Warning: This is a rant.

Last night, we went to the last night of the Advent Mission followed by the regular Wednesday night Mass. Mike drove over with our property guests, who had joined us for dinner, and I had to finish the necessary cleanup and get LG and myself ready to go before we could get over there which made us a few minutes late, although he had just started when we got there.

Since we were late, we sat way in the back, which, considering it was about a two hour service, was good for LG since we weren’t quite as worried about her disturbing other people since there not very many people around us (and during mass, none). I rarely ever sit in the back of the church. I’m either up in the music area singing, or sitting in one of the first few rows with Little Girl, so it was really interesting to observe the goings on during the evening.

One of the funniest things was that the speaker/performer ended his presentation by singing Desperado. Now that in itself was not funny, but the fact that LG was singing along with him the whole song was pretty funny. And I have no idea where she learned that song, so it was also a little perplexing.

Another thing that happened was that by the time I got up to the front to receive communion, there was no wine left. That never happens since I’m always one of the first to receive communion, so that was a new one for me.

But the thing that disturbed me and frustrated me was watching a few kids going in and out and and back and forth over and over and over again. Not only was it distracting, but it was very disrespectful of the Mass. One of them was yelling in the foyer at one point (the door was open to the church), and I actually got up and went out there to tell him to be quiet. It bugged me that much. It’s one thing when a child is small and you are trying to teach them to be respectful and they make noise - small children do not have a lot of impulse control, and they’re still learning the ropes about how to behave in public. But these kids were school age kids. And kids that age should know how to behave at church.

Of course, their parent was just sitting there (on the other side of the sanctuary) doing absolutely nothing as they walked in and out and in and out every 5 minutes it seemed. Look, I know church is not all that exciting when you’re a kid. I thought it was pretty boring when I was little. But there was no way my parents allowed me to get up and run in and out of the sanctuary during a church service. And I wouldn’t have dared try it, either. Part of the responsibility of being a parent is teaching your child to respect the Mass (or whatever church service you are attending).

LG may be little, but she already knows that she’s not allowed to wander around during Mass. She also knows that she is to be quiet during Mass - doesn’t mean she always manages to do it, but she knows because we’ve made our expectations of her behavior very clear. And when she forgets, we remind her.

I know that children are perfectly capable of staying in their seats (or at least close proximity) throughout the Mass, as I watch Marlene’s children do it every week. Yes, sometimes they have to get up and go to the bathroom or maybe get a drink during mass, but it’s once or twice at the most. Not every five minutes.

It’s very hard to be present in the Mass with children constantly running in and out and making noise. And yes, had we sat in the front we wouldn’t have seen them. And yes, perhaps people sit in the back because their children are antsy (Marlene’s family doesn’t, though!) and they don’t want to distract. However, they’re going to be distracting whomever they may be around wherever they are seated if their parents don’t bother to try and control them and teach them some respect.

And you know what? Those people that sit in the back? They probably need the opportunity to be present in the Mass even more than the people in the front.

I would be mortified if my child behaved like that during Mass. And we’d be having a “Come to Jesus” meeting if they did. I just don’t understand why some people don’t find it necessary to set limits for their children and enforce those limits - church or not.

/Rant over