Do you audio-record the Mass? How do you get a good recording?

[Paganus]

I record the readings and the homily so I can go back and listen to them later on.

The church I go to is somewhat large, so the audio produced by my recorder is a little low-quality, and “uncleaned.” I’m wondering, for you out there who also record the Mass or anything in general, if you do anything to have a better quality sound.

Btw, the Mass is a special case, because you can’t always have the priest wear your recorder and lapel mic, which will make the best-quality audio; and you’re most likely gonna have to make do with recording from your pew.

I have tried putting my phone right up to the speakers, but I still get static and crying children. It’s better than nothing! I love listening to a good homily in the car.

 

[migencluz]

I have only gotten back to this post after a while, and I am surprised to see some hostility on the matter. Most clerics actually recommend this, from my experience. Many priests would be glad to receive such recordings as well–for their own personal use.

There was a poster who said that recording the Mass makes me an observer and not an actually participant. It does take a while to get used to, and I admit at times it does happen to me; but I beg to differ. It makes me more of an active participant, because the recorder makes me strive to avoid being a mere observer.

And on a side note, I switch it off after the homily, so nothing after the homily is affected by this.

 

[Gorgias]

If only! As the mother of six young children, it has been years since I’ve been able to put down anything and experience the Mass. I’m always managing something or someone, whether it is squabbling siblings, bathroom trips for pre-schoolers, or being ever-alert to know just when to take the crying baby out vs. trying to soothe.

LOL…! OK, yeah, good point!

So each year at Pascha, when St. John Chrystostom’s Catechetical Homily is read, that is no longer a homily? It is certainly no mere speech. This homily was given at a particular place and time, for a particular audience. Yet here we are, 1600 years later, still hearing his words in the context of a Divine Liturgy.

Can you see that you’ve moved the goalposts, though?

You were talking about utilizing homilies outside their context (i.e., to be read on the internet), and now you’ve moved back to homilies being proclaimed in the context of the Mass. Naturally, I agree: homilies are part of the Liturgy. If there’s one that’s still relevant, then by all means, homilists may very validly decide “this one is relevant to my people” and read it (rather than composing their own homily). But… that’s not what you were advocating for, was it?

I’m not recording an Augustine or Gregory the Great… but somebody, somewhere likely is and the world will be richer for the preservation of his words.

Agreed. Don’t neglect the flip side, though: somebody, somewhere will misunderstand or misinterpret or be confused by his words; somebody won’t ‘get it’ that it was intended in the context of the Mass, and will expect that it’s a general oration and is to be interpreted widely and without context. And when they do, they won’t be “richer” for the exposure to his out-of-context homily.

 

[Gorgias]

I have only gotten back to this post after a while, and I am surprised to see some hostility on the matter.

Hostility? No. Disagreement isn’t ‘hostility’.

Most clerics actually recommend this, from my experience.

Your OP and the side conversation Babochka and I are having are somewhat different in scope. You seem to be asking about making a recording for personal use, while Babochka (and others) have broached the topic of making recordings for distribution (on the internet and elsewhere). I can see where priests would be inclined to appreciate the former; many would be put off by the latter – especially if it happened to be done without their express permission and their express knowledge of exactly where and to whom they’re being distributed (not that I’m suggesting that the posters here are advocating for ‘stealth distribution’!)

There was a poster who said that recording the Mass makes me an observer and not an actually participant. It does take a while to get used to, and I admit at times it does happen to me; but I beg to differ. It makes me more of an active participant, because the recorder makes me strive to avoid being a mere observer.

That was me.

So, what you’re saying is that it does make you an observer, and you have to put in extra effort to make sure that it doesn’t happen to you? That sounds about right. In other words… it really does tend to make one an observer.

And on a side note, I switch it off after the homily, so nothing after the homily is affected by this.

Right. I wasn’t trying to suggest otherwise; the scope of this conversation really has just been the homily. Yet, in a perverse way… isn’t that kind of a shame? I mean, it’s almost as if we’re saying “the homily is so important that I just must record it or else my experience isn’t complete! But… the Liturgy of the Eucharist…? nah, no need to record it; ho hum.” :sad_yes:

 

[migencluz]

Hostility is perhaps an exaggeration. Obvious disagreement, yes, but I wasn’t referring to you. Some people said things like, “I don’t know why you would,” or, “You should talk to a priest about this.”

