Applause after recessional hymn

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We didn’t have any applause in parishes at which I assisted until about 10 years ago when the folk Mass got started at my local parish.
In response to your question, on a personal level, I’m not a fan of applause. To me, Mass is about God; applause is about people.
Applauding at Mass draws attention away from the most important thing. I want to keep my eyes on the prize. Sometimes, after Mass, I like to remain in my pew and just be with God. It’s a quiet, contemplative sort of prayer and continues my work of the liturgy.
I think of applause as what is given when something is finished; the work of the liturgy is not finished for those of us who remain in the church, quietly praying.
Our parish holds a coffee hour with treats after Mass in the dining area- this isan excellent opportunity for visiting and thanking musicians. We also have a dinner each year thanking volunteers, so there is some formal recognition of altar servers, lectors, bible study and youth group leaders and others whose efforts contribute to our community.
These seem, to me, to be more appropriate moments to clap or speak to the contributions given by musicians and other volunteers.
I’ve sung in the choir and served as lector and I would be embarrassed to have people applaud this in church and would feel badly for those whose prayers were interrupted by the outburst.
In my mind, the most positive spin one might put upon the situation would be to see it as an opportunity for mortification.
It can be challenging in our distracting world, but like the disciples, I desire to keep watch with him without losing focus.
Douay-Rheims Bible
“And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me?”
 
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The applause, as I remember it, was usually an expression of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Being so happy that a release was needed because it was to hard to contain it. It actually was a very positive thing, as I remember it.

But I can see how it isn’t for everyone. There is nothing wrong with that. That is why I suggested offering different mass styles. We always attended the folk mass (which I never really understood why they called it that. It was a younger crowd…families, mostly…and it had contemporary music. Other than that, there wasnt much difference than the other masses).
 
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QwertyGirl said:
So I have a question out of personal curiosity. It would seem that the overwhelming majority of people who posted here don’t approve of applause, even if it is after mass is over. Is that because most here are ultra conservative, so the opinions are skewed in that direction? Or is that most Catholics these days?
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I’m not a fan of clapping because clapping is something a crowd does to show approval to entertainers and guest speakers.

It also has a tendency to place all focus (even for a just a few moments) on humans instead on just God.

If you have a special mass where you want to clap for people afterwards for their contributions/achievement, etc; I would say the proper thing to do is to have a reception afterwards to recognize them then (Heaven knows that most Catholic Churches don’t have enough fellowship opportunities after mass)

Honestly, I’m not even a fan of clapping at the end of a Wedding Mass or an Ordination… I feel that’s what the reception is for.

But I’m someone who is very much in favor of ritual and solemnity. I was even that way in our college fraternity… I never liked guys joking around or being lax during the the Ritual parts of Chapter Meetings and during Initiation. And I’m talking about a college fraternity here.

However, I also know this is a reflection of our society today. There are a lot of people today who do not appreciate Solemn Rituals & Tradition (whether it’s Church, Govt, Public discourse, school traditions, cultural traditions, etc). A lot of people today feel ALL ritualistic traditions are outdated. But that’s not me, which is one reason I don’t like the clapping at anytime in the Nave of the Church.

Finally, I also don’t like clapping after mass because I strongly feel that instead, we should all be encouraged to drop to our knees after mass and pray an Act of Thanksgiving.
 
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QwertyGirl said:
The applause, as I remember it, was usually an expression of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Being so happy that a release was needed because it was to hard to contain it. It actually was a very positive thing, as I remember it.

But I can see how it isn’t for everyone. There is nothing wrong with that. That is why I suggested offering different mass styles. We always attended the folk mass (which I never really understood why they called it that. It was a younger crowd…families, mostly…and it had contemporary music. Other than that, there wasnt much difference than the other masses).
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And while I don’t like that, I can condone what you describe.

However, one thing I’ve seen happen several times is once you spontaneously clap for the Cantor or Choir once, it often becomes a weekly occurrence where people feel pressured into participating. It often becomes like the holding hands during the Our Father.
 
Roguish said:
Agreed, it is distasteful and inappropriate. Applause is for performances and shows. No part of a religious ceremony is a performance, and it’s (yet another) reason for great concern that apparently many Catholics don’t sense the difference anymore.
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Applause at the end of Mass strikes me as being very callow and obtuse as to what has just taken place in the Holy Sacrifice. I once attended a parish where some of the people would applaud at the end of the recessional. Then came Good Friday. At the end, a few people began to applaud… and then it quickly tapered off into an awkward silence. I guess it dawned on them just how inappropriate it was on such a day.
 
QwertyGirl said:
The applause, as I remember it, was usually an expression of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Being so happy that a release was needed because it was to hard to contain it. It actually was a very positive thing, as I remember it.
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It may have been different at your parish.
The situation that I am attempting to describe is not applauding God (praise prayer/prayer of adoration); rather, it is applauding people. It is directed at the band. This has been acknowledged by friends who applaud; hence, I’m attempting to keep the positive opportunity for self-mortification attitude.
 
Like others I too do not like applause during Mass or after Mass. Though I did clap at the rite of Ordination to the Priesthood. I am not comfortable doing so at other times. There was an occasion at the parish I currently attend, during which Father actually said was one occasion in which clapping was permitted - but am not sure now if this was for the Confirmation of the Adult during the Mass which I mentioned above or some other occasion as it was some years ago.

