Note to People: Stop Talking Throughout the Mass

One of the things I find most annoying when I go to mass is people talking. I'm not referring to people who have a couple of words to say or a few sentences here and there because that's human nature. So that's not so bad. What I'm referring to is people who are talking on the way into the church, they talk all the way as they enter into their seat, and then they continue talking throughout the entirety of the mass. They do not hesitate even for a couple of minutes.

There have been times when I've sat at mass and there might be a couple of people, usually women I hate to say it, who will just have a long unending conversation throughout the entire Mass. Because it's sometimes impossible not to overhear them, you can catch some of the things that they're saying and I can tell you that they are not important or earth-shattering things that must be said immediately. For example they often talk about what they are going to cook for dinner what they will be doing for Christmas, or what TV shows they like, etc.

My question is "Why do you even bother coming to Mass?" Seriously. Obviously you have no idea why you are there or why the Mass has any value or importance whatsoever. You are just there to gab the entire mass and get absolutely nothing out of it. Plus, you are distracting everyone else who is there to be spiritually fed.

I would even ask a deeper, spiritual question. Does it fulfill your Sunday Obligation to attend Mass every Sunday, if, while you are there, you talk the entire time and pay absolutely no attention. If you have no interest in what is happening during the Mass and are not interested in connecting to God spiritually whatsoever. Can it really be said that you "attended the Mass" given all of this?

I think somewhere along the way people were told they had to attend Mass every Sunday, which is true. But even though they technically enter in through the church doors, they are in no real way "attending" the Mass. It's no different than staying outside in your car while the Mass is happening inside and listening to the radio and then later claiming you actually attended the Mass. It's ridiculous and inaccurate.

The priest should always, at the beginning of Mass, inform the people there that there should be absolutely no talking whatsoever unless there is an extreme emergency. The only things people should say are the responses to the prayers that are designated to the people.

By the way, it's also worth noting that this includes the rosary. Sometimes people will go to Mass and just recite the rosary the entire time that they are there. They again don't have any interest in the Mass. They are only there to say the rosary. Now, individually the rosary and the Mass are good. Combined, not so much. It's inappropriate to recite the Rosary throughout the Mass. You are not participating int hat case.

And in some cases, when someone does recite the rosary, they do so very loudly. Not literally talking out loud, but whispering very loudly. Some older people have a tendency to make a very high pitched S sound every time they read a word with that letter. It's very distracting.

The point is, if you go to Mass, then GO TO MASS. Don't go there to discuss your grocery list. Don't go there to say the rosary. Go there to participate in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 18th, 2016

Today, Sunday, December 18th, 2016 is

The Fourth Sunday of Advent in Christianity

Today, Sunday, December 18th, 2016, is the fourth week of Advent which means that next week is Christmas Day! Jesus Christ out Lord will be born in 1 week. The fourth week is a time of great preparation, not just for material things, but mostly for spiritual things. Think of others who are needy both materially and spiritually. Pray to God and place your trust in him.

Third Sunday of Advent: December 11, 2016

Today, Sunday, December 11th, 2016 is

The Third Sunday of Advent in Christianity

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent in the Catholic and Christian Calendar. That means it is two weeks before Christmas Day. Today is called Gaudete Sunday ("Gaudete" means Rejoice in Latin). The official colour is rose and we always light that candle. As noted earlier, this is the earliest possible date for the third Sunday of Advent.

DIARY of a Catholic: I'm Not Really Feeling It...

Hey guys, just wanted to write a very personal entry today about how I'm feeling. As I've mentioned before, I sometimes feel angry. I think this stems from frustration which comes from various sources. I think I get frustrated from my workplace and just feeling like I can't make a good go at things. I would say that overall my enjoyment for my job is at about 20%. Sometimes it's okay, but sometimes it seems very boring and also annoying.

I work in customer service. I don't need to get into the exact details, but basically I deal with people in a serious area. They depend on the service we proide. I spend much of my time telling these people they do not qualify or they have not filled out the proper application or that the thing they need immediately will take a couple of weeks to receive by mail. I deal with a lot of upset and angry people.

On top of that, most of the calls I take are in French. Although I studied French in school from kindergarten to graduation, I had not spoken it for many years before I took this job. It was about 15 years since I had really spoken any French in school when I took this job. But I still indicated on the application that I was bilingual in French. I don't mind speaking to people in another language especially since I've been doing this job for almost 2 years now. But after a long day it becomes more and more difficult to speak in a foreign language in a continuous basis. On top of that, management is continually training me in new material. I do not have a deep interest in the material that they teach us and the subjects can be very tedious and boring. Then I am obliged to be an expert on these topics in French. In many cases I've never even heard most of the words that I am being asked to explain.

On top of my job I am also struggling very hard to have my own business which I find very difficult and I have not yet attained very much success in at all. In fact, very little.

Furthermore, I sometimes feel like there's no time in the day to work on the things I want to and then I'm always overwhelmed with so many things to do. I feel stressed out, overwhelmed and like I sometimes cannot cope. And that's the point of my diary entry today is to say that I'm feeling very frustrated and I would like for you to pray for me on this subject.

Sometimes I feel like things can be helpless because I feel like ultimately we do not have a lot of control over things that are happening to us. I sometimes wonder about the nature of God and how we do not have a lot of power and don't get a say on what happens to us or the world. I see a lot of people suffering in various ways and it's difficult to cope with it.

Anyway, I'm just being very real about some of the struggles that are happening and I wanted to throw it out there. Please feel free to write your own experiences in the comments section below and I look forward to hearing what people have to say. In the meantime, I'm going to say my daily Rosary now. So have a great day and God bless.

Jesus is NOT the Immaculate Conception!

Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, but a common misconception is that this refers to the conception of Jesus Christ but it doesn't. It refers to the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception in the womb of her mother St. Anne. Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception so that she would be a fitting woman from which to be born the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

In some places, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation meaning you have to go to Mass as a Catholic just as if it were a Sunday. However, this is not the case in some places such as Canada.

To summarize: Happy Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception!