What to do about rude parishioners? v. my parrot

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puzzleannie said:
he has no obligation to attend Mass until he is of the age to prepare for first communion, that gives you a few years to teach him how to behave in Church. We don’t have a children’s liturgy for parrots, but if you come here and just want to leave him outside he can hobnob with the green parrots in the trees in front of the rectory.

as a reminder to other posters about charity, we don’t know that Ted is not a service parrot and as such cannot be excluded from church.
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Oh, I responded before you edited your post. My vote for Best Post Ever! 😃
 
Catholic1954 said:
We do not hate toddlers in Mass. We are out of patience for numbskull parents who will sit holding a screaming baby or ignore the little darlings running up and down the ailse and playing in the Baptismal Font or hand them some loud toy to keep them amused. This is not a trip to Walmart! There are plenty of families that have young children who know how to act in church, because their parents have taught them. Crying babies and disruptive, fussy young children should be removed to the “crying room” or even outside until they calm down, it’s just good manners and respect for others. No one disputes their right to be there, but, they should not be a distraction to the rest of the congregation and especially the priest.
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👍
 
I don’t have children and every indication now is I wont. Sunday before last I happened to go to 10 am instead of usual 8am. Turns out 10 am was “family Mass” i.e. LOTS of kids. Infants to teens. I was also distracted. Couldn’t help but be amazed by just how many different kinds of kids there were. I usually just think of kids generically!!

There was a ten yr. old who obviously did not want to be there. He was pouting until asked to bring up the offeratory.
There was a rambunctious 3 yr. old that was playing with his Jesus (Corpus off of an old crucifix that he never goes anywhere without) He was playing and playing and seemed oblivious to anything but his own little world. I was amazed thatsomehow he must have known what was going on. Even withou watching what was going on, every time Father held his hands up in priestly gesture- so did this kid.He even came up from under the pew once to do it.

And there was this absolutely gorgeous- incredibly physically beautiful and “perfect” looking older couple with a just as beautiful younger couple but they were all outshined by the angel grandpaw was holding on His lap- a precious baby with down syndrome.

And all of the preschoolers and precommunion kids who rushed to the front to be dismissed for children’s liturgy of the word-ready and eager to hear about Jesus.

I cried because I became very aware of how my limited contact with children kept me from seeing a real Face of Jesus.Maybe I didn’t catch Father’s homily, but I sure had the word broken open to me in a powerful way.
Not that any of what I wrote has anything to do with what the OP is addressing. Anyway Parents- thank you for sharing your children with us.
 
There is a point in time when toddlers cannot stay quiet or still enough to allow their parents or most people around them to actually worship. It’s time for the church nursery for a while…with my 2 sons, it was from about 1 - 2.5. YMMV. Once they start walking, they really NEED to move all the time, and trying to hold them back is futile and frustrating.

I’m going to disagree with the people who say toddlers ought to be in church. Number 1, they get nothing out of it and in fact, will remember nothing about it. Number 2, the parents spend so much time fiddling with them trying to keep them from crawling all over the pews, ripping up the hymnal, running down the aisles, etc. that there is absolutely no peace or worship for them. Number 3, others in the congregation are also distracted and inconvenienced by the toddler.

I am not a grumpy old lady…in fact I love children in general, but those of you with children know exactly what I am talking about. Once my sons were past that point where you cannot reason with them (too young) and can’t hold them still (too active), then they were able to come to Mass, learn proper church behavior, read their little Missal, and not cause a disruption. Now, I did not have little girls, I have seen little girls sit and look slowly through a book and never make a peep the entire Mass. That amazes me. My sons, when very young, would give it a quick glance, toss it down, and look for more excitement!

If the church has neither a nursery or a cry room, the OP should find the Mass with the least children (probably the 8 a.m. Mass or the last of the day) and attend that. Or, find a church in an area of town where there are more adults than families. I can certainly understand his frustration.

:cool:
 
I would never banish parents to an hour of cryroom for 10 plus years of their lives.

They and their children belong at Mass, near the altar, with the rest of whiners.
 
puzzleannie said:
he has no obligation to attend Mass until he is of the age to prepare for first communion, that gives you a few years to teach him how to behave in Church. We don’t have a children’s liturgy for parrots, but if you come here and just want to leave him outside he can hobnob with the green parrots in the trees in front of the rectory.

as a reminder to other posters about charity, we don’t know that Ted is not a service parrot and as such cannot be excluded from church.
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+rep for the phrase “service parrot.”

EDIT: I have been made aware that this board doesn’t have a reputation feature. This makes me unsure of what I just sent to you, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.
 
Just a thought: Not “What would Jesus Do” But if the Blessed Mother showed up at Mass with her Babe, “What would the Infant Jesus do?”
 
