1 /5 Justy Sajin: It is with a broken heart that I write this review. My spouse, my three year toddler and I attended the 9 AM mass this morning, 9/19/2022. Our son has sensory issues, in which he tends to make noises when he is focused on something. As much as his father and I tried to help him in controlling his sounds, its a challenge for him. Having grown up in the Catholic faith, and still continuing to have strong belief in it, my husband and I believe in raising our son with the same faith. We attend church every Sunday, and also try to make it to mass on the weekdays. Jesus said, "let the little children come to me". During the sermon today, the priest asked us to take our child out, and said " he will continue to do it", when our son started to make sounds. His noises are also attributed to the fact that he does not speak yet. He tends to make these noises when he comes to the house of the Lord. It may be his way of praising God, which unfortunately, this priest does not understand. Now, this can be argued that it is disruptive to other members of the parish. However, if you are truly involved in the mass, there is no room left to watch things around you. You become one with the mass, and no one, but God, appears before you. This left us appalled, speechless, and torn apart. In this day and age when many young couples are swaying away from the faith, one would think that the role of the priest is to make sure to keep the faith alive. Its truly unbelievable that a man of God would engage in such behavior. We have been to many parishes before, St. Anthonys and St. Pauls as we have been searching for our parish to call our own- we moved to Rockland recently. We have never EVER been humiliated like this before. These other parishes have been warm, welcoming and have embraced us. The priests, deacons and parishioners acknowledge that not every child is the same, and that some children have needs that require a bit more understanding and care. Isnt that what Christ taught us? Im not sure if the priest understands the pain that we as parents have endured today. In addition, Im also expecting our second child, and cannot imagine returning to this church. This review is intended to help other parents who might be in similar situations, and to assure them not to turn away from God because one person, who does not understand. I cannot fathom how a school is also run by this parish.
