The Use of Phones In My Church

By Dr jarlat Uche opara

Processing for this Mass this morning my heart bled on the number of parishioners lost fiddling with their phones. Let me say this for the umpteenth time, use of phones is prohibited in this church!

You can in other churches, but in this church, it is not allowed in any guise, either for reading of bible or jotting of things. Let us not create avenues for the devil in its subtleness to tempt us into distractions and viewing of indecent sites.

Mass is a sacred sacrifice. It is not a service ,not an event or an orchestal. It is a channel of communication where we commune with the Trinity, become one, lifting our souls to God and presenting our requests, with a thankful heart with a sacrifice of love.

Keep your phones either at home, in your cars, in your bag or pocket switched off.

Staying off your phones for 2 hours wouldn’t spoil anything. Emergencies can still be attended to , God for 2 hours should have our undivided attention, business deals can still be closed after Mass.

When we visit certain places that place restrictions on the use of phones, we would gladly hand over our phones for safe keep and stay as long as we could without our phones.

It becomes a challenge to same people to keep away their phones or switch it off to give God our undivided attention during Mass. Isn’t this bewitchment?

I stand here this morining to reiterate my resolve to empower those in the ministry of hospitality to be seizing phones of those who may not have the self control to switch off their phones. I am saying this now for all of us to be forewarned and behave ourselves accordinly.

Let us learn to give respect to sacred things and be responsible in Godly things.

Let me say this boldly and most frankly too, it is very disrespectful pressing ones phones during Mass. It shows irresponsiblity, shallow depth of spiritual maturity and the emptiness of ones sense of priority.

Next sunday , the hospitality ministers would be enforcing this order. I am appealing to you all to comply and desist from using your phones while Mass is on. It is disrespectful, it is irresponsible and should not be allowed to continue here in our church.

God cannot be mocked and his worth and honour can’t be thrown to the swines. Stay at home if your hands would be too hyperactive not to fiddle with your phones while Mass goes on, certainly it would be seized and nothing would happen. To be forewarned is forearmed.

I am Fr.Blunt