For all of us non-mothers out there, I'm about to let you in on a huge secret that our friends who have entered motherhood have been keeping from us. Apparently, when you have a child, you get a special pass. And this pass exempts you from observing any basic social decency whatsoever.
Ok so maybe you don't ACTUALLY get a pass, but this is the only explanation I can surmise for what I saw the other day.
On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I attended the 9:00 am mass with my parents and husband. Given that this Mass is on a military post, it tends to cater to the older crowd. There's just not many children in this group.
Over to my right was a small family. Mom, Dad, two little girls an presumably one aunt. The youngest little girl, who looked to be about 3 months old or so, was impressively quiet in church. I thought, wow, this mother is teaching her children at a young age to behave in the Mass.
So imagine my shock and horror when I looked over midway through the homily to see the mother BREASTFEEDING her baby right there. In the pew. Surrounded by retired military personnel. She was using a shawl to cover herself, but really now. I'm pretty sure someone had to see more than they bargained for.
Look, I understand that she needs to feed her child. But would it really have been all that difficult to get up and quietly excuse herself to one of the more private areas in the chapel? There's plenty of rooms- she could take her pick!
There was a time when Catholic women were so concerned with modesty that they wore veils to Mass. Look, I'm not saying cover every inch of skin but maybe we can agree that pulling out your lady bosom to feed crosses a line. And really, this is a matter of simple decency. Get up, excuse yourself and walk twenty feet to the private room where you and your child can bond without being surrounded by dozens of people.
No comments:
Post a Comment