Have you ever walked out of church during Mass?

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Contra_Mundum said:
Things that make me want to walk out: heretical sermons; liturgical dancing; Mass that doesn’t resemble a Mass (yup, I’ve seen that too and wondered where I was). There is more but I don’t want to go on a rant.

As for me not being humble as one poster suggested, I disagree. I love the Lord so much and can’t stand the disrespectful attitudes of those who want to turn Mass into entertainment or a social event.
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I agree. A heretical sermon may not only be a problem for that time. The priest by rejecting Catholic teaching on one matter, may end up invalidating the Mass during the Consecration.
 
The only time I’ve been tempted to do so was at the start of the Iraq war, when one of our deacons compared our 101st Airborne to Saddam’s Hussein’s henchmen. I was so infuriated that I got up, as did a couple of other people, and went out to the vestibule until he was done speaking. I then returned for the rest of the Mass. He was well known for his left-wing politics, and thankfully, he is no longer preaching at the parish.
 
tinalewis said:
I’ve wondered about how our elderly priests handle bladder issues during Mass. Most of the elderly men I know always have one eye on the men’s room, yet our priests can’t exactly excuse themselves during Mass, can they?
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only in case of a emergency. and not during certain parts thou.
 
I walked out of a mass about a year ago - only time in my life. The mass was at 5PM on Sunday and of course the last of the weekend. I didn’t know ahead of time that it was the confirmation mass - about 60 kids and officiated by the bishop. The church was packed and I was seated in the back of the church. The reason I left was mainly because of the behavior of those around me. Someone in hot pants and a slinky top ran up and down the aisle taking pictures and others were talking back and forth. A family sat in front of me with a school aged kid who I suspect had a combination of ADD and developmental delay. The Mother brought books and some things to keep him occupied but didn’t work for very long. He was right in front of me and kept jumping up and down. The Dad was seated next to me and kept standing to indicate to him to behave. I was hot, tired and my foot hurt. I could of dealt with not feeling the greatest or the behaviors but with all combined, I couldn’t concentrate. After 45 minutes (and the confirmations were not even completed) I got up and walked out - and I am not sorry.
 
Luckily I have been fortunate enough to not have to walk out of Mass because of one or more of the OP’s reasons. I love my parish very much. I’m so sorry for those of you who have to deal with those sort of things! I did, however, need to leave Mass (assisted by my dad) when I almost fainted due to lack of water on a hot day. 😃 Silly me. My wonderful pastor came to the back of the Church to give me Communion and all was well.👍
 
Excluding sickness, I have done it once. My wife and I went to a suburban congregation near us for the first time. The music was essentially a rock band with a full drum-kit. The teenager playing the drums played them like he was a real rock-and-roll drummer w/ loud and frequent crashes of the drums/cymbals. I think we both planned to suck it up and simply never return to this parish in the future (a process we’ve been through plenty of times), but it was so unbelievably distracting that we decided to leave after receiving the Eucharist and pray in the car.

Not sure if it was the right decision, but my wife especially really needs the prayer time after receiving and it was just virtually impossible to do so inside the church.
distracted said:
i fail to see how poster’s comments are lacking in humility…
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I second this. I see no lack of humility at all in the OP’s question (for goodness sake, he didn’t even leave, he was just tempted!). It’s a fair question to ask and want to discuss.
 
Aside from an emergency or illness, I would certainly walk out of Mass if the consecration was invalid. I’d be tempted to say out loud “that’s not valid” to avoid people committing idolatry and such, but I don’t know if I’d be brave enough.

Otherwise… probably if the Eucharist was desecrated by the priest, or maybe if something was really horribly heretical…
 
tbcrawford said:
As practising Catholics when we participate in the Mass we are in the presence of Our Blessed Lord,to walk out on Him because we are unhappy about the homily or way the Mass is being conducted or the priest is abrasive and so forth surely should be insignificant.
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The key word in what you have said is participate. When one is attending a Mass where Father or Deacon McLiberal preaches a heretical sermon or the Music Director acts like this is his stage and show to display his talents, can one truly be said to be participating in the Mass? Do we, those in attendance, become the equivalent of the people in the seats at a movie, stage play, or lecture?

