How essential is staying for the final blessing?

[ServantPD]

About 50 announcements, maybe some “special presentations”, birthdays and so forth.

What?!

Well, I think the priest should give the final blessing and then give that amount of announcements. I mean, 30 minutes standing for that is ridiculous in my eyes…

 

[CB_Catholic]

It is so essential, that if you leave before it is given, your obligation is not fulfilled.

Where did you ever get that idea? Please show some documentation for that assertion.

 

[zab]

It’s not just the time for me, it’s the attitude, you know? At my home parish I sit and watch the blessing, wait for the final hymn and postlude to end, and then maybe sit down and pray for a while. It’s that my time is being taken up with stuff that seems irrelevant to the Mass itself or to the purpose of worship. I would gladly wait far longer in a respectful environment - but I find the time of having my attention pulled away from God onto things like singing happy birthday tiresome.

I doubt that there is a perfect parish with a perfect priest to celebrate a perfect Mass, perfect altar servers, readers and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, a perfect organist and a perfect choir, and a perfect congregation, and don’t forget the perfect ushers. I would not trade my wonderful parish for any other, and yet I am no different than you in that I find some things annoying even in my wonderful parish. We have a new organist and a new song leader. I liked the old ones better! There are a few things that do need correction, but I am not the one who needs to do the correcting particularly on things that are so obvious to father. And God bless our wonderful pastor, but there is a couple of things I would like him to change, too. I would prefer that the announcements at the end of Mass be shortened. I guess I’ll just have to be patient with others. We all have to learn to be patient with others just as we would like for others to be patient with us.
Now, for your question about leaving before the final blessing - I would do as someone suggested earlier, that you talk with the priest about your need to get back before the gate closes and ask him if it would be alright for you to leave early.

 

[ProVobis]

God’s blessing is worth it. Just sayin.

 

[Lapey]

I’m curious about having to stay for the final blessing. It seems like in some areas it extends mass by about ~30 minutes after the end of communion. I know mass is good, but I don’t particularly want to stay for ages, especially since the gate home closes after a certain point. I guess I’m weighing which is more respectful - go out where I can think on the mass and pray, or sit and wait for the blessing.

God’s blessing is worth it. Just sayin.

…and Judas left early too…just sayin…

 

[bben15]

Where did you ever get that idea? Please show some documentation for that assertion.

My apologies. I must have misunderstood when I was reading up on fulfilling the Sunday obligation. Now that I’ve read up on it, the obligation is still fulfilled even if you leave before the final blessing.