A reader writes:
Please, please clarify for me. There is a priest who celebrates mass in our area who has been known to stop saying the mass until small children have been quietened down. Is this correct to do so?
It depends. If the kids are screaming bloody murder so that nobody in the congregation can hear him then a brief pause would be in order. On the other hand, if they aren’t being that loud then he should do the best he can to carry on until the children can be quieted down or taken outside or to the cry room. He should not dramatically halt the Mass at the first sign of a child outburst, as if to shame the parents. But if the kids are carrying on so loudly that he can’t be heard then it would not be out of place to pause.
I was always under the impression that once the liturgical act of the mass had begun the priest was obliged to continue, regardless of the interruption.
No, the priest can pause the celebration for a reasonable cause (e.g., an airplane going over) or even stop it entirely in cases of grave necessity (e.g., an earthquake causes the church to nearly collapse; gunmen burst into the sanctuary, as happened over at a parish in Pakistan a few years ago).
This same priest has also used the pulpit for a personal rant at certain people in the congregation on a subject that is completely irrelevant to the gospel and epistle – is this also acceptable?
Not as you’ve describe it. Priests shouldn’t be doing personal rants at all from the pulpit. The homily is not the priest’s personal rant time.
However, if the pastor is aware of important pastoral situations that the congregation as a whole needs to be warned about then it is legitimate for him to address them from the pulpit even if the pastoral problem does not occur at a time that makes it possible to link it to the readings. In doing such things, however, he should phrase himself so as to minimize embarrassment to particular members of the congregation to the greatest extent possible.
I would really appreciate your advice on this.
Beyond the above, I don’t know how much advice I have to give. If you’re one of the priest’s best buds (which it doesn’t sound like) then you could more easily and gently offer him advice or constructive criticism than if you only know him more distantly.
If you aren’t close to him, the best thing is likely to be to grit your teeth and bear it, praying for him when he acts up or you get annoyed at the thought of him doing so.
If you do talk to him, putting things to him–as gently as humanly possible–in terms of how his behavior makes you and others feel is probably the best way to go.
After all, you don’t want a rant directed against you next Sunday. (Though if there is one, it’s time to talk to the bishop.)
The pastor at my parish stopped mass a few times while people got up to go to the bathroom or leave early or when they came in an hour late and started looking for seats.
The parish serves a sizeable retirement community where a lot of snowbirds winter. It seems he has to teach them manners every year.
I experienced the total opposite. I won’t mention too many details, but suffice it to say, there was a serious medical emergency, but rather than give Last Rites, he kept going until the end.
Our pastor stopped for a screaming baby one time out of necessity (no one could hear or think) but there was no way to take the baby out as this was a tiny church in rural Indiana with not even a vestibule and it was evening in December so outside was not acceptable either. It was either quiet the baby or go home.
The priest stopped and when there was a lull he said “probably we all sound like that to God.” I thought this was a brilliant way to handle the situation.
Regarding personal rants, my priest has to mention appropriate dress in church on occasion.
This same priest has also used the pulpit for a personal rant at certain people in the congregation on a subject that is completely irrelevant to the gospel and epistle – is this also acceptable?
I’ve seen a priest interrupt his homily to berrate people for standing in the back of the church because they arrived late. I do mean “berrate,” too. He turned red and was shouting. It was downright scary. I understand that he was probably frustrated but, personally, I felt bad for the people standing in the back. Maybe most could have avoided being late, but I totally understand why, when people are late, they prefer standing to disrupting people by looking for the only remaining seats in the front.
hippo354 – That priest’s comment was a great piece of pastoral improvisation. Thanks for sharing.
Pha – Yes, the “berating” priest’s behavior seems to send the message “be on time for Mass, or don’t come at all”, which to me would be out of line.
During the San Diego wildfires of October 2003, the police department came into St. Gregory the Great halfway through mass and ordered all of us evacuated out of Scripps Ranch.
I always wondered if that still fulfilled the Sunday mass obligation.
I always wondered if that still fulfilled the Sunday mass obligation.
Emergency evacuation in case of wildfire? I assume you’re joking about the obligation?