As Catholics we have the right to a valid Mass in which we can also praise the Lord. When the priest of music director co-opts the purpose of the Mass and makes it into a soapbox for their personal views or a showcase of their artistic ability, we have every right to walk out.

God bless

Tony
 
I have to add my opinion on this.
  1. Christ’s passion was not easy to endure.
    So do you think you can sit their for one hour even if the presider does not speak great English, or does not give the most entertaining Holies? Or may say something that you do not agree with?
    I like to think of it as, suffering. The same as Jesus did for all of us. It is not always fun but I believe in the real reason I go to Church. To be one with the Community of God and to recieve his Son. If I offer that full suffering to God praying that to be with your son is important enought to me to endure this (temporary) hardship.
    I would hope to think God would be pleased. Because do we not offer the Mass as a “Sacrafice” anyway?
 
agp2176 said:
As Catholics we have the right to a valid Mass in which we can also praise the Lord. When the priest of music director co-opts the purpose of the Mass and makes it into a soapbox for their personal views or a showcase of their artistic ability, we have every right to walk out.
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Um, no, you don’t have any such right, not the way you seem to mean it. If the priest determines that it will be a low Mass with no music, you don’t have a “right” to spontaneously sing an offertory hymn while he is doing the offertory. If he determines that the Mass will be sung with all the Gregorian propers and ordinary, you don’t have a “right” to bellow Holy God We Praise Thy Name over top of it. You can “praise the Lord” in your heart but you don’t get to determine the externals of how that’s going to be done. If you don’t find Gregorian chant very conducive to praising the Lord, well, that’s too bad (literally, in the sense that it’s regrettable; but also figuratively, in the sense that you just have to deal).

The same applies to crying babies and rowdy kids (“I left Mass because I couldn’t concentrate!”), awful sermons (“I left Mass because I didn’t like what the priest was saying!”), and liturgical dance (“I left Mass because I don’t approve of liturgical abuse!”). Mass just isn’t all about what you want, what you get out of the experience, whether you approve of it, or how much you enjoy it.

Or I suppose we could say you have the right to walk out, as long as you go to a later Mass to meet your Sunday obligation! Anyone who knowingly shirks his obligation just because he doesn’t like the Mass, has at least one sin to confess.
 
I have loadsatimes - actually Ive been carried out on many occasions when I was at school - I cant stand the smell of incense it knocks me off my feet - I suggested I wear a gas mask but the priest wasnt so keen on that idea.

You will think this a frivolous reply but I am serious - this happened to me on many occasions when the priest was swinging the thurible.
 
JerrySeibert said:
I have to add my opinion on this.
  1. Christ’s passion was not easy to endure.
    So do you think you can sit their for one hour even if the presider does not speak great English, or does not give the most entertaining Holies? Or may say something that you do not agree with?
    I like to think of it as, suffering. The same as Jesus did for all of us. It is not always fun but I believe in the real reason I go to Church. To be one with the Community of God and to recieve his Son. If I offer that full suffering to God praying that to be with your son is important enought to me to endure this (temporary) hardship.
    I would hope to think God would be pleased. Because do we not offer the Mass as a “Sacrafice” anyway?
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I agree 100% with this. If the Mass offends you then perhaps it offends our Lord as well. You could stay there to console Him. Some of the comments on this thread really do seem to lack humility. They have a distinct holier than thou air about them.
 
pwl said:
I have loadsatimes - actually Ive been carried out on many occasions when I was at school - I cant stand the smell of incense it knocks me off my feet - I suggested I wear a gas mask but the priest wasnt so keen on that idea.

