Does your parish sing the ENTIRE recessional (closing) hymn?

[TrueLight]

And there is no such thing as a recessional hymn in the Roman Gradual. The Mass ends with the dismissal. At our abbey the organist plays the organ as the monks exit in procession after the Mass. All wait until the last monk has left to leave the church. Some stay until the organist stops playing, but it is not necessary to do so.

Our priest says Mass ends with the words of the Dismissal. He explains singing a hymn at this point is unnecessary and incorrect. We never have a recessional hymn in our parish. He and the servers also return to the sacristy by the shortest route. Their departure is covered by a voluntary on the organ.

I find these posts quite sad. Okay the mass may be officially over, but is it really painful to sing a hymn of praise to God?

 

[Digitonomy]

Our priest says Mass ends with the words of the Dismissal. He explains singing a hymn at this point is unnecessary and incorrect.

Incorrect!? I would be interested to hear his logic on this. It is a long-established custom, and I don’t think there is any regulation contrary to it.

 

[centurionguard]

I have never sung an entire recessional hymn in a long time unless Father decides to wait at the sanctuary for the majority of the recessional hymn (my old pastor liked doing this ) and then process out. The hymn ends when those, who participated in a special role during the Mass (readers, servers, the priest, etc.), reach the back of the church. Is there anyone out there that actually goes to a parish where the entire recessional hymn is sung?

After my priest makes the closing prayer (the Mass has ended go in Peace to Love and serve The Lord) he does exactly as you describe above and waits at the Sanctuary until two verses are sung and then proceeds with the Altar Servers down the center aisle to the back of the Church.

Except for a handful of 20 to 30 parishioners, most of the congregation waits until he’s at the back of the church before exiting their pews. Maybe its just me; but unless there’s an urgent reason to exit the pew before the Recessional I think its only polite to wait for the priest to leave the Sanctuary and reach the back of the church before exiting.

Peace
Chris

 

[Corki]

I find these posts quite sad. Okay the mass may be officially over, but is it really painful to sing a hymn of praise to God?

1. Most of the hymns used as recessionals in the last 20 years are not hymns of praise but rather hymns of “us”.
2. Staying or going is a cultural variable. In many parishes, the norm is to sing, in others it’s to go out and meet up with the community in the hall (my parish) in still others its a dash for the parking lot. There is no right or wrong. While I am one of those that thinks the vertical is often lost to the horizontal in Mass, the time after Mass is the perfect time for the horizontal, IMHO.

 

[Phemie]

Well as a convert from an evangelical church I was surprised and even a little shocked when people started leaving the church while the hymn was still being sung. I love to sing and still will stay as long as I can hold off the surge. It took me a lomg while to gert used to people leaving early. It still seems a little disrespectful.

The difference is that outside the Catholic Church, hymns are sung as stand-alone acts of worship. In the Catholic Church, the usual 4 hymns accompany actions: the entrance procession, the offertory procession, the Communion procession and, although not part of Mass, the recessional.

Only in one place have I actually experienced a true ‘recessional hymn’: a parish where you picked up your hymnal on the way in and processed out hymnal in hand and singing at the end. You replaced your hymnal in the rack as you left the nave.

In my own parish the choir usually picks a hymn that is 4 verses or fewer. We sing all the verses before anyone leaves.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Incorrect!? I would be interested to hear his logic on this. It is a long-established custom, and I don’t think there is any regulation contrary to it.

I think the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) supports him. There is no mention in the GIRM about singing after the Dismissal.

The GIRM #90 says: “The Concluding Rites consist of: a. brief announcements, if they are necessary; b. the priest’s greeting and blessing, which on certain days and occasions is enriched and expressed in the Prayer over the People or another more solemn formula; c. the dismissal of the people by the deacon or priest, so that each may go out to do good works, praising and blessing God; d. the kissing of the altar by the priest and the deacon, followed by a profound bow to the altar by the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers.”

There is no mention of singing anything at the end of Mass. This is in comparison to GIRM #47, which makes mention of singing during the Entrance: “After the people have gathered, the Entrance chant begins as the priest enters with the deacon and ministers. The purpose of this chant is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical season or festivity, and accompany the procession of the priest and ministers.”

