A Little Too Social

Dear Sr. Edwina: A while back, my baby started crying during the homily. I immediately took him out of the body of the Church and into the narthex/entrance, so as not to interrupt Fr.’s excellent homily. I was surprised and saddened to discover a variety of people socializing in the narthex during Mass. Could you address the problem?

Concerned Catholic: First of all Sr. Edwina commends you for removing your child from the worship space so that others might enjoy the homily without distraction. Secondly, it has always been beyond comprehension as to why someone would purposely choose not to sit in the presence of God when one has the opportunity. Perhaps it can be explained best by distinguishing the difference between “coming to Mass” and “going to Church”. We come to Church for a variety of reasons, however we “go to Mass” to offer praise and thanksgiving to God in a communal setting.
The entrance is designed for socializing before and after Mass, certainly not during Mass. Sr. Edwina has had the unfortunate experience of observing a young couple “making out” in the narthex while Mass was being celebrated. As you can imagine, this incident literally turned this Sister’s cheeks a bright crimson color for several hours. Of course, I had no alternative except to gently correct the young couple and remind them of the presence of our dear Lord. Perhaps dear Christian, persons such as the ones you described would benefit from a kind, verbal invitation to join us in our communal celebration.
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