You will think this a frivolous reply but I am serious - this happened to me on many occasions when the priest was swinging the thurible.
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You’re not suppost to inhale…
 
I have never walked out of Mass, although I have a friend who is quite Traditional who has done so. For me, as long as it is valid/licit on my end and fulfills the Sunday/Holy Day obligation, then what reason is there to walk out? If the Priest or Deacon is giving a bad homily…well, that is their pain or pleasure. Even if there is liturgical abuse, what matters is whether the Mass is valid/licit or not.

BTW- I assume if one walks out of Mass early, they would still have to attend another one to fulfill their Sunday obligation. My understanding is that the Priest/Deacon/liturgical minister/etc. ticking you off or offending you is NOT a valid reason to violate the Sunday/Holy Day obligation.
 
I didn’t know it can get so bad for people. I have never had this problem at any of my parishes I’ve attended in life. The closest to anything outside the traditional Mass is that my current one does a little thing during one of the Advent Sundays where just before the Mass, they will have a couple parishoners (sp?) re-enact Mary and Joseph trying to find a place to stay so “Mary” can give “birth”. Nothing theatrical, nothing wrong with it, I find it to be a good way to share the story of Christmas with everyone. It’s not done during the Mass.

One time (same parish), it was the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Instead of having everyone sing during the Preparation, they just had this one man, who had the most incredible voice, sing “Amazing Grace”. It was quite beautiful.
 
MarkThompson said:
The same applies to crying babies and rowdy kids (“I left Mass because I couldn’t concentrate!”), awful sermons (“I left Mass because I didn’t like what the priest was saying!”), and liturgical dance (“I left Mass because I don’t approve of liturgical abuse!”). Mass just isn’t all about what you want, what you get out of the experience, whether you approve of it, or how much you enjoy it.
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So is this to say that Catholics should simply tolerate Liturgical abuses, and Priests who are obvious Heretics?

If a Mass is not performed in accordance with doctrine, we DO have the right to walk out and find one that is. Forcing one’s self to endure something that we’re uncomfortable with does not foster our relationship with God - it detracts from it.
We do what we believe is the best thing for that relationship, and if it means leaving Mass because something wasn’t right, so be it.

E.A.
 
Erin_Anne said:
So is this to say that Catholics should simply tolerate Liturgical abuses, and Priests who are obvious Heretics?

If a Mass is not performed in accordance with doctrine, we DO have the right to walk out and find one that is. Forcing one’s self to endure something that we’re uncomfortable with does not foster our relationship with God - it detracts from it.
We do what we believe is the best thing for that relationship, and if it means leaving Mass because something wasn’t right, so be it.

E.A.
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I suppose if you walk out of Mass and then go to another one to fulfill your Sunday/Holy Day obligation, then I guess it is acceptable. Remember, obedience to the precepts of the Church is paramount.
 
nsper7 said:
I suppose if you walk out of Mass and then go to another one to fulfill your Sunday/Holy Day obligation, then I guess it is acceptable. Remember,obedience to the precepts of the Church is paramount.
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Yes - the obligation will still need to be fulfilled.

E.A.
 
Erin_Anne said:
Yes - the obligation will still need to be fulfilled.

E.A.
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And even a wonky (i.e. bad homily, liturgical abuse AS LONG AS the words of consecration are said properly, bad hymns/music, etc.) Mass fulfills the obligation, right?
 
Well, back when I wasn’t Catholic and I attended a service with my husband. He wanted to find a Catholic church he liked, so we tried a different one than earlier in the month (he is a cradle Catholic, not practicing now). Near the beginning of the service (well before consecration, I think before the readings) a lady came dancing - literally - up the aisle wearing a filmsy blue outfit, twirling and spinning. My husband about choked :eek:! After grumbling about this “NOT being proper for Mass” we left, and didn’t go to a church again for a long time. Since I was anti-Catholic at the time, I was highly amused and thought it a sign from God for us to stay away from Catholic churches. Yep, I’ve changed 180 degrees… although I still wouldn’t want to see that in Mass.
 
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