Not to be holier than thou, but............

She yakked the whole way through Mass yesterday. We were late, so sat at the back -- in the vestibule actually, right beside the anteroom where the emergency/taxi phone is. In walked a young woman who immediately got on the phone and blabbed the whole entire time. Through the readings, through the responsorial psalm, through the Gospel, through the homily, through the Consecration, through the Mass and Eucharistic prayer, through the Our Father and through the final blessing. I mean, seriously. Why go??!! The dirty looks you can imagine I shot her did nothing to shame or dissuade her from her chat. Does the woman not have a phone at home?

There was respect for neither the Mass nor the worshippers wanting to participate. And as for the handicapped who have to sit back there, well, they just had to listen to her blabbing. And what did the ushers do? Nothing. That really bugged me. Yes, yes, I know. I should have risen above it all and ignored the background noise. But I couldn't. Just as I can't abide parents who bring their kids to Mass and set up an elaborate daycare operation to distract them -- complete with toys and snacks. I preferred smacks to snacks when my kids were young and acting up in Mass.

Ventured into taboo territory recently with a friend who is a lapsed Catholic. You can't really criticize the Church, I said, when you don't go. Always seems to me the biggest critics of the Church are those who don't have any religion. Weird.

What a curmudgeon I am.