Applause at Mass

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So, do you clap at the and of Mass? Do you put your hands together to show how much you liked the way the priest said Mass? Or the way the choir sang?

Do you add to a round of applause at the end of Mass?

I will admit that applause at the end of Mass is very annoying.
 
That’s a new one on me. The only time I’ve heard applause during Mass, is after Communion, if the Celebrant is recognizing somebody or something, prior to dismissal.

Now, on the other hand, when I visit my friend’s Pentecostal church…:eek:
 
No, I do not believe Mass is a performance and don’t much appreciate when the Choir tries to make it their performance.
Now if the Choir has a performance outside of the Mass I will applause.
I do tell our priest “Thank You” every day after Mass. I would not applause him for a great homily after Mass, because he is not a performer.
 
how bout we start yelling “bravo” after a good homily or “you go girl” when the soloist really rocks.
 
rpp said:
So, do you clap at the and of Mass? Do you put your hands together to show how much you liked the way the priest said Mass? Or the way the choir sang?
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Man, that is just so protestant!:tsktsk:
As a revert, who spent nearly 20 years as an evangelical, I was aghast when I noticed that applause had come into the RC Church.

Mass isn’t a show.

All a priest has to do, is address it, from the microphone, right at the moment the applause starts. It might be shocking, but I don’t think that parish would ever do that again. 😊
 
A friend of mine was surprised when I didn’t applaud for the choir after a Mass we attended together. I explained that, in my opinion, the choir wasn’t there to perform, they were there to be a part of our worship. And just as I don’t applaud for the priest or the lectors, I don’t applaud for the choir.

A few weeks later I was visiting elsewhere at Christmas and went to midnight Mass at a parish that’s not my own. At the end of the Mass the priest asked for applause for his concelebrants…everyone clapped. Then for the deacon…everyone clapped. Then for the altar servers, the choir, the lectors, the environment committee and their beautiful decorations. I’m surprised he didn’t ask for applause for the secretary and the janitor…I’m sure they contributed to the Mass too.

It was one of those episodes that reminded me how blessed I am to belong to my parish.

By the way, the music director in my parish has a nice way of handling things. After the choir finishes the last song he waits for a couple of beats, then starts playing something. People who start applauding the choir then stop. (If the priest asked people not to clap it wouldn’t do much good. We’re a historical church and have tons of visitors every week.)
 
I don’ think you should applaud the Mass or the homily strictly speaking, but I have often thanked a priest if his homily has been particularly meaningful to me, and told him that I thought it was a good homily. I think it must be a bit discouraging sometimes for priests to preach, and then everyone get up and walk out, and he has no idea how his homily is being received.
I think there should be room for some spontaneity. Just a little, not enough to detract from the Mass itself.
 
The only time I have ever clapped or heard of it at my Church is after Midnight Mass & Easter Sunday Mass. Some members of The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra accompany our choir, which by the way is simply beautiful, & usually Father Leon will ask us to applaud them after Mass. Other than that, no.
 
I said ‘never’ but I wish there had been a ‘sometimes although I don’t agree with it’. We do applaud when a newly baptized child is presented to the community though.
 
I said no but I must admit I have been drawn into the applause done after the occasional Baptism we have during Mass. I can hardly help myself with that one. 😉
 
“Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation.”
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Above quote from Pope Benedict’s book, Spirit of the Liturgy
 
The only time I saw applause in our Church, was after the children’s Christmas Mass. 👍
 
Windmill said:
“Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation.”
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Thank you for that wonderful quote. Quite penetrating.

I love our holy father.
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Windmill said:
Above quote from Pope Benedict’s book, Spirit of the Liturgy
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It looks to me like he said “in the liturgy” after Mass is something different :shrug:our parish claps after Mass but there’s normally not many left in the Church because; 1) Catholics blow outa there so fast you’d think someone was chasing them (protestant’s don’t do this BTW!) and 2) The priest is already outside shaking hands and saying his farewells. It’s “in the liturgy” the good Pope mentions and he is probably referring to applause that happens after a homily or a piece of music by someone during the Mass.
 
this past christmas our church was packed to the gills as usual, and prior to the closing prayer, our pastor encouraged applause for all of us just for showing up!!!

we unfortunately are encouraged to applaud one thing or another prior to the closing prayer. during advent we had a family come up at the beginning of each mass to light the advent candles, and again the pastor said let’s give them a round of applause for doing a good job!! :nope:
 
Hey ana,

Don’t kid yourself 😉 . The applause that’s breaking out right after the final hymn is applause for what happened during the liturgy. This is precisely what Pp. BXVI is talking about. It’s an entertainment mentality that fails to see the eternal, ethereal reality that they enter into during the liturgy. The music should draw us to praise Christ, not the choir.

I have the above Ratzinger quote in the handbook for our men’s Gregorian chant group. We routinely get applauded for our singing, and we try not to encourage it. We simply maintain a prayerful posture immediately after Mass. The idea we want to portray is that such music naturally belongs in the liturgy and *shouldn’t *be special.
 
I often attend a Latin Mass (1963 missal). There is never applause after that Mass.
 
Our parish always claps after the Liturgy. It annoys me (and I sing in the choir) and I don’t joint in. (OK, sometimes I have been drawn in when my mind was wandering elsewhere.) Our pastor has a habit of asking for applause anytime there is a special occasion or if it is Christmas or Easter.
 
anamchara said:
It looks to me like he said “in the liturgy” after Mass is something different :shrug:our parish claps after Mass but there’s normally not many left in the Church because; 1) Catholics blow outa there so fast you’d think someone was chasing them (protestant’s don’t do this BTW!) and 2) The priest is already outside shaking hands and saying his farewells. It’s “in the liturgy” the good Pope mentions and he is probably referring to applause that happens after a homily or a piece of music by someone during the Mass.
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Not all Catholics blow outta there. My boyfriend and I stay and pray after Mass before leaving. IMO, the ones who blow outta there do so because so many do not understand the Mass as they should.

Protestants hang around because thats all their service is, being social with each other. So they do so before, during and after, their “church services” Has nothing to do with them worshiping more or understanding anything more. (NOTE: my comments may not apply to those Protestants who still actually have Masses, I am talking about what I grew up with which was the Baptist/non-denom groups)

As for clapping, sometimes it bugs me and sometimes it doesn’t. I voted never though because my boyfriend is vehemently against clapping and if I would even think of putting my hands together I’d get an evil stare! Which is fine with me since I agree with him. Mass is for worship, not entertainment. If the priest wants to know if he did well he should ask after Mass(and after he is out of the church) or have his parisheners fill out surveys. Most announcements and clapping occurs before to final prayers and the priest has said “This Mass is over” so no, they are not done after Mass in any parish I’ve ever been to.
 
I have been taught “never applaud for the servant in the Master’s house”…I don’t know who said that, but I think it is worth living by.
 
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