Hooting, hollering, and whistling in church

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sigh I just got home from my diocese’s ordinations and I can’t believe that people would actually start hooting, hollering, and whistling in church,.Have we really lost touch with proper decorum and comportment so much that we don’t even recognize that such blatant and disrespectful actions are inappropriate for church?
 
I cringe even when a few parishioners at my church clap for the choir after the recessional - even after an admittedly beautiful offering of music during Mass. So I can’t imagine how I would’ve felt in your shoes.

We seem to have ever growing reasons to divert attention away from Christ and place it on individuals and their accomplishments. It’s important to have this acknowledgment, but during Mass is highly inappropriate IMO. It’s bad enough when it comes direct from a few parishioners; but when priests initiate and encourage it, it is even worse. Happens all the time in my parish. I actually have made apologies to Christ on behalf of this activity when it happens. Silly?

I imagine this does not happen at traditional Masses. Never been to one.

Funny thing is that I’m just a 4-year convert, and I witness this stuff happening with cradle Catholics - the last ones I’d expect. I figured it would come from folks like me, who converted from happy feel-good sects of Christianity. Nope. Seems like the converts are the ones calling for more reverence. Ironic.
 
SteveGC said:
I cringe even when a few parishioners at my church clap for the choir after the recessional - even after an admittedly beautiful offering of music during Mass. So I can’t imagine how I would’ve felt in your shoes.

We seem to have ever growing reasons to divert attention away from Christ and place it on individuals and their accomplishments. It’s important to have this acknowledgment, but during Mass is highly inappropriate IMO. It’s bad enough when it comes direct from a few parishioners; but when priests initiate and encourage it, it is even worse. Happens all the time in my parish. I actually have made apologies to Christ on behalf of this activity when it happens. Silly?

I imagine this does not happen at traditional Masses. Never been to one.

Funny thing is that I’m just a 4-year convert, and I witness this stuff happening with cradle Catholics - the last ones I’d expect. I figured it would come from folks like me, who converted from happy feel-good sects of Christianity. Nope. Seems like the converts are the ones calling for more reverence. Ironic.
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I too have noticed that irony. I too am a convert and the longer I am a Catholic the more traditional I am finding myself. I have never seen clapping at the TLM, also I dont’ see clapping at the religious community I attend Mass with. I had to give up on attending parish churches because it got to be too distracting and there was not [to me] reverence nor respect to Christ. I am not saying that all parish churches or all people who attend parish churches fall into this category. It’s just that for me.

I too have apologized and asked Christ for others that were talking before Mass or clapping, or hooting and hollering. So no I do not think that is silly. In fact I commend it.

There’s places to clap for people doing music, its at concerts, NOT at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If anyone deserves the applause it is Jesus for what he has done for us and what he continues to do today. [Inward applause though].

I have noticed that in some churches it seems more Protestant worship than it does a Catholic worship, I am not sure if I am judging here. But some Protestants clap for their musicians, hoop and holler in their churches, [again not a blanket statement], dance in the aisles, and other things. I wonder if Protestantism practices have snuck their ways into the Mass, and if so, they need to sneak their way back out.

God bless.
 
Love_Divine said:
sigh I just got home from my diocese’s ordinations and I can’t believe that people would actually start hooting, hollering, and whistling in church,.Have we really lost touch with proper decorum and comportment so much that we don’t even recognize that such blatant and disrespectful actions are inappropriate for church?
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Grace,peace, and mercy to you. I am new to Catholic Answes, but lifelong Catholic. Might I share. “Blatant, disrespectful” is a cultural determinative.
Might I guide you to Youtube–Gambia and the Catholic Church (Or any African country and the Catholic Church, or Pacific rim and the Catholic church, and you will see our masses (those in the African diaspora) are filled with a joyful noise, and powerful emotional worship of God.
Howsoever, the quietude appears to be a function of the European heritaged, and by all means worship Father God and Son, Yeshua in the manner that befits you and your culture. You can do nothing more. But if you celebrate outside the United States (or that idiom) get ready for a powerful extension of the Holy Spirit in worship. (It is said that St. Augustine the African bishop of Hippo Regus danced down the aisle (as did David) in worship.(Excuse any arthritic) typos. Humbly submitted…
Pax Christi
 
The worship you speak of in your proceeding post is admirable. I am happy to what you have to say. Still this worship is giving glory to God. If I understand the opening post (and it isn’t perfectly clear what the applause etc was for), I think the opening poster spoke of giving glory to men during the mass, and in fact making this an important part of what is going on.
 
Wow. How sad. Hooting, hollering, and whistling? That’s the sad state the American church is in right now.
 
Love_Divine said:
sigh I just got home from my diocese’s ordinations and I can’t believe that people would actually start hooting, hollering, and whistling in church,.?
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yeah?
try the chrism Mass
they used to process in by parish with banners, no longer, my guess is for that very reason
 
puzzleannie said:
yeah?
try the chrism Mass
they used to process in by parish with banners, no longer, my guess is for that very reason
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Oh, we had the banners in the procession too.

