15 Comments
User's avatar
Taylor D'Amico's avatar

All I care about is the random people sitting in the “cry room” taking up the tiny real estate (if the parish has a cry room, of course.) Like, this isn’t a peanut gallery. I’ve got a toddler learning to walk and climb and the pews just aren’t an option right now, random 50-something sitting in the cry room.

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

"real estate" lol. Praise God for cry rooms. There was a season when all I did during mass was climb up and down the stairs in the back with a particularly active baby...

Expand full comment
Erin Rhodes's avatar

I love this so much. I’m going to steal your “sourpatch” phrasing-boy is it true! My son, the oldest, is *almost* three and after many many Sundays of despairing he sat through 80% of the liturgy today, including the Gospel and the Homily.

Of course, our daughter is almost 1 so….

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

They bring so much life into life! I often think about how weird the rules for mass are, this is a place where there's a ton of people and you're not really supposed to crawl over to any of them or say anything or find something to do and the whole rest of life is not like that...

Expand full comment
Marissa's avatar

What drives me crazy is when one or two people sit at the end of a pew and block the rest of it. When I arrive with my young family, they will get up to let us in but I think it should be obvious that we will likely need to step out of the pew at some point during mass. It should be more normal for singles or couples to share a pew and leave some empty for families or late arrivals.

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

This has happened to us before! There's nothing good to say, I have just walked by and hoped for the best... "Trust us, you want to scoot down, not let us by, we will need to leave..."

Expand full comment
Rosie's avatar

Our new parochial vicar announced after Mass had ended that he loved hearing all the children (i.e. toddlers, of which we have two), "participating" in the Mass (ahem, one of mine might have pointed out every single statue and station of the cross on our side of the church loudly during the Liturgy of the Eucharist). He said that it shows that the Church has a vibrant future and that they bring life to the church.

Oh, and we had a First Communion this year! :)

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

I love it when priests say this. It makes me feel at home and it makes me blush all at the same time.

Congratulations!

Expand full comment
Rosie's avatar

Same! and thank you :)

Expand full comment
David Sloan's avatar

Back off busy bodies, we’re practicing “religious freedom” today and I didn’t put a name tag on.

Expand full comment
Jennifer Degani's avatar

We definitely favor the blue zone, as it helps my daughter concentrate (now that the others pay better attention). When we are at a new church (which is often) I try to pick a pew or two back so we can observe the flow for communion. Last year we went to a church that had the church go to communion backwards. (That was a first.) And I felt pretty silly. The front right is usually empty and we can screen any people who want to be up front without having the priest look at them as they crane their heads back to see if it is time to kneel. When we visit the Byzantine Rite, we move back a few pews so we can copy others more effectively.

We went to a First Communion and a a Confirmation this year. Two years ago we had a First Communion, Confirmation, and an Ordination.

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

Backwards communion though? Ha! That would be different!

Expand full comment
Elle J's avatar

My parish used to do that. It was weird at first and then you got used to it.

Expand full comment
Catherine Anne Sullivan's avatar

Congratulations to your daughter and your whole family! Praying for you guys today!

Expand full comment
Meredith Hinds's avatar

Thank you, Catherine! It was very beautiful!

Expand full comment