Quiet in Church please

BY COLLEEN CONSTABLE

It is with a touch of nostalgia that I remember the advice a professor at one of the world’s leading universities abroad gave his students during their induction. “Down the road,” he said, “you’ll find a church. Take time out of your busy schedule for quiet time. Find a sanctuary: when the going gets tough, go there. Find silence.”

He went on to tell his students that many times he would spend quiet time there. It was a Catholic church in the heart of a busy academic town, in the midst of an intellectual hub.
The professor is non-Catholic. He may simply be someone who appreciates the reverence, quiet space and the presence of God that can be found in churches. The church is accessible from 6am in the morning till 6pm in the evening. Indeed many may have found solace for their souls as they spend their quite time in this church.
Nowadays the luxury of having access to church has changed. In South Africa, given local circumstances, churches are no longer accessible during the day, except during Holy Mass schedules. And it is here that evidence suggests a trend to create a little “market-place”: how did it happen that the period before and after Holy Mass has become the leisure time to socialise?
Some churches have abandoned the culture that Catholics grew up with: when you enter church, silence prevails. Your engagement with the Divine is taken to the next level once you enter the church. Catholics believe in the Real Presence and in every church the light at the tabernacle serves as a confirmation and reminder of God’s presence.
The chatting in church before and after Holy Mass is a disturbance. The same can be said of the modern day social tool: the cellphone that rings in church, sometimes even during consecration! Some congregants even leave Holy Mass to take their calls.
Much can be asked and said about this behaviour. But it points to one aspect: our relationship with the Triune God when we approach Holy Mass.
Is the 21st century experience of visiting a church that of a market-place or a sanctuary? It’s a matter that depends on how much reverence churchgoers attach to their participation in Holy Mass.
In some churches, trying to spend a few minutes after Mass can be a nightmare. By the time the last verse of the closing hymn has ended, the action starts: parishioners interact with each other as they move out of the pews; others leave the pew and stand in the passage having a conversation.
Those who remain in the pews to offer silent prayer are simply ignored; they become invisible to the chatting brigade and social network. They are exposed to light-hearted conversations on losing weight, plans for the week, basic gossip and laughter.
Some may argue in support of the odd chat in church, others may simply find it inappropriate.  But not all Catholic churches have fallen into this trap. One of those is Corpus Christi in Wynberg, Cape Town.
A notice encourages churchgoers to switch off cellphones and keep silence in the church building. So those who come to church to seek quiet time before and after Holy Mass are simply thrilled.
The reverence and respect observed encourages even the soul who struggles with the concept of silence to simply embrace the quiet and find a sanctuary.