Diary of a Newly Minted Papist

Catholic churches don't seem to be as prompt as Episcopal churches. At virtually every Episcopal church I have ever attended, low, broad and high, Masses or services would begin precisely at the appointed hour, you could set your watch by it. Perhaps that timeliness is a holdover from those palmy days in the Episcopal Church when parishioners fretted over strictly enforced Sunday starting times at the golf course; dilatory priests having hell to pay if they tarried.

Catholic churches seem far less concerned with punctuality, Masses beginning five or so minutes past their scheduled time seeming to be the norm. Just the same, I notice Catholics seem much more likely to be late for church than Episcopalians. Perhaps the expectation of lateness on the part of both religious and lay feeds on itself and contributes to the problem.