What is with people bringing bottles of water into Mass?

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WhiteDove:
Of course, there is a rare person that is receiving radiation therapy to the neck/throat region. They probably got that cancer from using their cell phones constantly, what do you think??? :cool:
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My brother’s law partner lost his salivary glands due to radiation for cancer. He can’t go anywhere without a bottle because he doesn’t produce saliva. However he manages in court just fine, and you would never know he had this problem if you didn’t know him.
 
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WhiteDove:
I’ve never ever seen this. Maybe it’s a regional thing?

BTW, if you have a terrible cold, maybe the Christian thing to do would be to stay home?
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This was the Ordination Mass of a friend of mine-and the first Ordination Mass I had ever been to. Christ himself would’ve had to come down and tell me not to go before I’d’ve stayed home.

Maybe terrible cold was a bad choice of words, but there was no way I was missing that service.

I’m sorry if this sounds mean, but maybe if we all just minded our own business then we’d be able to focus on why we’re at Mass to begin with. It’s not to sit there and point out everyone else’s faults. It’s to receive Christ. I can guarantee you that if you saw Christ at Mass, not just in the form of bread and wine, but in the “human” form, then you wouldn’t be worried about whether someone was drinking from a water bottle.

Scout :tiphat:
 
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Scout:
I agree that can be distracting. I also agree that if it isn’t medically necessary, then one shouldn’t bring it into Mass. All I’m saying is that we can’t tell, just by looking at a person, whether it’s medically necessary or not for them to have the water. If we can’t tell, we should just try to think the best of people-and that means believing that their motives good. I know this may sound silly to some people, but I would hope that others would grant me the same consideration. I think we should just cut them some slack and let it go.

Scout :tiphat:
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And as I stated, it’s a social thing. When one sees more that 50% of the people with them, I don’t think it’s a medical thing. If it is then maybe someone should check the ground under the church. Maybe you are attending Holy Mass in Love Canal!😉
 
Dear Scout,
Well, that sounds like a valid exception, wanting to attend that special event. As I’ve said, I’ve never seen anyone with a water bottle at Mass. I agree with you, it’s better to try and tune out the annoying idiosecracies of those around us. People are so darned irritating at times, it’s a good opportunity to practise Christian charity!

It’s just like rude drivers or store clerks; It’s better to figure that their child is dying of cancer or their house just burned down, and they’re so upset that they can’t think straight. Always try and give people the benefit of the doubt and you’ll have more inner peace. 🙂
 
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WhiteDove:
Dear Scout,
Well, that sounds like a valid exception, wanting to attend that special event. As I’ve said, I’ve never seen anyone with a water bottle at Mass. I agree with you, it’s better to try and tune out the annoying idiosecracies of those around us. People are so darned irritating at times, it’s a good opportunity to practise Christian charity!

It’s just like rude drivers or store clerks; It’s better to figure that their child is dying of cancer or their house just burned down, and they’re so upset that they can’t think straight. Always try and give people the benefit of the doubt and you’ll have more inner peace. 🙂
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I completely agree with you. I try to give people the same consideration that I hope they’d give me. It’s easier said than done, but it does help me get through those trying time without blowing-up at people.

Scout :tiphat:
 
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Toni:
When my sister is undergoing chemotherapy she can not go without water. So you never know the reason behind someone with a bottle of water. I know my sister would always be embarassed when people would stare at her for doing something that was absolutely necessary for her and many cancer patients undergoing such therapy.
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Exactly… I take a bottle w/ me wherever I go…course I have a large LV handbag to carry it in…:whistle: I have a medical problem and do need to hydrate often…Howerver, I’ve never taken a drop at Mass…hope I never have to…😦
 
It is the trendy thing to do now days and not just at church.
What bugs me is when they leave their empties in the pew.
 
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Katie1723:
Then there would be a line up for the bathroom. Personally I find the constant chatter far more distracting than a water bottle.
~ Kathy ~
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Again, another straw-dog argument. Just because you find the chatter distracting (as do I), it somehow makes the water-bottles more acceptable. Poppycock.
 
tom.wineman said:
It is the trendy thing to do now days and not just at church.
What bugs me is when they leave their empties in the pew.
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:amen: It does sort of amaze me that people leave them where they land! Honestly I think most everyone here is practicing Christian charity but again if you bring water bottles to Mass, try to be unobtrusive. I also don’t think it’s out of line for an announcement to be made that unless you do need one for a medical condition please don’t bring them in. We always have a reminder to turn of cell phones and beepers. Every so often maybe they should add to please not bring in food and drink with you if you are not a nursing mom;) .

Lisa N
 
I offer another viewpoint.

If those who needed to drink water did so in a discreet manner, there wouldn’t be a single person complaining about the water bottle sucking that goes on during Mass…
 
Lisa N said:
:amen: It does sort of amaze me that people leave them where they land! Honestly I think most everyone here is practicing Christian charity but again if you bring water bottles to Mass, try to be unobtrusive. I also don’t think it’s out of line for an announcement to be made that unless you do need one for a medical condition please don’t bring them in. We always have a reminder to turn of cell phones and beepers. Every so often maybe they should add to please not bring in food and drink with you if you are not a nursing mom;) .

