[ezdays]

I go to the 7:00 AM mass at St. Clements in Sun City. I live in a different parish, but there, going to mass was like being in a social gathering, folks moving around to talk, even babies in carriages being pushed around. That is a carryover from when the church was in a temporary building and where we even had to contend with the band practicing before mass (drums, guitars, brass). That's why we registered at a different parish, which is OK with the diocese, it's about a 20 minute drive but that's fine because folks there respect the sanctity of the church, maybe an occasional whisper or handshake greeting a familiar face. As you can guess, most at mass are up in age, I sit in back and see a sea of white hair. If there's a family of young people they're sure to be visiting the grandparents.

Yesterday, one such family of four came in and sat next to two older folks, very typical until the mother reached in her purse and pulled out a Starbucks and started sucking on it. Then the girl who appeared to be around 20 and was wearing super-short and very tight pants started on her cell phone, she'd type stuff, put it down, type some more, I'm not sure for how long because I turned away.

My question, is this the new norm for how we act when we go to mass? No respect for God and the presence of Jesus, not even dressed appropriately. It doesn't seem right, mass is not a social event like a concert. What's your take of this activity before mass, is it prevalent in your parish? Am I living in the past?

Needless to say, I'm upset how they acted before mass at the church I no longer attend mass at, but more so how this family seemed to have no dignity to the presence of the Holy Spirit, and do they act this way at their home parish?