does happen.

It STUNNED me to see people smoking during Mass while standing in the doorways! It blew me away! Just another one of those horrid things that is tolerated because pastors don’t want to make the effort to deal with it.

 

[agnes_therese]

I didn’t ask for any explanation. It’s none of my business why someone would wear scrubs to Mass.

BUT if someone felt the need to explain to me that they were wearing scrubs because they had not time to change, I might well be uninterested in listening to that.

Which I’m sure would break their hearts.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I see people inappropriately attired at traditional Masses all the time. What I never see is someone coming to Mass inappropriately attired week after week. By their third or fourth time in attendance, their attire is appropriate. I have no problem with this.

Why should it even be your concern what people wear? I’d certainly be offended if someone came into church wearing a bikini. But thats extreme. If we’re talking about jeans, pants, etc., why should it even be an issue?

 

[Arkadin]

It STUNNED me to see people smoking during Mass while standing in the doorways! It blew me away! Just another one of those horrid things that is tolerated because pastors don’t want to make the effort to deal with it.

Perhaps the person has a family member in the hospital and may not make it. Smoking calms one’s anxiety since it focuses on breathing.

Maybe you don’t understand the power of nicotine addiction? It can be really bad.

Or maybe he was so upset with people being so nosy about what other people do in Mass that he just needed to step out for a moment to keep his cool by smoking.

 

[ElToro]

There’s a fourth option that I specified and want an response to. What would you do if he refused?

You mean if he chose to leave rather than change, cover or inside-out a horribley offensive shirt? I can’t imagine anyone making such a choice (unless their intent was to cause problems once they got inside of the church) but if they chose to leave I would try once more for them to choose another option.

 

[ElToro]

Perhaps the person has a family member in the hospital and may not make it. Smoking calms one’s anxiety since it focuses on breathing.

Maybe you don’t understand the power of nicotine addiction? It can be really bad.

Or maybe he was so upset with people being so nosy about what other people do in Mass that he just needed to step out for a moment to keep his cool by smoking.

LOL!! Smoking does NOT calm anyone! It causes one’s blood pressure to rise almost immediately, it causes changes in one’s respiratory rate, etc. If you can’t go an hour without a smoke you need to look into quitting. In the mean time there’s patches.

I can’t imagine someone stepping outside for a smoke during Mass. I saw it once in NY where it was pretty common in that parish. I have never seen it elsewhere.

 

[ConstantineTG]

You know what, every week on average we have less than 20 people at our Divine Liturgy. Besides the clergy and the nuns, I will never ever be able to tell anyone what other people are wearing from memory, even if you ask me the afternoon of that same Sunday. My eyes and attention are on the Liturgy, not on other people. People who look around to criticize other people for what they wear and how they look should examine themselves why are they at Mass/Liturgy and what they are supposed to be doing there. One thing I’m sure of, its not a fashion show in there. I know some parishes keep a red carpet in the center, but c’mon don’t act like you’re from E!

 

[ConstantineTG]

It STUNNED me to see people smoking during Mass while standing in the doorways! It blew me away! Just another one of those horrid things that is tolerated because pastors don’t want to make the effort to deal with it.

I’m sure in the middle of the Mass the pastor is peeking out the door to see who’s out there and what they are doing

 

[Arkadin]

I am so very glad you don’t attend my parish. Where, by the way, parishioners do dress respectfully without assistance from busybodies.

I wish he attended mine because I would definitely do something.