My understanding of the Rite of Ordination, clapping is appropriate, and part of it. Hooting, hollering, and whistling isn’t. I had the same experience at a wedding last weekend in the Church (there was no Mass, however) when they got to the “you may now share a sign of affection with one another.” :rolleyes:
 
h1478971 said:
If you don’t like what happens at the OF go to the EF.
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has nothing whatever to do with the form of Mass as those who engage in this screaming and yelling are unaquainted with Mass in any form.
 
Every week, applause for the choir, applause for the altar servers, applause for the lectors, applause for “everyone for turning up today” (I’m not making that last one up).

I just fold my hands and try to keep a blank expression. This has actually prompted people to poke me and ask, “what’s wrong?”
 
T700 said:
Every week, applause for the choir, applause for the altar servers, applause for the lectors, applause for “everyone for turning up today” (I’m not making that last one up).

I just fold my hands and try to keep a blank expression. This has actually prompted people to poke me and ask, “what’s wrong?”
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Amazing.

You know, I actually get more embarrassed by this sort of stuff (applause and other antics during Mass) than I do when I make a buffoon out of myself in some other situations. I literally get flush, sweaty and anxious. I’m amazed no one has noticed this yet and prodded me about “what’s wrong”. My wife sees my reactions and thinks I get too angry about it (although she herself does not participate in the ruckus).

Why do I detest this so much? The people I see doing this are good people, obviously. Very devout otherwise. So why does it seem to be so disrespectful to me?
 
SteveGC said:
Why do I detest this so much? The people I see doing this are good people, obviously. Very devout otherwise. So why does it seem to be so disrespectful to me?
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Because it is disrespectful. The Mass is not a time to praise people, it’s a time to worship God.
 
Love_Divine said:
sigh I just got home from my diocese’s ordinations and I can’t believe that people would actually start hooting, hollering, and whistling in church,.Have we really lost touch with proper decorum and comportment so much that we don’t even recognize that such blatant and disrespectful actions are inappropriate for church?
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The ordinations were the baptisms and confirmations? Even in the case of regular weekly Masses, where people applaud the choir, it seems like a small thing to sweat and fret over. In my estimation, people are thanking God Who gave these talents to the choir, rather than in a worldly sense showing appreciation for their talents they mustered up on their own. And certainly even if the people are showing appreciation to the choir for their talents, the choir members themselves probably well understand that their talents come from God, and they deflect the accolades back to their just Source.
 
TheMc said:
Because it is disrespectful. The Mass is not a time to praise people, it’s a time to worship God.
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You’re right, of course. It’s the obvious answer, which I tell myself each time I become upset about it. Getting to the heart of why they do it is what I contemplate more.
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Stylites:
In my estimation, people are thanking God Who gave these talents to the choir
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Are they really applauding God’s grace in the accomplishments of others? In an indirect way, perhaps. But even if it is done with full and sole focus on God’s sovereignty and glory, it seems inappropriate to clap about it. If people must do this during Mass, can they not come up with some other less-disruptive way to acknowledge God’s grace in others? Why the ruckus? Why the noise? If we’re applauding God, does he need to have us make physical noise to realize we are doing so?
 
Stylites said:
The ordinations were the baptisms and confirmations?
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No, it was the Ordination to the Priesthood. :eek: C’mon! We don’t start hooting and hollering during the PGA tournament. We give a lame “golf clap”. There’s no excuse to hoot, holler, and whistle at such a solemn event.
 
Love_Divine said:
No, it was the Ordination to the Priesthood. :eek: C’mon! We don’t start hooting and hollering during the PGA tournament. We give a lame “golf clap”. There’s no excuse to hoot, holler, and whistle at such a solemn event.
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If I were there, I would instantly drop to my knees in reparation.
 
SteveGC said:
I cringe even when a few parishioners at my church clap for the choir after the recessional - even after an admittedly beautiful offering of music during Mass. So I can’t imagine how I would’ve felt in your shoes.

We seem to have ever growing reasons to divert attention away from Christ and place it on individuals and their accomplishments. It’s important to have this acknowledgment, but during Mass is highly inappropriate IMO. It’s bad enough when it comes direct from a few parishioners; but when priests initiate and encourage it, it is even worse. Happens all the time in my parish. I actually have made apologies to Christ on behalf of this activity when it happens. Silly?

I imagine this does not happen at traditional Masses. Never been to one.

Funny thing is that I’m just a 4-year convert, and I witness this stuff happening with cradle Catholics - the last ones I’d expect. I figured it would come from folks like me, who converted from happy feel-good sects of Christianity. Nope. Seems like the converts are the ones calling for more reverence. Ironic.
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It has never happened at my church… FSSP… and I am very very thankful for that! You might want to “convert” again… Traditional Latin Mass…
 
SteveGC said:
I think about that frequently.
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I became Catholic in 1999. Wonderful… but never could find the Church I had been longing for my whole life until 2010 when I attended the Traditional Latin Mass. I have never been happier!
 
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