Likewise, in the more detailed rubrics for the different forms of celebrating Mass no mention is made of singing cf. GIRM ## 166-170, 184-186, 250-251, 272.

The fact that recessional hymns are commonplace does not necessarily them right.

Reference: International Committee on English in the Liturgy and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (2005) General Instruction of the Roman Missal. London: Catholic Truth Society and Colloquium (ISBN 1 86082 288 6) pp 16, 28, 44-45, 47, 57, 59.

 

[benedictgal]

The Mass is ended when the priest says it is (“The Mass is ended, go in peace.”) We have a shallow Church architecturaly. It usually doesn’t even take a whole verse for the priest to recess with the servers even though he pauses for a good while to pray at the foot of the altar. Our family always stays and sings until the end of the first verse or until the priest has completed his recession, whichever comes last. If I really like the song, I will stay and sing more verses.

The Roman is actually relatively silent on the recessional. As both the entrance processional and the recessional are to be brief (unless there is a special Mass with a great number of concelebrants). The music is meant to cover the liturgical action. As a priest friend once told me, “The recessional covers my exit, not the ones who leave early.”

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Our priest says Mass ends with the words of the Dismissal. He explains singing a hymn at this point is unnecessary and incorrect. We never have a recessional hymn in our parish. He and the servers also return to the sacristy by the shortest route. Their departure is covered by a voluntary on the organ.

Can you ask your priest to provide documentation that states that a hymn is incorrect (it is unnecessary in the sense that it is not required)?

 

[benedictgal]

Can you ask your priest to provide documentation that states that a hymn is incorrect (it is unnecessary in the sense that it is not required)?

The GIRM is also silent on the matter. Even Musicam Sacram does not give much of an indication. The problem is that the publishers push music on parishes and suggest things to the point that unspecting pastors and parishes think that the recessional is one of the essentials.

Even in the Papal Masses, the recessionals are not very long. In fact, sometimes an instrumental organ piece is played.

 

[Rahn]

At the Catholic church nearest to my house, the priest withholds the final blessing and dismissal unil after the final hymn is sung.

I think we need to remember that we go to Mass to worship the Lord and offer the praise of our lips. That includes all hymns, including the final one.

 

[benedictgal]

At the Catholic church nearest to my house, the priest withholds the final blessing and dismissal unil after the final hymn is sung.

I think we need to remember that we go to Mass to worship the Lord and offer the praise of our lips. That includes all hymns, including the final one.

With all due respect, this is an incorrect approach. Please note what Musicam Sacram, the Holy See’s authoritative document on sacred music, states:

1. The following belong to the first degree:

(a) In the entrance rites: the greeting of the priest together with the reply of the people; the prayer.

(b) In the Liturgy of the Word: the acclamations at the Gospel.

(c) In the Eucharistic Liturgy: the prayer over the offerings; the preface with its dialogue and the Sanctus; the final doxology of the Canon, the Lord’s Prayer with its introduction and embolism; the Pax Domini; the prayer after the Communion; the formulas of dismissal.

1. The following belong to the second degree:

(a) the Kyrie, Gloria and Agnus Dei;

(b) the Creed;

(c) the prayer of the faithful.

1. The following belong to the third degree:

(a) the songs at the Entrance and Communion processions;

(b) the songs after the Lesson or Epistle;

(c) the Alleluia before the Gospel;

(d) the song at the Offertory;

(e) the readings of Sacred Scripture, unless it seems more suitable to proclaim them without singing.

There is no mention of the recessional in the hierarchy of music. The recessional, if used, is meant to cover the action of the celebrant leaving the altar. Furthermore, even the GIRM is silent on the matter. We run the risk of putting the liturgy at the service of the music when it should be the other way around.

 

[Digitonomy]

I think the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) supports him. There is no mention in the GIRM about singing after the Dismissal.

I agree that makes it unnecessary, which I don’t think anyone has disputed, but I don’t see why that would make it incorrect. Using a similar approach, one could say that because the GIRM explicitly envisions the possibility of flowers at the altar, that it implicitly discourages the use of flowers in the vestibule.

