How do you all feel about this? Praying loudly before Mass begins

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StJudePray4Me

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Hi all

I know we have discussed in other threads how some of us dislike people being noisy in the pews as they wait for Mass to begin. I had an experience that was different, but somewhat related, and I thought I’d throw it out there for comments.

I have been attending weekday Masses during Lent. I never really did this before with any regularity.

I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet it is there in my home Parish. No music, not too many people, just really peaceful and quiet. I found it so easy to really pray before the Mass began. I was able to focus my thoughts and it was really great!

Now, last Friday I went to a neighboring parish, as I was unable to get to mine for the 8:30 am Mass, and I knew they had a 9:00. I got there at about ten minutes to 9. There were about 20 people there already, all scattered through the church. One woman was loudly praying the rosary. Many of the others scattered throughout would join her for the second stanza of the Hail Mary. After she finished the rosary, (they must have been there for a while, as they finished the rosary shortly after I arrived), she went on to pray a litany of saints.

I don’t believe that this woman was leading prayers in any official capacity. I don’t know if this is a regular practice there, but it seemed that many people were joining her, so I figured they must be somewhat accustomed to this.

I was sort of disappointed, as I was looking forward to the quiet I had begun to expect at a weekday morning Mass. I did however join in. I couldn’t really think with this going on around me, so I figured I’d pray with them.

What say you? Appropriate? Or not?
 
I see no problem with praying this way. When I first joined my parish (convert), the Rosary was said in the manner described until about 5 minutes before daily Mass. If I wanted to participate, I did. If not, it didn’t distract me from praying myself. Most times, I prayed with them. I don’t get distracted by other noises, talking or praying. I’m lucky in that way I guess becaue I do know some who have trouble blocking out the “noise”.

A side note, the Rosary is no longer said right before Mass. Instead, everyone prays the Liturgy of the Hours. Personally, I love everyone praying together.
 
it is the regular practice in many parishes to pray the rosary as a group before or after Mass, and I expect the regular daily Mass-goers know about it and expect it. If they have permission, so what? My local (not work) parish, prays the LOTH before early Mass, so that is where I try to go. The last two verses of the hymn are sung after as the intro hymn for Mass. With due respect for personal preference, quiet in regards to casual frivolous speech and action should certainly be expected before an after Mass, but for silence, the designated parts of the Mass itself, and during adoration, are the most appropriate and where we have the right to expect it. The practice of personal recollection even when surrounded by others is a very valuable spiritual tool.
 
I believe if that isthe routine at this particular parish its ok and you should go to a quieter parish if that is your preference.However you could consult with the pastor to see if he thinks that there is a majority who would prefer silence.
 
nicolep said:
I see no problem with praying this way. When I first joined my parish (convert), the Rosary was said in the manner described until about 5 minutes before daily Mass. If I wanted to participate, I did. If not, it didn’t distract me from praying myself. Most times, I prayed with them. …
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I think many parishes do this. Our parish prays the rosary in this way on Tuesday mornings afer Mass. Sometimes one lady leads the entire rosary. At other times, we have one lady lead each decade. We also have the Mother of Perpetual Help devotion on Tuesday mornings after Mass.
 
puzzleannie said:
it is the regular practice in many parishes to pray the rosary as a group before or after Mass, and I expect the regular daily Mass-goers know about it and expect it. …
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Yes, I think this is a very common practice, but it is apparently new to the OP. We’ve done it at our parish for years.
 
Well, the good news is, if the Rosary is prayed before Mass, there should be quiet time after. I prefer this for myself. If I’m going to a morning daily Mass, I usually want to spend some time after Mass in thanksgiving and personal prayer. I also usually arrive just on time or only a minute or two early, so the pre-Mass Rosary-pray-ers don’t bother me. In my home parish, the lady who leads the Rosary jumps in about five seconds after the priest leaves the altar. I don’t go there often. Up the road, at least they take five minutes or so to figure out who will lead each decade, so there’s a short period of peace after Mass at least.
 
SwizzleStick said:
I think many parishes do this. Our parish prays the rosary in this way on Tuesday mornings afer Mass. Sometimes one lady leads the entire rosary. At other times, we have one lady lead each decade. We also have the Mother of Perpetual Help devotion on Tuesday mornings after Mass.
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I agree, it seems fairly common.
 
