My Mass Pet Peeves

Chris and I go to Mass every week, like good Catholics. ;)  We dress nice, sit and kneel and stand as required, and stay through the entire Mass.  Going to Mass is important to us and our faith.  I don't mean it to sound like we are going as part of an obligation.  It is expected of us, but we go because we like Mass and to help us deepen and renew our faith every week.

Now, that being said, I find myself getting annoyed at Mass every week for one reason or another.  Here are my pet peeves:

Arriving to Mass after it starts
Okay, I know that on occasion that some people are running a couple minutes late due to an issue that arises.  I can understand that.  What I don't understand are the people who EVERY week are late!!  Being a minute or two late isn't too bad in comparison with the people who show up during the readings or worse....after the Gospel!  If  you are arriving after the Gospel, then what is the point?  They may think they are fulfilling their Sunday obligation, but, they aren't.  If you arrive after the Gospel, you are NOT fulfilling your obligation.  You have to be there, at minimum, for the Gospel.  I get really annoyed though with the late arrivals because to me it sends the message that Mass is not a priority to them.

Leaving Mass early
Not only do people come to Mass late, but they are in a rush to leave before the Mass is finished!  I am a Catho-lic convert.  I went to church at different Protestant and even Mormon churches.  I don't recall ever seeing a flood of people leaving before the service is done.  And those services often last longer than a Catholic Mass, which is only 1 hour typically.

The flood of people leaving starts during communion.  They go up, receive the body and blood, and then rush out the door.  I am left scratching my head.  I don't understand it because they only need to wait another 5-7 minutes until Mass will end at that point.  They just need to wait for the rest of people to take communion and the closing prayer.  That's it.  Yet, they feel as though because they received communion Mass must be over.  I will admit to having left after communion before, but only because I was not feeling well or Ginny wouldn't calm down (and we were at a Church that does not have a cry room).  It is a rare event on my part, but I notice the same people doing it EVERY week at my parish.

Then there are a segment of people at Mass who do stick around for the closing prayer, but once the recessional hymn is played, they feel it is their duty to leave at that moment.  It is improper to leave then.  The priest is still up there.  It is permissible to leave once the priest leaves.  So, instead of waiting 1-2 minutes for this to happen, another huge rush starts as people depart before the priest has even left.  It is quite rude and shows no respect, IMHO.

How people dress for Mass
Okay, this is my last pet peeve for this blog today.  When I was growing up going to a Baptist church and later a Presbyterian church, my mother expected my sister and I to dress nice for church.  In fact, most often we wore either a skirt or dress.  Occasionally, I wore nice dress pants.  Not only did I dress like this to church, but most everyone else did too.

When I converted to Catholicism, I was pleasantly surprised that I could get away with Dockers or the like.  Once I moved to Florida, I started wearing nice capris as well.  Once or twice I wore nice dark jeans (great condition and looked dressier than a casual pair) to a Holy Day Mass.  The reason I dress nice, as does Chris, is that I feel it gives proper respect to the setting I am in.  I'm there to honor God.  For one hour a week, it isn't that hard to put on something nice to do that.  I think clothing reflects the respect we have for others, particularly, God.

What I cannot comprehend is the number of people who wear shorts to Church.  Some shorts are at least long and tasteful, but what baffles me more are the short shorts, denim shorts, and even athletic shorts.  I could understand shorts if our parish didn't have air conditioning, but it does. Even worse than shorts, to me, are those who dress like they just came from the gym. Or...allow their kids to dress like that!  I've seen children in t-shirts with a cartoon character on it and sweat pants at Mass. I can't understand that.  Granted I am a new parent, but we try to dress Ginny in something nice for Mass.  She typically wears a dress now every week.  My intent is that we continue this and she learns to show respect to God through her actions, verbal and nonverbal (yes, to me clothing is a form of nonverbal communication).

I know some will say that God just wants us there and doesn't care what we wear.  In some ways, I agree; however, I think it says something about us in our nonverbals about how WE show God respect--coming to Mass on time, dressing appropriately, and leaving after the priest leaves.  Isn't that just as important as being there?