 

[benedictgal]

I agree that makes it unnecessary, which I don’t think anyone has disputed, but I don’t see why that would make it incorrect. Using a similar approach, one could say that because the GIRM explicitly envisions the possibility of flowers at the altar, that it implicitly discourages the use of flowers in the vestibule.

While this is one bishop’s interpretation (the Bishop of Tyler), I believe that he is pretty consistent with what many of us have written in this thread:

1. It is the duty of the deacon to announce the dismissal and during solemn liturgies to chant the dismissal.The Missal does not envisage further singing at this point. However the Te Deum, an antiphon to the Blessed Virgin Mary or a hymn of praise is customary. Instrumental music may also be employed at this part of the Mass.

Thus, a hymn may be customary, but, as Bishop Corrada notes, it is not envisioned in the Roman Missal.

 

[BernadetteM]

In the Anglican Use parishes and that will be true in all the Ordinariate parishes, at least three versus or more are sung at the recessional. I have never seen people rush out as soon as the priest leaves. Many kneel down and pray after Mass.

I do wonder how our Lord feels about people who can’t give Him the reverence and time during Sunday the day we worship Him and thank Him for all He has done for us.

It might just be because before the OF became the norm, there was little participation in singing during Mass by the congregation.

Personally, although I surely don’t have a great voice, singing the hymns bring me closer to Jesus.

I have read posts on CAF where people complain if the Mass lasts more than 45 minutes. Don’t we owe God as much time as possible to worship him whether in the liturgy or hymns we sing in praise of His love for us? It should not be an obligation, but a joy to be in His presence.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette

 

[john_aurelius]

I like singing and so I tend to sing as much as its possible but if the choir finishes and/ or the Organ piece then I see no reason to hang round.

Unless, I wish to say some quiet prayer after Mass:thumbsup:

 

[laszlo]

At the Catholic church nearest to my house, the priest withholds the final blessing and dismissal unil after the final hymn is sung.

I think we need to remember that we go to Mass to worship the Lord and offer the praise of our lips. That includes all hymns, including the final one.

According to the Liturgy, written and required by the universal Church, the last hymn is the Communion hymn. This terminates the active participation of the people during the Mass. The priest adds the closing prayer (Postcommunion, the debediction and the dismissal) With the dismissal the Mass, to fill ourselves with the grace of Jesus Christ is over, the mission to conquer the world starts.

The recessional hymn could be considered as transition between the two, but it is not part of the Mass.

 

[Rahn]

According to the Liturgy, written and required by the universal Church, the last hymn is the Communion hymn. This terminates the active participation of the people during the Mass. The priest adds the closing prayer (Postcommunion, the debediction and the dismissal) With the dismissal the Mass, to fill ourselves with the grace of Jesus Christ is over, the mission to conquer the world starts.

The recessional hymn could be considered as transition between the two, but it is not part of the Mass.

I’m not arguing the “letter of the law” as it were, what I am saying is that we are at Mass to worship the Lord. While we may not be obligated under canon law to sing a finall hymn, shouldn’t we ***want ***to sing, out of love for the Lord?

 

[Rahn]

We run the risk of putting the liturgy at the service of the music when it should be the other way around.

Can you explain what you mean by that?

 

[TrueLight]

In the Anglican Use parishes and that will be true in all the Ordinariate parishes, at least three versus or more are sung at the recessional. I have never seen people rush out as soon as the priest leaves. Many kneel down and pray after Mass.

I do wonder how our Lord feels about people who can’t give Him the reverence and time during Sunday the day we worship Him and thank Him for all He has done for us.

It might just be because before the OF became the norm, there was little participation in singing during Mass by the congregation.

Personally, although I surely don’t have a great voice, singing the hymns bring me closer to Jesus.

I have read posts on CAF where people complain if the Mass lasts more than 45 minutes. Don’t we owe God as much time as possible to worship him whether in the liturgy or hymns we sing in praise of His love for us? It should not be an obligation, but a joy to be in His presence.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette

 

[TrueLight]

I’m not arguing the “letter of the law” as it were, what I am saying is that we are at Mass to worship the Lord. While we may not be obligated under canon law to sing a finall hymn, shouldn’t we ***want ***to sing, out of love for the Lord?

Yeah.

I have been shaking my head throughout this whole thread.