Church Bells

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Timidity

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This is the FOURTH time I’m trying to post this thread. :mad:

Anyway… for my learned friends here at the CA forums… what determines when a parish church rings it bell(s)? Is it just a matter of local custom everywhere, or is there a set guideline or tradtion?

While I’m at it–let’s make a it poll: Does your church ring bells? (the outside kind, not the inside kind). I’ve heard mine a few times when I was calling it a bit closer than usual to Mass.
 
I don’t think my church has bells. If they do then they are well hidden for I have never seen nor heard them. Sad now that I think about it.
 
Our bells are controlled by a piano-like thing, and I got to hit some of the keys one time. It was fun.

Eamon
 
My pastor rings our parish bells 5 minutes before each Mass. This is meant to be a “call to the faithful” that something wonderful is about to happen in our church. I have often read that this is the reason that bells were placed in churches.
 
Bud Stewart:
My pastor rings our parish bells 5 minutes before each Mass. This is meant to be a “call to the faithful” that something wonderful is about to happen in our church. I have often read that this is the reason that bells were placed in churches.
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This was done in my former parish…only 15min before…I understood it to be “call to worship” too.
 
Our bells ring about 5 minutes before Mass starts, including daily Mass. They also ring for the Angelus times.
 
my church dosn`tring the big bells,i dont know why .they also dont ring the sanctus bell either which i find very disheartening.
 
our church does not have bells. they used to have an electronic carillon of some kind, which was donated about 30 yrs ago, but it kept breaking down, ringing at the wrong time, sounded bad etc. so they ripped it out.the parish where I went to parochial school was located near downtown, and rang the bells for the Angelus at 6 am, noon and 6 pm, and in effect was the time keeper for our town. bells also rang 5 minutes before each Mass, and if an altar boy was not dressed and in place before the bell rang he was in deep trouble
 
My parish has bells (an amplified electronic carillion, if I’ve named the technology correctly (from the Verdin Company)), and living around the corner, I can tell you they ring:
  • 5 minutes before Mass
  • Noon and 6pm Angelus (but not 6am)
  • Funeral dirges
  • During the *Gloria *on Holy Thursday and Easter Vigil
  • Some weddings request them, I think
  • We have programmed tapes to control Christmas Music and Patriotic Music on appropriate holidays
tee
 
I attend two chruches. One I absolutely love, but it is more than an hour away. The other one is more local, but I only go there during inclement weather, or if I oversleep (like yesterday, and the experience is so painful). I dont’ know if either of them even have bell towers. The one I went to yesterday looks like a converted house. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. The one I love, is a ugly modern structure (but the priest is so inspriing and the congregation seems like a familiy), and I don’t think ti has a bell tower either.

Maybe everywhere this practice exists, but here here, when they need to build a Catholic church, they rarley do so from scratch. Instead they acquire property from former chruches that have outgrown their space (like Assemblys of God) and convert it into Catholic churhces. I think they do this because it is cheaper and they are so strapped for cash here, but the consequence seems to be that no one thinks the bell towers (or even fake bells on stereo, which is so often the case these days) are a necessary component to the “converting the church into a Catholic one” process.

It’s too bad because I like the bells. It’s one of my favorite parts of staying in Zurch. Granted, there are few Catholic churches there, but the first time I visited I could barely sleep in the morning, because all the bells of the all the church seem to ring all the time. Not just Sundays. Not just mornings. I think it’s a great reminder from God saying “I am here, don’t forget me,” or better yet “come and visit me.”
 
I am very happy to say that our church rings the bells at the beginning of mass and 2 months ago they started ringing as soon as the priest elevated the Host during consecration. At first we thought it was just coincidence and then we noticed the small remote that is removed after mass. This is a good way to handle the shortage of altar boys at morning mass.

Our pastor also says the Kyrie eleison instead of Lord Have Mercy …and… he says the prayer of St. Michael at the end of mass. :clapping:

:dancing: :clapping: :clapping:

I believe in getting into hot water, it keeps you clean
G.K. Chesterson
 
To answer your question, I don’t know of any rules about ringing the outside bells; I would assume that it is simply from tradition, when churches were more closely associated wtih neighborhoods, and the bells were used somewhat as a public crier to announce something - Mass, prayer time (Angelus) or some emergency. Perhaps someone knows differently?
 
I can’t answer do to that we don’t have main bells at our church. :(:o But we do ring santus bells three x three :D…
 
My parish church was donated an historically-significant, large bell a couple of years ago, and, having consulted the parishioners, a bell tower was actually built onto the church (fits in very well with the existing building) and the bell was duly installed and is rung before each Mass (and during the Gloria at the Easter vigil) Not at other times, however. It has to be rung with a good old fashioned rope and bell-ringer!
 
We don’t have a bell to ring… 😦 but even if we did I don’t think that we would 😦 and I find that very sad…
 
Ours ring 5 minutes before weekend Mass, and I think at somne other high times during specials services but I don’t remember exactly.

That would be a great idea to ring during the Consecration. I miss the little chimes the altar boys used to ring (I went to a Church in another city recently and they still did it!)
 
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Bulldog:
I can’t answer do to that we don’t have main bells at our church. :(:o But we do ring santus bells three x three :D…
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correction:o: we ring the bells 4 times… first when “let your Spirit come upon these gifts” (single ring), first elevation (three echo rings), second elevation (three echo rings) and when the priest drinks the Precious Blood (single ring)… i got ahead of myself last time, I wrote.
 
Our bells are on an electronic control of sorts (similar to what tee-eff-em described and a wonderful donation from one of our priests) and chime quite frequently. Not only are they programmed to chime every quarter hour, but they also ring before each Mass as a call to worship, and play hymns after each Mass and at the noon and 6 pm Angelus times. They’ll also go off in a joyous frenzy during the Gloria at Easter Vigil.

When I was little my grandparents lived a few blocks from my current parish (Sacred Heart), and I used to love to stand outside their house and listen to the bells. Between the bells and the stained glass, I always wanted to go to Sacred Heart instead of our home parish. Guess I got my wish. 🙂
 
We have the bells, but a mechanical something or other rings on the hour…

God Bless–JMJ
Laura 🙂
 
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