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Third Sunday of Lent
27 March 2011
Dear Friends in Christ,
To participate in the sacred liturgy with full attention, reverence and devotion, it is essential to arrive before Mass begins and stay until after Mass ends. Naturally, from time to time special circumstances may require someone to arrive a few moments late or leave before the proper time, but if someone is habitually late for Mass or regularly leaves early (most especially right after receiving Holy Communion), then some fundamental change is needed. To assist everyone in keeping the proper discipline in this matter, let me offer these suggestions:
Leave home in time to arrive ten full minutes before Mass begins. This will allow you time to prepare in silent prayer before Mass, and if there are delays in traffic, there is built-in wiggle room.
If your family has special needs that require extra time to get settled in the church (e.g. young children, handicapped persons, etc), then please add the needed extra time to the ten minutes before Mass. If you know from experience that you will have to leave church during Mass to attend to a child or someone with special needs, then please pick a seat close to an exit and, if possible, sit on the outside aisle rather than on the center aisle. This will facilitate leaving and returning to your seat with minimum disruption to those around you.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not leave the church and head for the parking lot immediately after receiving Holy Communion. Leaving the church directly from the Communion procession without a grave reason is simply sacrilegious, and doing this regularly is a grave offense against the dignity of the sacred liturgy. If — for whatever reason — you cannot return to your pew and give thanks for the inestimable gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, then please do not receive Holy Communion at all.
The Mass is not over until the priest and deacon at the rear of the procession have departed from the church, and that is the time the congregation should feel free either to remain in the pew to continue to pray or to depart the church in silence. Please remember not to begin conversations until you have reached the vestibules of the church so that those who want to continue their prayers are free to do so. And no matter which exit you use, please consider coming to the plaza under the bell tower to linger with other parishioners for the sake of Christian fellowship. Finally, to prevent disruption during Mass, I have instructed our ushers not to escort those who arrive after the Liturgy of the Word has begun into the front section of the church. If you arrive after the people are seated to listen to the Holy Scriptures proclaimed, then please find your place in the back half of the church to minimize the disruption caused by those who arrive late for Mass.
Father Newman