In our parish the Rosary is after the daily Mass and after the Prayer to St Michael, which is at times started by some of our priests as they recess out after Mass.
 
Over here on the other side of the pond it doesn’t happen at my parish. My Church is quite big and the Sunday 9.30am mass tends to have 60+ people minimum each week (depends on the weather, sometimes it’s so busy there is no seats for anyone and theres about 40 pews), so while it is quiet there is a constant background noise of people shuffling quietly in their seats or people entering. I find it comforting though. For the most part nobody talks so it’s very peaceful.

Saying that though, I do notice some people have their rosarys out but they’re never sat in a group or anything - just quietly praying to themselves. Many continue holding their rosary throughout the Mass itself.
 
I haven’t seen it done before Sunday Mass, only before daily Mass.
 
In the parish where I attend daily Mass we pray Vespers afterward. I’m sure that it’s distracting to some people who would like silent time after Mass, but if we want to pray it as a group I’m not sure what other options there are. If you can’t come together in the church to pray as a group, where can you come together?
 
I just checked our parish website and found that the rosary is lead after 8:00 Mass every weekday, info quoted below. I did not know that. I used to go to the weekly all school Mass with my children when they were younger and that day varied each week. I would leave Church after Mass and wave to them in the vestibule as they went by going back to their classrooms, so I never knew the rosary was recited every day. Now, my weekday Mass of choice is Tuesday morning, unless I change up the day for some reason (i.e. Ash Wednesday, etc.)

“There is a public recitation of the Rosary, led by parishioners, every day after the 8:00 am Mass.”
 
We pray one decade of the rosary (with our priest as the leader) every day before mass (including Sundays) at my parish. It quiets down the congregation and gets them focused for the mass. There is quiet time after before the priest officially enters for the mass, and everyone seems to really like it. I think it depends on the parish priest and what the parishioners like.🙂
 
StJudePray4Me said:
…Now, last Friday I went to a neighboring parish, as I was unable to get to mine for the 8:30 am Mass, and I knew they had a 9:00. I got there at about ten minutes to 9. There were about 20 people there already, all scattered through the church. One woman was loudly praying the rosary. Many of the others scattered throughout would join her for the second stanza of the Hail Mary. …
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We are scattered throughout Church for Mass and the Perpetual Help devotion, but after Mass and devotion, all of us gather in the back left corner of Church to pray the rosary together so we don’t disturb others who don’t wish to join in praying the rosary.
 
In my parish they pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and the Rosary immediately before all daily Masses and the Rosary alone before the Sunday Mass on the first Sunday of the month.

Like in the OP, the usual daily congregation numbers around 6 and they are scattered throughout a church that seats 250. I’ve led a decade of the Rosary once, when I happened to be there and they only had 4 people other than me. Although I know that it angers some people that they are there that close to Mass, my beef is not that they pray it and thus are distracting, my beef is that nobody does anything but mumble and you can’t understand anything that’s being said.
 
I think this is a wonderful practice for most active parishes. 🙂 However, if it is scattered and chaotic…then it can be seen as disruptive to other. So, echoing everyone else… if they have permission then it’s ok.

On a similar note, I’ve heard of churches that spend the 10 minutes before Mass chanting prayers for the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam. Powerful Stuff!
 
I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s a traditional custom in lots of parishes.

edited to add:

On the topic in general of distractions at church, I like what J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in on of his letters:
“Also I can recommend this as an exercise (alas! only too easy to find opportunity for): make your communion in circumstances that affront your taste. Choose a snuffling or gabbling priest or a proud and vulgar friar; and a church full of the usual bourgeois crowd, ill-behaved children - from those who yell to those products of Catholic schools who the moment the tabernacle is opened sit back and yawn - open necked and dirty youths, women in trousers and often with hair both unkempt and uncovered. Go to communion with them (and pray for them). It will be just the same (or better than that) as a mass said beautifully by a visibly holy man, and shared by a few devout and decorous people. It could not be worse than the mess of the feeding of the Five Thousand - after which our Lord propounded the feeding that was to come.”
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In our parish the Rosary is prayed after the 8:30 AM Mass, (we have 2 daily morning Masses) except on Fridays, when the Eucharistic Exposition begins, and on Saturdays at 3:30 before the 4 Pm Mass.
 
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