Lisa N
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For some glorious reason we don’t have cell phone problems at the Mass I attend (my parish has 7/Sunday.) While serving as an usher at a Easter Mass I came across someone trying to use a cell phone inside the church.

This lady was no more than 5 feet from an exit, and she was making a junk call – voicemail - “just checking in, blah, blah, blah” at 7am! Talk about an insecure individual who couldn’t sit alone in a pew praying or just reflecting on the surroundings. She HAD to grab for her adult-security blanket.

I asked her to please put the phone away or go outside. When she gave me a nasty look I snatched the phone out of her hand, turned it off and held onto it until the end of Mass.

Why did I react the way I did? Because people were watching closely and it wouldn’t take many people like her to start a new “trend.”

As for the concerns about “emergencies”, etc. I simply don’t care. It’s God’s House and yes, He wants more than for us than to simply show-up.
 
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MariaG:
Assume the best, assume he has a reason for drinking water in Mass. Go and buy him a water bottle with a straw so when he takes a drink, it will be less distracting.
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Every morning at the same time??? During a 20 - 25 in Mass?
Come on, should he not show more respect? Could he not drink immediately before or after the Holy Mass?

Anyway I happen to know the guy and I know there are no health problems of any shape or description.

Could one not sit in a inconspicuous place near a door and pop out for a slug if there is such a medical necessity??

Why do we have to assume the best when it comes to down right disrespect and bad manners?
 
All this discussion of so-called medical reasons for drinking water every 15 seconds or so puts me in mind of the absurdity of so many claiming to be handicapped to use a sticker to park in a spot closer to a store and such.

It strikes me as the same mentality. Almost every thing has been medicalized. I really do not buy it. Even in extreme conditions one is hard pressed to make a case for having a water bottle during mass. It seems more of a psychological issue than an authentically medical issue, or perhaps a habit from cultural conditioning.
 
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Fergal:
Why do we have to assume the best when it comes to down right disrespect and bad manners?
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Because that’s what we expect others to do for us. We expect others to give us every courtesy, give us the benefit of the doubt. Don’t they deserve the same?

If it bothers you that much, ask the priest to say something about it. Or, say something to the person yourself. But don’t sit in the corner and whine and complain without doing anything about it.
Scout :tiphat:
 
I bring a water bottle to Mass, because I’m in the choir, and simply can’t sing for an hour without having some water. I don’t guzzle all through the Mass; just a sip here and there so my voice doesn’t go dry. The congregation doesn’t see us drinking water (there are bottles of water and plastic cups for those who don’t bring their own) because we are in the loft at the back of the church (only way to see us is to turn around and crane your neck way up). I use a “permanent” bottle with a screw-on cap, and I stick a soda straw in it – hence no “sport bottle slurping”. 🙂

If I’m not singing that day, I don’t bring water. I’m one of those people who dehydrate and pass out quickly if it’s very hot, though, so in the summer (when we don’t sing), I try to go to the early morning Mass (before it gets very hot). If I don’t make that Mass, then I go to another parish, where they have air-conditioning (I guarantee you, my church will never have air-conditioning – there isn’t enough money in the world to pay the electric bill to air-condition such a huge space).
 
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Zooey:
Good one!!!👍

Also, though, let us not forget the :whacky: people who carry :eek: blazing pots of fire…They often have low attendance, due to the great, ummm…burning… interest in :bigyikes: snake handlers.
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I think we can do without the Appalachian “humor” on this board, can’t we?
 
When I was first pregnant there were a couple of times that I had a bottle tucked into the bottom of my purse so I could get my stomach to settle if I had to. I never used it during, but I got a lot of really dirty looks for taking a sip on the way out after. I felt so guilty about it.

I quit going until I was feeling better since people get so upset and I couldn’t handle much without feeling yucky.

I usually don’t worry about what other people are doing. About the only thing that bothers me are the people that think the communion line ends at their car.
 
Isn’t judging someone bad manners?

Anyway, I would also hope no one wears any watches, tie clips, metalic belt buckles, shined shoes, and anything that have reflective properties. That would include glasses.
If you get a nice shine of light through the windows, this reflection off these objects might distract others.
Or, say something to the person yourself.
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Make sure there isn’t a medical reason though… If someone told my friend to stop drinking water though he needed it due to chemotherapy, I would take them out back and show them a thing or two. :eek:
 
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CatholicCid:
Isn’t judging someone bad manners?

Anyway, I would also hope no one wears any watches, tie clips, metalic belt buckles, shined shoes, and anything that have reflective properties. That would include glasses.
If you get a nice shine of light through the windows, this reflection off these objects might distract others.

Make sure there isn’t a medical reason though… If someone told my friend to stop drinking water though he needed it due to chemotherapy, I would take them out back and show them a thing or two. :eek:
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The exeption should not make the rule.
People here are talking about a percentage of the congregation, not one person.
Even so, if you are slurping a bottle of water, making a production number out of it and being loud, I don’t care what the reason, you are rude.
Having a father who went through two years of chemo, I can tell you that he never brought a water bottle to Holy Mass. I have no clue what’s up with your friend, but if he is doing any of the above, he is rude as well.
 
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