Question:
Answer:
Explain in humble charity that a church is sacred space because offered there on a daily basis is the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is “the source and the summit of the Christian life,” because in it we participate anew in offering sacramentally Christ’s one redemptive Sacrifice of Calvary! (CCC 1324).
In addition, Jesus’ Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament remains in church tabernacles 24/7, which is another reason to have proper reverence while inside of a church. Church tabernacles located in sanctuaries, and often behind altar rails, are a New Covenant analogue to the holy of holies in the Old Covenant Temple in Jerusalem.
God is indeed present everywhere (omnipresent), and yet he manifested his presence most intimately in Old Covenant times in the holy of holies. In the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies and only once a year (see Leviticus 16). To do so on any other day of the year would result in death, whether the high priest or anyone else’s (Lev. 16:1–2; Num. 3:10; 18:7. In his offering himself on Calvary for us, Jesus enables the tearing of the veil that separated the holy of holies from the holies in the Temple (Matt. 27:50-54; see Heb. 8:1-7). This dramatic action symbolically conveys that we can now draw near to him, which we do in receiving the Eucharist or participating in Eucharistic adoration. Indeed, Jesus manifests his divine Presence most intimately in the Eucharist.
Finally, be mindful about correcting people in church if they are talking before or after Mass. It is good for parish pastors to encourage a reverent silence in preparation for Mass, but some brief conversations may take place for one reason or another. Better to get an usher involved if a conversation is not brief and you don’t the people involved well.
In addition, some churches don’t have parish halls, or not ones that are easily accessible to the parish church, and they also may not have large vestibules or gathering spaces for conversation, particularly if they are older churches. In such cases, pastors may allow conversations among families in the church after Sunday Masses. Given the circumstances, perhaps the best one can do is ask the pastor to encourage the families to keep their conversations in lower tones out of respect for those who might remain afterward to pray.