We claim to be prolife…yet some don’t want to see or support those who choose life, even if that busy little life can be loud at times. 😦 Ship them off and pack them away. 😦 Send to a germ-infested nursery where they will pick up who knows what and then be sick all week. 😦

Take children to mass early and often and train them to be quiet. Even the most active toddler can have a bit of a quiet time with books, coloring, a sippy cup of water, and yes, even cheerios. 😉

My youngest’s Godmother often sat with us at mass, and she would bring a special little light up sticker that he only got to play with at mass. It kept him fascinated for years.

Life is precious. Life can be loud. Embrace it. Even Jesus wanted the Children to come to Him.
 
I have two words concerning negligent parents’ screaming children: CRY ROOM!

I have three words for anyone daring to bring a parrot to Mass: CORNISH GAME HEN.

The parrot was, of course, hypothetical, but there are other annoying things at Mass far worse than babies crying, such as: adults holding running conversations with children or each other, cell phones and the people who answer them, adults leaving water bottles in the pews (unless you have a medical need for it, you won’t die of dehydration in one hour even in the Sahara Desert!), unsupervised children roaming around the church (one of these darlings pulled the fire alarm at my parish!), talking before or after Mass – that is what the narthex is for, and people not genuflecting or bowing to the tabernacle before sitting or leaving.

Probably the greatest distraction for me is immodesty in dress. It is not that everyone should come to Mass in suits, ties, and dresses (it would be wonderful, though!) but at least people should wear the best they have. Slovenly mens’ clothing like dirty jeans and T-shirts featuring rock bands and skulls are bad enough, but low-cut blouses and short skirts can be outright OCCASIONS OF SIN for males who see them, including the priest!
 
Catholic90 said:
We claim to be prolife…yet some don’t want to see or support those who choose life, even if that busy little life can be loud at times. 😦 Ship them off and pack them away. 😦 Send to a germ-infested nursery where they will pick up who knows what and then be sick all week. 😦

Take children to mass early and often and train them to be quiet. Even the most active toddler can have a bit of a quiet time with books, coloring, a sippy cup of water, and yes, even cheerios. 😉

My youngest’s Godmother often sat with us at mass, and she would bring a special little light up sticker that he only got to play with at mass. It kept him fascinated for years.

Life is precious. Life can be loud. Embrace it. Even Jesus wanted the Children to come to Him.
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AMEN!!! We do not want mothers and fathers to abort their babies but at the same time we do not want them inside our churches. SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE! :eek:
 
Hey this was a stupid post when i first read it i was thinking that I would like to bring Monster to mass with me but then he would probably be tryin to use his paws to get everyones attention he is a very friendly basset hound sharpei mix he probably wouldn’t stay in his seat at all because he would want to go and give everyone a great big kiss from his bigflappy tongue.and I really miss him when i am at Mass but because i like to be considerate of other people who are at Mass I leave him at home However i have no problem with dogs who are there to help people with handicaps such as dogs for the blind and there is one lady who has a dog who has been trained to assist with her hearing she is almost deaf and it islike he hears for her.those animals have been very well trained in how to act and how to behave in different places and situations
 
I’ll get them baptized and, until they are old enough to I don’t know, speak full sentences, leave them in the care of a babysitter for ~2 hours on sunday. I hope to use the mass during those years as a quiet time to spend worshipping with my wife. Maybe we could do something wild like have brunch and a normal conversation together afterwards. When they are old enough, if they start misbehaving and refuse to listen, I will snatch them up and walk out until they calm down. I plan to sit in the very back to facilitate this process, which seems like a minimally considerate thing any parent of young children should do. I know I won’t be able to eliminate disruptions or bad behavior, but I have an obligation to minimize any negative effects my child has on other people.
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When I married my husband we signed a contract within the Catholic Church saying we promised to be open to children and to bring them up in the Catholic faith. So while you may have an obligation to minimize negative effects for others, I have an obligation to bring my child up in the Catholic Faith. And I’m pretty sure my obligation takes precedence over yours.

In my experience it is better to start bringing your child to Mass from birth, so when they get to the “constructing full sentences” they aren’t using those words to point things out at Mass that they haven’t seen before, because they’re used it. Unless my child is incredibly distressed, they will sit with me for the entire Mass, because even though they may not understand it, they need to be at Mass and hear the Word of God just as much as I do. And if I’m going to be standing outside or in a “cry room” because my child is a bit whingy, then I would have been better off staying at home. And I didn’t think the Catholic Church was about excluding people, especially because they have children.
 
ConstantineTG said:
AMEN!!! We do not want mothers and fathers to abort their babies but at the same time we do not want them inside our churches. SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE! :eek:
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Double standard is always and yes, i mean always wrong. Threads like this is the scholar example of why.
 
ConstantineTG said:
AMEN!!! We do not want mothers and fathers to abort their babies but at the same time we do not want them inside our churches. SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE! :eek:
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** AMEN** It seems the permissive child-rearing methods of the recent past are coming home to roost. I love the sound of children. It is better to have a few disruptions than not have a new generation of saints in Church. With multiple masses I’m sure some accommodations can be made.
 
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