Two Points:
1) Children should be present at mass. Too often, particularily the elderly, seem to look down at children behaving like children at mass. Rarely, this is expressed by a priest as noted above. This also means that parents need to have their children participate in the mass. Sitting them down and having them color (with materials often provided by the parish), race cars, or do other behavior is distracting and is wrong. Without knowing it, I imagine that this is what brought the priest’s commentary.
2) I would rather have a priest that was hot or cold than lukewarm. While it is certainly preferably to have a priest rebuke a person in obstinate sin politely, I do not consider it preferable to not rebuking at all. I had an alcholic, divorced relative who was consistently very late for mass and often still smelled of alcohol that was told by a priest in front of the congregation to get out. I don’t know if canonically the priest had the authority, but the parish was healthier for it. I wish my relative would have received that wake up call, but he was no longer under any illusions of where his soul was. That kind of charity, I’m afraid, is sorely lacking and needed.
If you don’t like screaming babies at Mass, get up on time for any service held before 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.
After 10:45 is when the families with the young kids start coming in.
Masses scheduled for 11:00 a.m. or later will invariably involve screaming babies. No matter how many personal rants the priest delivers against this practice.
This reminds me of a time at our parish picnic, where we have liturgy under a tent before the picnic on the picnic grounds.
We had a pig roasting over on the side, and as our pastor lifted the host during the consecration, the pig burst into flames. People ran over to “put the pig out” and the pastor continued just like nothing happened.
Children should be present at mass.
I agree 100%. And I’m totally opposed to age-segregated Masses. I’d rather have a kid screaming in my ear the whole Liturgy than have no small children present.
This also means that parents need to have their children participate in the mass. Sitting them down and having them color (with materials often provided by the parish)… is distracting and is wrong.
I disagree with this, however. Coloring and drawing religious pictures made paying attention to the homilies much easier for me as a child, especially when the picture and homily were on the same theme (but even when they weren’t). It helped to focus my mind. I can still remember some homilies I heard as a child because I was drawing at the time.
I agree that “race cars” are inappropriate in Mass, but we disagree about the crayons.
This also means that parents need to have their children participate in the mass. Sitting them down and having them color (with materials often provided by the parish), race cars, or do other behavior is distracting and is wrong.
I would say it depends on the age of the child. With my older kids (ages 9 and 6), I expect them to behave in a reverant manner even if they are getting nothing out of the Mass. Sometimes I think learning to sit still and act respectful was one of the best things I got out of Mass at that age. This also teaches children that God is deserving of our respect, and that sometimes, when something is happening that is beyond our understanding, we just need to be quiet and maintain good posture.
My older son keeps slouching during the parts of Mass in which we are supposed to stand — after Mass on Sunday, I made him stand in the middle of our living room for five minutes for practice. I warned him it will be longer next week if he doesn’t stand up straight at Mass. We’ll see if it helps.
My 2-year-old, on the other hand, is less of a distraction if she has some kind of noise-free toy to play with during Mass. If she doesn’t, the Mass turns into a 1-hour wrestling Mass to stop her from climbing all over everyone.
Bill, that’s a great idea; I’ll try it with my rubber spined son.
I agree with Jimmy on this one. Minor interruptions, such as one child crying, should be ignored, and the priest and other ministers should simply forge ahead. On the other hand, sustained noise of any kind that makes it impossible for anyone to hear merits a pause. And there may be situations in which a complete cessation is required.
Saying a Mass that no one can hear does no good, and the priest is not required to sacrifice himself if the place is under attack.
Lawrence Welk, in his autobiography, “Wunnerful, Wunnerful,” tells the story how his brother and his brother’s friend were acting up at Mass. They had a bad case of the giggles, which only got worse. The priest gave them a few meaningful glances, but it only got worse. Finally, he called them up to the front, and made them both kneel at the altar rail for the duration of the Mass. In those days, and at that church, the homily went on for about an hour or two, so the poor boys were completely numb by the time it was over.
Lawrence’s father, who was a stern German disciplinarian type anyway, was mortified that a child of his should be punished in public, and in church at that.
Needless to say, it was not pleasant for Louie when he got home, but Lawrence assures us that he never misbehaved in church again.
I am just relating the story, not necessarily expressing an opinion on the matter.