Being a Jerk is a Sin
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
A cry room is nice to have if parents want to use it. I always sympathize with the young moms and dads at our parish, which doesn’t have such a room, when they have to take a noisy youngster out to the narthex to quiet down. But as I’ve said here before, I am thankful to have a parish so loaded with young families that we have this “noise issue.” A parish without young children is on the road to oblivion. This should be obvious, even to self-styled experts like the fool who posted that rant.
Ah, another keen moral insight from the noted “Where Peter Is” contributor.
“If your parish ain’t cryin’, it’s dyin’.”: True
“If your Mass ain’t cryin’, you can hear Father.”: Also True
I can picture his type:
He doesn’t come across as someone who has ever had to deal with a 3 year old. And He doesn’t come across as somebody whose purpose in Church is to focus on the Mass and pray, but rather he probably looks around the Church waiting to pounce on someone for coughing.
Why might I ask is he in the crying room to begin with?
Grump.
I am all for taking junior out when he is not quiet. I’ve spent many a Mass in the back of the church with each of my children. However, a silent church will lead to a silent church. Children should be brought to Mass and every effort made to keep them in the main pews with their folks and siblings. Cry rooms are not generally productive to teaching children how to experience the Mass or we would have had them in the wiser eras of the Church.
Cry rooms are not generally productive to teaching children how to experience the Mass
They are also not ideal for parents who end up not hearing the mass because of the noise but the alternative is not bringing children to mass. Most parents do their best to keep their children quiet. Crying rooms are a good option to take babies and toddlers. Even preschoolers. Once the kid is school aged they have the basic attention span to expect them to concentrate in the pews. Its a highly anxious experience for a parent to try and keep children still and quiet in the main pews when adults around you are judging you.
My point is that a cry room is a space in the church where it is normal and feasible to be noisy while the Mass is being offered. I don’t think this helps teach a child what is expected at Mass. That is why I prefer to bring them to the entranceway. It signals that the noise is not the correct behavior. It may be more work for a parent, but I think it’s worth it.
Not sure how that works if you have a large family and multiple small kids.