Bells at the Consecration Poll

[LilyM]

My former parish not only rang the altar bells (epiclesis and thrice at each elevation) but also tolled the tower bell three times at each elevation. Most parishes in the Pacific Northwest, even many of the “progressive” ones, still use them.

My parish does this too - it’s wonderful!

 

[Magnum_V8]

Altar bells at the elevation, no adoration.

I was watching a video of the Tridentine Mass and noticed that the tower bells were rung at the elevation, along with the altar bells. AWESOME!

 

[BobP123]

Used to have chimes when I used to serve. A lot easier on the ears. However, that was discontinued around 1960.

 

[Teelynn]

I didn’t get to vote on the second part of the poll: Adoration. (I am always too quick on the trigger) Nope, we have Adoration only on special occasions but at least now, we have it more than just once a year after Mass on Holy Thursday.

Bells? Along with a few posters here, I haven’t heard bells at the Consecration since I was in High School over 30 years ago.
I miss them. I also miss regular weekly Adoration. With all that said, I do believe that the parishes in my area are starting to come around to a more traditional stance. It is slow in the process but I see very definite signs of a resurgence.

 

[THurifer2]

I was on vacation one time in Michigan…not only did the entire parish say the final doxacology but the bells were some sort of xylephone type of thing…anyone remember the Travolta movie Grease? Remember when the rydale high lady did the ding dong ding thing before here announcements on the intercom? That is exactly what I thought of when I heard this goofy ding dong ding…absolutely horrible.

 

[NewUlm1976_2000]

The bell ringing by an alter boy during the Consecration compliments Catholics’ belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist; also, the Roman Church reinforces the doctrine of transsubstantation is through the gestures, posture, and demeanor of the priest offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Suggested reading includes the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the venerable Roman Catechism.

Actually the bells came around back during the Middle Ages when most of the population did not understand Latin and this was a cue for them when they did not know what was going on. Printing presses were not available (or in great enough numbers) to allow for books to follow along (if the congregation could read them was another problem).

The parish I grew up with started with bells then got rid of them and then they were brought back. My current parish does not have bells or adoration times (those are 24/7 at another parish in town). I tend to bounce dioceses every weekend and the vast majority of parishes do not have bells and most have no to very short hours of adoration.

 

[Brendan]

We have bells at 4 times

Epicelsis, each of the Major Elevations, and when the priest completes the Sacrifice by partaking of the Eucharist.

The Epliclesis and the priest’s Communion are each a single ring, the Major Elevations are rings with different bells ( high, low, high)

For Adoration, we team up with a neighboring parish for 24\7 Adoration.

 

[BeeSweet]

We have bells during the consecration, and weekly adoration Fridays from noon till 4:30 followed by Benediction and the Rosary.

 

[tnbella7]

The parish closest to me has no bells, no adoration. But it is worth the drive to another parish for both.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

I was on vacation one time in Michigan…not only did the entire parish say the final doxacology but the bells were some sort of xylephone type of thing…anyone remember the Travolta movie Grease? Remember when the rydale high lady did the ding dong ding thing before here announcements on the intercom? That is exactly what I thought of when I heard this goofy ding dong ding…absolutely horrible.

I’ve seen those things – four glockenspiel-style bars on a resonating tube. They sound like a doorbell and were also once used by train conductors to announce that dinner was being served. I’d recommend against them. Some churches also have tubular chimes mounted behind the high altar that are sounded by pushbuttons set into the altar steps. I prefer either the standard four-bell handset or a single mushroom gong.

 

[Lady_Cygnus]

I am doing a poll in my diocese to determine how many parishes use bells during Mass at the consecration and how many parishes have many hours of adoration each week. I feel that there is a strong correlation between the two. The heightened sensitivity of a parish for the Real Presence of Jesus seems to lead them to have both.

I live in an area where bells are not that common unless the parish has long hours of adoration each week.

Please comment if there is any problem training servers with the bells or if the ringing of the bells is done by the choir.

I don’t know how to do a survey to determine the popularity of bells in different areas of the US.

The poll as listed won’t show a valid correlation. In the one I just marked the parish I’m now in does not ring bells, but they do have a good deal of adoration - 24 hours once a week and 1 hour on Friday.

I’ve been in another parish that did ring the bells, and they only have 8 hours of adoration a week.

However there is no way to see that by the poll, you need something with more divided choices for example:

• Bells with perpetual adoration
• Bells with 24+hr adoration
• Bells with <24 or no adoration
• No bells with <24 or no adoration
• No bells with 24+ hrs adoration
• No bells with perpetual adoration

 

[seek1st]

I never was great at statistics!

I guess it is too late to start over… I like your categories better. O, well, it is a great discussion! Thanks for all your comments!

I am gathering that it is not a problem to train altar servers to ring the bells at the correct time, right?

Does anyone give this task to the choir?

God bless you all! I love this forum

 

[Cat]

Sorry, I didn’t vote correctly.

Yes, bells at the Consecation.

Yes, 24 hour Adoration Chapel and there is usually company in that chapel no matter what hour of the day you show up to spend time with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

And BTW, we have an extremely contemporary architecture (which many in the Traditional Section call “Hideous”), and one of our three priests wears a Chicago Bears Jersey under his vestments and we have a Life Teen Mass that rocks and we have girl altar servers and we sing mostly Haugen and Haas and ladies and men in our church wear shorts and tank tops and canvas shoes even when they serve as Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers during Mass.

Sorry for the additional “told you so” comments, but often I get really upset when people on this Forum diss all the “modern” things that my church does not realizing all the “traditional” things that we also do.

And IMO, enthusiastic 24 Adoration wouldn’t happen at a church that is “in crisis.”

 

[maryjk]

We have bells.

But no weekly adoration. We only have it on first Fridays for about 5 hours.

 

[maryj]

Yes bells at Consecration
Perpetual adoration during lent
Adoration monday-friday with 24 hour adoration from thursday morning until mass on friday morning.

 

[maryjk]

I am gathering that it is not a problem to train altar servers to ring the bells at the correct time, right?

Does anyone give this task to the choir?

God bless you all! I love this forum

I said we had bells, but I didn’t say that they rang at the right time.

About a third of the time, they are either totally forgotten by the server, rung at the wrong time or rung so many times that you have no idea what is going on.

We have one server, that no matter how many times I see him up there, he doesn’t get it right. And this isn’t a little child. He is 12 or 13. Sometimes I think he just chooses 5 times to ring and goes for it. Yes, I know, there isn’t five times that they should be rung.

 

[turtleoompa]

We have no bells and it there is rarely an Adoration at our church. I reallllllllly miss the bells.

 

[Rocky8311]

original poster, just FYI, the “perpetual” part of “perpetual adoration” means “all the time”, which can’t be done just some hours of the week.

That said, I don’t meant to demean parishes like my own where Adoration is only available at the waking hours of weekdays.