Announcements before the end of the mass

[Macd144]

My parish has a habit of ending the liturgy with a bunch of announcements, or perhaps singing happy birthday to a parishoner and applauding before the dismissal. The annoucements and extraneous singing etc is not part of the liturgy from what i can tell, so how does church law deal with separating this type of stuff from the actual liturgy?

 

[Cluny]

The rubrics of the Mass permit announcements and such just before the dismissal.

Now you know how church law handles this.

 

[tee_eff_em]

The GIRM indicates

1. The concluding rites consist of
   • 
     *]Brief announcements, if they are necessary;
     *]The priest’s greeting and blessing, which on certain days and occasions is enriched and expressed in the prayer over the People or another more solemn formula;
     *]The dismissal of the people by the deacon or the priest, so that each may go out to do good works, praising and blessing God;
     *]The kissing of the altar by the priest and the deacon, followed by a profound bow to the altar by the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers.

1. 
   I suppose it is a pastoral judgment as to what constitutes “brief” and/or “necessary”.
   
   Otherwise, I for one applaud :clapping: your parish for the correct placement – Most in my experience (incorrectly) include announcements after the homily or intercessions.
   
   tee

 

[Phemie]

The GIRM indicates

I suppose it is a pastoral judgment as to what constitutes “brief” and/or “necessary”.

Otherwise, I for one applaud :clapping: your parish for the correct placement – Most in my experience (incorrectly) include announcements after the homily or intercessions.

tee

Which is just as bad as sticking them just before the Prayer After Communion which is what is done in my parish.

 

[tassitus]

My mom’s parish places the announcements before Mass starts - I like that (better yet, consider them not “necessary” since we all read the bulletin anyway, right?).

I, for one, dislike any and all applause immediately before, during, or immediately after Mass. If only because never once have I been part of a congregation invited to applaud for Jesus, and what he suffered on the cross for us. There we stand/sit below the crucifix, and gleefully clap for the choir, or the altar servers, or those who clean and decorate the church. Sure, I appreciate all that, but where’s the sense of proportion, I wonder…

Okay, someone kick me off my soapbox, please!

 

[benedictgal]

At the Cathedral, the new administrator has stopped the practice of applauding for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, newcomes, etc. We had a nice long visit about things and the subject came up because this was SOP for his two predecessors. The rector never did that.

When we discussed the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the Mass, he understood and said he would stop it. I did not think anything of it until I went to Mass and noted that he had done away with it.

My fathern, an EMHC at the Cathedral, said that folks were complaining during the EMHC training session, but, the administrator explained it to them. They didn’t like it because they miss the applause, but, they understood that “no” meant “no.” He will make brief announcements, but, he leaves it to the faithful to read the bulletin.

I did manage to get my pastor to stop making the announcements after the General Intercessions by showing him the Roman Missal citation. He’s pretty good about following the GIRM.

 

[PacoG]

At our parish…after communion…

1. Anime Christi
2. Special Prayers for the Jubilee Year of St. Paul (the prayer that Pope Benedict wrote and a prayer that is taken from the Epistles).
3. Announcements
4. Post Communion Prayer
5. Blessing and Dismissal.

 

[Thomas62408]

My mom’s parish places the announcements before Mass starts - I like that (better yet, consider them not “necessary” since we all read the bulletin anyway, right?).

I, for one, dislike any and all applause immediately before, during, or immediately after Mass. If only because never once have I been part of a congregation invited to applaud for Jesus, and what he suffered on the cross for us. There we stand/sit below the crucifix, and gleefully clap for the choir, or the altar servers, or those who clean and decorate the church. Sure, I appreciate all that, but where’s the sense of proportion, I wonder…

Okay, someone kick me off my soapbox, please!

Our parish has started announcements before Mass in the last year. I do not like it at all and agree that they are not necessary if one reads the bulletin. What irks me about the announcements before Mass is that it takes me out of my prayer and quiet reflection time. The most ironic part of it is that once the announcements are read, the person says “now let us take this moment to realize the Lord in our presence”. I would like to reply, “I was there until you interrupted me by giving me the laundry list of bake sales and chili cook-offs.”

I am not a fan of giving applause in church either.

 

[quiet52]

from Macd144:
My parish has a habit of ending the liturgy with a bunch of announcements, or perhaps singing happy birthday to a parishoner and applauding before the dismissal. The annoucements and extraneous singing etc is not part of the liturgy from what i can tell, so how does church law deal with separating this type of stuff from the actual liturgy?

The dismissal is a commissioning for us to go in peace to love and serve the Lord (which means we must also serve one another). We have just been nourished by the liturgy to be graced to do that. The lector’s announcements just before the dismissal give us some ideas on “how” to do that – attend Bible study sessions, bring food for the food baskets next week, pancake breakfast to raise money for a cause, sign a petition to protest immoral legislation, etc. Lector announcements are appropriately part of the Mass.

Yes, it’s true it would be more convenient just to have everyone read the bulletin (hoping all the announcements are included in it), but realistically, few people seem to read the bulletins.

 

[JulianN]

Yes, it’s true it would be more convenient just to have everyone read the bulletin (hoping all the announcements are included in it), but realistically, few people seem to read the bulletins.

Also, it is a sad reality that there are many people in our parishes and country who are unable to read.

 

[jmcrae]

When I did announcements, I only announced stuff that was happening right after Mass (because people would miss it if they went home and read their bulletin) and then I would just add, Please take a bulletin, and mark those announcements that pertain to you on your calendar at home."

(Because apparently people need to be told to do this.)

They said it was the best way, because they found that attendance at various events was greatly improved, when I was doing it that way.

 

[MusicMan]

We have exceptionally brief announcements given right before the post-Communion prayer. Not right I know, but I don’t think Father is going to change unless ordered to by the Bishop.

The thing that really rattles me is that unless the music is absolutely terrible, the congregation applauds the musicians after each Mass. I used to put a coda on the end of the recessional hymn in hopes that they would have dispersed enough (or become disenfranchised enough) to not clap. Oh, no, the diehards hang around and wait patiently. Some aren’t so patient. They begin clapping during the coda.

Ug.