Fr Vincent Serpa from CA has addressed this question concerning whether it is appropriate to applaud after Mass, and it was published on Dec 7, 2016.

 
I can recall solemn Masses in pre-Vatican II days when the choir (in the choir loft) sang so beautifully, even in Latin, that even as a kid I wanted to tell them how great it was. But in those days, there was no applause, and not even any talking, before, during and after Mass. If I had been able to recognize the choir members in the vestibule, I might have said something, but probably not. Even so, after reading some of the posts here, I can recognize that there ought to be some way to show our appreciation to the musicians and choir.
 
JimG said:
Even so, after reading some of the posts here, I can recognize that there ought to be some way to show our appreciation to the musicians and choir.
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I agree wholeheartedly with you. They should be thanked!

At my parish the priests/parish hold a yearly thankyou drinks and nibbles for all the volunteers - musicians, sacristans, handymen, gardeners, choir members, and it is well attended and people are free to stay for as long as they like, or for as little as they like.
But knowing most of the my choir members as I do, they are uncomfortable with being thanked - as was obvious on the occasion I did thank some after a Mass.
 
Socrates92 said:
So what percentage of your overall income does that average? Do you work full time?
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I would say about 10% of overall income. It definitely helps out with “extras.” I don’t rely on it for budgeted items, but it pays for things like the pizza party we are throwing for my Mom-in-law’s 81st birthday this Sat.

I work full time and often overtime as well (double shifts). I also work every third weekend, so I don’t play anywhere on those weekends, as often, I end up staying late at the hospital because of the heavy workload. I hate to abandon my co-workers at the hospital for the sake of playing at a church–that’s kind of a bad Christian witness, IMO.
 
Personally, I would prefer that there would be no clapping at the end of the recessional and that everyone who isn’t sticking around for additional prayers would leave the church so those who want to continue praying can do so in relatively silence.

That said, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that some members of the congregation politely clap at the end of the recessional (as they usually do at my regular church) because I know their clapping is simply a small gesture of expressing thanks to the volunteers who make up the choir, members of the mystical Body of Christ who are using their God given talent to glorify God during the Mass. Those who clap are not clapping because they think the choir has given us a “performance” but it’s simply a small way to say “Thank you” for the choir’s contribution to the liturgy.

Again, my preference would be that there would be no clapping because the time after Mass should be set aside for individual prayer, but honestly I don’t get upset when people do clap because it’s just a small way they’re thanking the choir for all the time and effort they put in to enhance the liturgy of the Mass.
 
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Peeps said:
No matter how much we claim to be presenting music “for God’s Glory alone,” it is discouraging when week after week, no one says, “I liked your music. It touched my heart. THANK YOU!”
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We always get people saying they appreciated the music. Especially after singing at funeral Masses. In those Masses, quite a few people tend to focus on the music, I think it helps with the grieving. It took a while to get used to.
We do also get people saying what they liked or did not like, or the length of the hymn and its value. Recently an aged priest who is not that well, has been filling in. Our hymns are very short in his Masses. Just enough time for him to walk up to the Sanctuary, and other mobile parts of the Mass. He has complete trust in the choir members involved in the music choices for the liturgy teams. Thats a great big thank you.
 
Likewise, it’s none of your business that its none of my business as my question was simply the logical followup on info Peeps voluntarily provided. I never asked her to discuss her personal situation, but she thought it was relevent.
 
Unless you’re speaking literally. In which case, yes it is true that I am not in the church organist business, hence my curiosity on the matter.
 
QwertyGirl said:
So I have a question out of personal curiosity. It would seem that the overwhelming majority of people who posted here don’t approve of applause, even if it is after mass is over. Is that because most here are ultra conservative, so the opinions are skewed in that direction? Or is that most Catholics these days?

I have to say, as a youngster 45 years ago, it wasn’t unusual for applause after the recessional. Nobody seemed to mind.
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Applause was definitely not an Australian Mass tradition in the 70’s and we weren’t particularly ultra conservative culturally. That is very surprising to hear that your congregation was doing that.
 
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CRV said:
But knowing most of the my choir members as I do, they are uncomfortable with being thanked - as was obvious on the occasion I did thank some after a Mass.
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Well, you know your choir members and I don’t.

But I think that even if they act embarrassed or uncomfortable, they appreciate a “thank-you.”

It’s possible that if your church has created an atmosphere of disapproval for applause, that the choir members consider “thanks for the music” as a form of “applause.” If applause is strongly denounced in your parish, the choir members will probably feel uncomfortable with any form of praise for their work, as they might feel that it detracts from giving God the glory.

Make sure when you thank them, you say something like, “I praise God for the talent that He has given to you, and for the beautiful music that helps me to glorify God more fully!” Or perhaps you could say, “I am so grateful to God that He has chosen to put you and the choir in this parish! The music really helps me to focus on The Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

That type of thanks might make them feel more comfortable. 🙂
 
This hasn’t become a common practice in my area. The only time I’ve seen it happen is at my diocese’s cathedral after the organist plays a postlude. That doesn’t really bother me, as many people don’t stay for it, and it’s really only a dozen or so people that are actually clapping.

Now, my home parish never does it after the recessional, but they do sometimes do it after the choir or ensemble does a special song right after Communion. That makes me cringe because it breaks the sacredness of the moment, IMHO. Letting the silence after the singing permeate through the church makes the moment much more powerful.

But, all in all, a lot worse can happen.
 
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