I would believe that the reason most churches advertise, “No Phones here†is because it is clear to Church authority that people would rather concentrate on mobile phones during  mass than the  sacrifice. But that also leaves much to brood on the part of Church. What I mean is, what percentage of the congregation would avoid it if there were no reminders? This article is not meant to discredit the place of communication gadgets in our system, of course I love it when I see IPAD users fiddle with that popular gadget as they reel out sermons and presentations. Come to think of it I don’t think it is a bad Idea if our priests and preachers use them at the altar, provided it is not too much of a luxury, and it is not a distraction to the priest themselves.
Back to my major inference. Our phones have become the most intimate materials we commune with. I am certain that if there were phones in the time of the Apostles Saint Paul would have written the letter to the Ephesians, concerning marriage and His relation with the Church, using communication gadgets. I am also certain that our liturgy would have posted “Love the Eucharist more than you do your communication gadgets. Our love for phones and gadgets has taken the place of worship of God in our lives. The amount of funds we dedicate to buying these materials would have made Mother Theresa of Calcutta’s job a lot easier. The fund we commit to this venture is sufficient to take certain persons in our family, or neighbourhood through School. It can also be sufficient to help our relatives or even that needy person take care of medical bills. Just think of the many times we may have told a friend we couldn’t afford their rents; we couldn’t afford their upkeep, or even fees, and right after that we went for one of those gadgets. It may not just be gadgets alone, it can be fashion, and it can be cars; find where it affects you directly or otherwise. The point is that we are losing focus. Our attachments to mobile phones and its attendant distraction at mass have reached an alarming proportion. The distraction does not affect you alone, it also affects the person sitting close to you who might be asking you at mass what model of gadget you came to mass with. “Ah this is a lovely phone you have there, show me how it functionsâ€. At that point it would be criminal for the persons involved in this act to claim that they attended mass knowing that the whole precious time was wasted discussing about communication gadgets. It is also out of place for those who receive and make calls during mass to claim that they attended mass that day.
The sacrifice of the Holy Mass is the highest form of worship. It is the place where angels assemble together, in union with the assemblage of saints and the faithful, together with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to worship the Father Almighty. At that meeting Heaven and earth come together; the Glory of God is released in our midst. The Old Testament referred to it as the tent of meeting, a place where God’s presence is made manifest. The letter to the Hebrews puts it as follows:
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.â€Â Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.
 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels in joyful assembly. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of the redeemed in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of Abel did. (Hebrews 12:18-24)
If these were true, how could anybody in his right senses therefore suddenly detach from God’s mighty presence to receive a phone call that at best can only affect temporary things. I recall the joke of an event a friend told me. The story is about a young girl who fell under the anointing in a church service but who stopped to pick a call while she yet manifested on the ground. That, literarily meant that the girl was saying, God, suspend your glory now so that I can pick this call.
Fundamentalists frown at the Church because they believe that we are crucifying Christ on the Cross all over again at Mass. But in actual fact the sacrifice is a re-enactment of what happened on Calvary’s mountain, and on that Cross Jesus reconciled a depraved humanity back to the Father. And the only way we can key into that reconciliation is that our body, soul and spirit are consumed in the sacrifice. At that point nothing else should count; our whole being should be completely immersed in the offering so that we can truly be cleansed of those attachments that can swallow us up.
Some of us have continued to believe that coming to mass in the first place does it all, and that the sacraments are there to help in our laziness, or our times of need. If that is what you think or what your belief is, ask the Israelite who lost the Ark to The Philistine because they thought private-personal relationship with God was not the matter, and how God allowed them to suffer defeat so that they might know that a true worshiper should worship Him in Spirit and truth(1 Sam.4 and John 4:23).
The Pharisees had these attitudes in their time and our Lord was quick to say to them:
These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far away.
Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings. (Matt. 15:8-9)
We are making these gadgets into idols. Once we bow our heads to them we won’t allow other issues interfere with us. I am not even just telling how degenerate our response to pastoral matters and or our relationship with those in need around us have become, I am saying that our concentration in Church; our meditations; our spirit-soul lifting observances, have been slaughtered at the altar of pinging, ipads, Samsung galaxies, Nokias, and all manner of communication gadgets.
Scripture says, “Wherever a man’s treasure is, that is where his heart would be†(Matt. 6:21) If you invest in the things of God you can be sure that everything shall be added unto you, but if you invest in gadgets so much so that God’s command becomes secondary, you can be sure that you are on the fast lane to a place condemnation.
The next time you go to mass remember that from the beginning to the end that the Glory of God is strongly manifest