Concerning being an observer, yes, that is true. I wish not to be labeled as a mere observer for that, however.

Concerning the last quote, are you trying to read more out of what I say? Now you’re telling me that I think I’m leaving out the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is just as important as the Liturgy of the Word, and recording one does not take away from the other. In fact, I discourage recording the LoE.

I record the homily because I admit that I do not have good memory of the Mass no matter what I do, and I realize that I have to rely on an external device to do that for me. I am not like the ancients who have good memories that can store booksworth of words.

Just note that none of what I said was about you. So, I was surprised to see you react to it.

 

[migencluz]

Hostility is an exaggeration, yes. But there was some sharp disagreement, even some who think recording homilies are absurd. But then again, the question wasn’t, Is it okay to record homilies?, but rather, For you who do record, how do you do it?.

As for recording the Eucharist, what exactly is your point in telling me that? The two Liturgies in the Mass are both important, and one is not more essential than the other. And most especially, recording one does not take away from the other.

 

[Gorgias]

As for recording the Eucharist, what exactly is your point in telling me that?

It was just a thought that came to mind. For non-Catholic Christians, the sermon is the most important part of Sunday liturgy; it’s the ‘highlight’ to the service. It just occurred to me that, in the way we were discussing things here, we seemed to be giving attention to the homily in a manner that over-emphasized that part of Mass and under-emphasized the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

It was just an observation…

 

[migencluz]

Well, we are talking about the homily, so it is only natural to emphasize the importance of the homily. In reality, however, most Catholics place the LoE at a higher level than the LoW (though we should know they should be of equal importance).

I just want to promote God’s love and care in this forum, and I don’t want people shooting arrows at each other out of disagreement. I have asked to remove posts and threads merely due to the attitude among the posters.

As for non-Caths, it seems to come alongside their attitude towards the Bible. But that is a discussion for another day.

 

[babochka]

I mean, it’s almost as if we’re saying “the homily is so important that I just must record it or else my experience isn’t complete! But… the Liturgy of the Eucharist…? nah, no need to record it; ho hum.” :sad_yes:

I don’t think that anybody is saying that. The liturgy of the Eucharist, for the most part, is always the same, or one of a few options. If you attend Mass regularly, you practically know it by heart. There would be no point in recording it because it is not unique, as a homily might be.

 

[babochka]

I just want to promote God’s love and care in this forum, and I don’t want people shooting arrows at each other out of disagreement. I have asked to remove posts and threads merely due to the attitude among the posters.

I apologize that we’ve taken your thread off-track, but please be assured that Gorgias and I weren’t shooting arrows at each other. We were having a discussion. Yes, we disagree on the subject, but the discussion is meant as a friendly exchange of ideas and I greatly appreciate his perspective.

 

[migencluz]

Oh! Haha Thank you, but I didn’t thin you two were shooting arrows at all! I just want to caution you, because many righteous posters do accompany their disagreement with an attitude. And I just don’t want that to happen.

But go ahead and continue your discussion. I am following it.

 

[1neophyte]

I am responsible for recording the Sunday homilies and posting them to the website of the parish I attend. I connect a recorder directly to the sound system to get a perfect recording. Maybe you could suggest that your parish start providing this service? In the meantime, maybe you could surf around different parishes’ websites, because many parishes around the country do this. It might also be neat to hear different perspectives from different priests.

 

[migencluz]

I am responsible for recording the Sunday homilies and posting them to the website of the parish I attend. I connect a recorder directly to the sound system to get a perfect recording. Maybe you could suggest that your parish start providing this service? In the meantime, maybe you could surf around different parishes’ websites, because many parishes around the country do this. It might also be neat to hear different perspectives from different priests.

Upon second thought, I probably won’t ask the priests if the want the service, but instead offer if they want a copy of it for themselves. But I think they would hesitate to post their works online, especially that there are non-catholic who may misunderstand their homilies. Just my 2c.

 

[1neophyte]

Upon second thought, I probably won’t ask the priests if the want the service, but instead offer if they want a copy of it for themselves. But I think they would hesitate to post their works online, especially that there are non-catholic who may misunderstand their homilies. Just my 2c.

Either way, you’ll get the best recording of you can ask permission to either record directly from the sound system (it’s easiest if the mixer has a headphone output), or if that is too complicated, ask if you can place a small recorder somewhere on the ambo where it won’t be in the way.