Could you shed some light on this? Confused

[matjam]

I live in a place where people from around the globe work and therefore it’s a busy parish. The church has a parish hall and the mass in my language is held in the Parish hall.
During special occasions the parish hall is allotted for entertainment events like concerts. The same stage where the mass took place is converted for entertainment events. However I couldn’t absorb this. In my mind this is a very holy place since Holy masses are held every week. So I made a decision that I will not attend any events in that hall other than the Holy mass. Is my thought process right? I hope someone will shed light on this. Thanks.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The Parish Hall is presumably meant to serve as a social gathering space as well as an occasional worship space when they need the room for Mass.

When I attended Catholic girls’ high school, we would frequently have class masses or whole-school Masses and they took place in the school’s auditorium/ gymnasium. At other times, the school had everything from gym class to drama club musicals to rock concerts to band recitals to awards ceremonies to basketball games to art shows to principal making a speech, etc. happening in the same space. Obviously there was no need to avoid all those activities because a Mass also was scheduled there from time to time.

I have also been to Masses in various church’s parish halls when there was a good reason to be in there, such as the church was having some maintenance done. The parish hall continued to be used for its normal functions, like gatherings and concerts, when the Mass was over.

So I would gently suggest that maybe you might want to reconsider.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

A church building actually goes through a dedication ceremony to dedicate it for sacred use. A parish hall does not. I would be thankful that the parish hall is available for extra Masses, but I would also recognize that it isn’t, of itself, sacred space.

 

[GospelOfMatthew]

Since it’s a parish hall that’s kind of it’s function, to fulfill whatever is the need at the time, so I don’t see an issue.

What I do think is an issue is when there are concerts or plays being performed in front of the altar and tabernacle on the sanctuary. Seems not reverent to me but I think that decision is up to the Priest of the parish

 

[Reuben_J]

I live in a place where people from around the globe work and therefore it’s a busy parish. The church has a parish hall and the mass in my language is held in the Parish hall.
During special occasions the parish hall is allotted for entertainment events like concerts. The same stage where the mass took place is converted for entertainment events. However I couldn’t absorb this. In my mind this is a very holy place since Holy masses are held every week. So I made a decision that I will not attend any events in that hall other than the Holy mass. Is my thought process right? I hope someone will shed light on this. Thanks.

You are probably too hard on yourself. I do not see anything wrong if that’s all that you have in your area where mass is celebrated.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Over the course of my priesthood, I have celebrated a great number of Masses. In churches and chapels and shrines. But also, particularly during times in North America, in parish halls and school gymnasiums. I have attended the consecration of Bishops in auditoriums and sports arenas. And I have been with the Pope in various outdoor settings to accommodate the many thousands who have come to be part of his Mass.

I have celebrated Masses in hospitals and homes for the aged and infirm that had a chapel – and done so in other such institutions where it was a room deemed suitable for Mass but which was, in fact, a multi-purpose room.

Conversely in Europe, we open our churches for musical events and cultural events because many of our churches provide a wonderful venue for these events.

Frankly, I would discourage you from depriving yourself of parish activities that are organised in the parish hall simply because the Eucharist was offered there. It is wonderful to be mindful of the Presence that has been there because of the celebration of the Eucharist – but that does not mean therefore that other activities of the People of God should not happen in that space.

 

[BarbTh]

Reminds me of a joke I heard. A young priest was marrying an Italian couple and they asked if they could have their reception in the parish hall. The hall was marked off from The Church proper by movable screens.
The young priest asked the older priest if it would be ok if the reception was held in the hall and the older priest agreed providing there was not too much noise and celebration.
Being an Italian wedding especially, the reception was very boisterous. The older priest complained to the young priest to tell the wedding guests to quiet down or he would close the celebration down and send everyone home.
The young priest said to the older priest: :“Cmon Father, it is a wedding reception and Jesus was present at a wedding reception in Cana.”
“Yes” said the older priest “But The Blessed Sacrament was not!”

 

[paperwight]

It is wonderful to be mindful of the Presence that has been there because of the celebration of the Eucharist – but that does not mean therefore that other activities of the People of God should not happen in that space.

Or to put it another way - if the parish activity is not fit to be taking place in a room where there has been a Celebration of the Eucharist, it should not be taking place in the parish at all.