Can a mass be too short?

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don’t know what you mean by it, do you mean is there a minimum length of time, not really, but there are prayers and actions that may not be omitted, as well as some that may.
 
The priest must include all the rites and prayers which are, at minimum, prescribed for the Mass; on weekdays that are not holy days, the “minimum” does not include a homily, which may be omitted.
 
don’t know what you mean by it, do you mean is there a minimum length of time, not really, but there are prayers and actions that may not be omitted, as well as some that may.
But they also cannot be rushed either. I recall (I think) St John Vianney setting a time limit - something very specific like seventeen minutes or something! Mind you he wasn’t talking about the Pauline Mass most parishes say today.
 
Keep in mind that this is referring to the Low Mass as it was in 1913, but the Catholic Encyclopedia states:
“Moral theologians justly declare that the scandalous haste necessary to finish Mass in less than a quarter of an hour is impossible without grievous sin.”
Now the Ordinary Form Mass that most people attend today does not take as much time as the “old” Missal. What the Encyclopedia is talking about there can most readily be compared to today’s daily Masses, though a bit longer. So it is possible to finish a daily Mass in around 15 minutes - especially as no homily is required. Sunday Masses and those on holy days take longer.
 
Now the Ordinary Form Mass that most people attend today does not take as much time as the “old” Missal. What the Encyclopedia is talking about there can most readily be compared to today’s daily Masses, though a bit longer. So it is possible to finish a daily Mass in around 15 minutes - especially as no homily is required. Sunday Masses and those on holy days take longer.
In my experience this is not the case. Daily Mass at my parish almost always takes at least half an hour. Even on cold, snowy, wintry days with only ten or twelve parishoners in attendence [and thus a very small line up for Communion which is given only under one species] and no homily, it still takes a minimum of 25 minutes. My pastor never rushes.The Daily Mass at noon at our Cathedral which I attend whenevever I miss the one at my parish, takes a minimum of 45 minutes. Of course there are usually 3 or 4 hundred people in attendence so the communion lines are pretty long.
I do remember some daily OF Masses in a parish I belonged to in another city several years ago being a bit shorter but none were shorter than any Daily Mass in the TLM that I attended for close to 20 years. I do not remember any 12 or 15 minute Mass back then but I do know that Daily Mass was at 7:30 am and we were out the door by 10 to eight.
In my opinion, the time it takes to say a low Mass in either form depends on the celebrant, not the form of Mass itself. If the priest really wants to say the Mass as quickly as possible, he will do so.
 
In my experience this is not the case. Daily Mass at my parish almost always takes at least half an hour. Even on cold, snowy, wintry days with only ten or twelve parishoners in attendence [and thus a very small line up for Communion which is given only under one species] and no homily, it still takes a minimum of 25 minutes. My pastor never rushes.The Daily Mass at noon at our Cathedral which I attend whenevever I miss the one at my parish, takes a minimum of 45 minutes. Of course there are usually 3 or 4 hundred people in attendence so the communion lines are pretty long.
I do remember some daily OF Masses in a parish I belonged to in another city several years ago being a bit shorter but none were shorter than any Daily Mass in the TLM that I attended for close to 20 years. I do not remember any 12 or 15 minute Mass back then but I do know that Daily Mass was at 7:30 am and we were out the door by 10 to eight.
In my opinion, the time it takes to say a low Mass in either form depends on the celebrant, not the form of Mass itself. If the priest really wants to say the Mass as quickly as possible, he will do so.
I have attended one daily Mass that was celebrated without a homily, yet reverently, and came in at 14 or 15 minutes, so I know it can be done. There is a shrine where I attend daily Mass sometimes, and one of the priests there celebrates rather quickly, about 20 minutes, and I usually am slightly dissapointed because he rushes it. I am just thinking about it now for the first time, that he does it rushedly in 20 minutes, whereas I have seen it done more reverently in 15.

It probably all depends on the particular readings, psalm, and prayers for that day, among other things.

In any event, I suppose the point I was making was that yes, a Mass can be too short, and the Catholic Encyclopedia gives suggests that 15 minutes is too short. 🙂
 
Our pastor is also the Catholic Chaplin at the Kansas University Medical Center. His 12:15 daily mass at KU is usually not over 15 to 20 mins. I miss going there. Maybe I can start again.
 
There are a lot of things that can play into the length of the Mass. Does the priest do the readings? If not then time must be given for the lector to enter the sanctuary from his or her place. Then there is the length of the readings. Is there a homily and how long is it? Are there petitions? Is there an Offertory procession? How many people are there receiving communion? I am speaking of a daily Mass.

I have been to daily masses that have been 15 minutes or less, but usually the priest had somewhere else to be immediatly after mass, or a funeral was coming in. I do remember when I was a child that daily Mass was very short. In fact, my recall one of my professors telling us that when multiple private masses were going on (pre-Vatican II), especially in the seminary chapel, a priest could finish propbably in about 10 minutes with just himself and a server.
 
Having seen daily masses of 20 minutes with homilies… OK, it was the priest, and the servers, no others. Father did the readings and the homily.

The low dominican latin mass (which predates trent!) can be done in 15 minutes without undue haste, given the same conditions as above.
 
Having seen daily masses of 20 minutes with homilies… OK, it was the priest, and the servers, no others. Father did the readings and the homily.
That’s frowned upon, though, if it were done in the interest of saving time.

The GIRM notes that the proclamation of the readings is a ministerial, not presidential, role (59).
 
There is no absolute minimum time it takes to celebrate mass. The easiest way to contract the service is to leave out the sermon. Fort Bragg, NC. The Catholic Chaplin when I was there had his rarely done but quaint, “Hottest day of the Year” sermon.

“Its hot out there. But remeber, Hell is hotter.”

👍

The best thing you can do is know your Liturgy and keep your priest honest.
 
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