Hello all,

Here is my two cents worth, for what it is worth.

It is not a pleasant thing to be constantly bombarded with the cries of a baby or babies. It is distracting to the participants (particpatio actuosa) of the Mass, as well as the celebrant. We must remember that the Mass is first, a prayer.

On the other hand, it is good to know that parents are responsible enough to bring their children to Mass. It is a tribute to families to see, even the infants participating (participatio actuosa) with the rest of the congregation.

I was at a Mass in Minneapolis in 1996, where His Excellency Archbishop Harry Flynn was the celebrant of the Mass. At the end of the Mass, Archbishop Flynn was going through his usual 40 minutes of thank yous, and a baby started wailing... some would think of this as a que to hurry it up and move along, but not the Archbishop... he said, "To the parents of that child; do not leave, it is a wonderful thing to hear a baby crying. In this age of abortion we forget the beautiful noise that a crying baby makes. So, if you leave, I will be offended, I pray that you never lose the nerve to stand in when your child starts crying."

I think there might be something there.

God Bless,

Andy