How long should mass last?

[lizaanne]

Our NO Mass lasts about one hour 20 minutes. Immediately after Mass we say the rosary and have Benediction with exposed Blessed Sacrament. In the summer time Benediction will take place outside in our cemetery grotto area with a lovely procession and can take a bit longer.

No one minds, no one fidgets. If someone can’t stay for whatever reason they leave when they need to (after Mass of course).

It takes as long as it takes. The perfect answer.

~Liza

 

[Claire_from_DE]

We use the term Divine Liturgy, not mass.

When the Patriarch of Moscow liturgized at the new Cathedral in Anchorage, it took 7 hours.

BTW–there are no pews. Everyone stood.

Wow, those Orthodox Alaskans must all be young and fit. I have trouble standing for the length of the Gospel reading sometimes. Do they have special services for children and the elderly? How do the children stand for several hours? How can they see?

Not that I pine for the good ol’ days when the priest could gallop through a daily mass in 20 minutes. I didn’t mind it then but wouldn’t want to go back again. Our 1/2 hour daily mass with homily is short enough.

 

[WhollyRoamin]

They should last all the way to the end. The speed of the Mass shouldn’t be important.

 

[jmcrae]

They should last all the way to the end. The speed of the Mass shouldn’t be important.

I like that.

 

[bilop]

Again - the precept of Sunday Obligation tells us that we are to have no scheduled commitments on Sundays other than to be sharing time with our families, and to be attending Holy Mass. Everything else can be done on the weekdays or else on Saturdays.

Not to minimize the importance of the Sunday obligation, but sometimes sharing time with our families requires scheduling, especially if your having 20 people over, or are travelling to someone’s home.

There is generally no reason for a Mass to exceed 1 hour, excepting a Solemn High Mass, a special feast (Palm Sunday, Easter) or the conferring of the Sacraments (Wedding, Confirmation, ect.). Often the extra time is absorbed in a choir over-performing banal music.

I’ve known priests who say a wonderful reverent Sunday Mass (with homily and singing) in 30 minutes. I’ve been to totally unfufilling masses than run long. I’ve also been to wonderful Masses with chant that run 1:45, but you don’t even notice. But, that is for a major feast.

God Bless

 

[jmcrae]

Not to minimize the importance of the Sunday obligation, but sometimes sharing time with our families requires scheduling, especially if your having 20 people over, or are travelling to someone’s home.

Those kinds of things can be scheduled around the expected length of the Mass, though - your family will understand if you say, “Well, Mass will most likely get out around one-ish, so expect me at about 1:30, or so.”

 

[EasterJoy]

There is generally no reason for a Mass to exceed 1 hour, excepting a Solemn High Mass, a special feast (Palm Sunday, Easter) or the conferring of the Sacraments (Wedding, Confirmation, ect.). Often the extra time is absorbed in a choir over-performing banal music.

There is no reason for a Mass not to exceed an hour, either, though. Surely most of us spend far more time enduring the banal on a weekly basis, and with less edifying content.

 

[BatMack]

Most people stay in the pews until all verses of the final hymn has been sung. But there are always those that leave right after Communion no matter if it is 60 minutes or 75.

Yeah, I’ve never been one to step out early. I don’t leave until the Priest walks by.

posted by EasterJoy This is not to say that you might not prefer a parish where the Masses are shorter, having found them to not suffer in liturgical quality. Important things being equal, you may legitimately prefer one priest’s Masses over another for any number of personal reasons

I don’t prefer a mass that is shorter as long as there is a decent homily or choir that justifies the added length. My children’s behavior becomes a distraction for me and I find as though I can’t just devote myself to worshipping if they are requiring parenting. The mass should last until the end but not because one feels the need to speak endlessly in a homily. The mass does follow a rigid series of events that vary mostly only due to the occasion and the reason for my post isn’t length due to speed. The only difference in added time I can see is the length of the homily or music. In my case it is usually the homily. I guess I should try another RC church but I hate having to leave my town to go to one.

Thank you all for the (name removed by moderator)ut.

Lance

 

[dachsiemom]

My experience has been that masses are typically 50-60 minutes, except weekdays of course. A friend from work belongs to a Russian Catholic Church and mass is 2-3 hours - no seating except for the elderly/disabled. I come for the mass and that hour or so is an hour of peace - if longer that is okay - no rush. This may be a little off topic but how long is a TLM?

 

[Phemie]

Yeah, I’ve never been one to step out early. I don’t leave until the Priest walks by.

The musicians generally feel that you are stepping out early if you walk out before the final hymn is over.

 

[Curious_Gamer]

Again - the precept of Sunday Obligation tells us that we are to have no scheduled commitments on Sundays other than to be sharing time with our families, and to be attending Holy Mass. Everything else can be done on the weekdays or else on Saturdays.

I don’t mean to contradict you, but there are certain commitments that may require one to be away from home on a Sunday. For example, I work in a nursing home. I am required to work every other weekend as part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, I always go to Mass, but I am obliged to work on those Sundays. I am not able to spend the entire day with my family. What is your opinion about people that must attend work on Sunday?

 

[Newbie2]

They should last all the way to the end. The speed of the Mass shouldn’t be important.

Too bad not everyone actually stays until the end.

I don’t mean to contradict you, but there are certain commitments that may require one to be away from home on a Sunday. For example, I work in a nursing home. I am required to work every other weekend as part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, I always go to Mass, but I am obliged to work on those Sundays. I am not able to spend the entire day with my family. What is your opinion about people that must attend work on Sunday?

Go on Saturday.

No, that’s a good point. I think that what jmcrae was pointing out is that one should not purposefully schedule things that conflict with mass on Sundays. If you gotta work to eat, that’s not necessarily under your control.

 

[pickguard1]

I don’t mean to contradict you, but there are certain commitments that may require one to be away from home on a Sunday. For example, I work in a nursing home. I am required to work every other weekend as part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, I always go to Mass, but I am obliged to work on those Sundays. I am not able to spend the entire day with my family. What is your opinion about people that must attend work on Sunday?

If you have a legitimate reason to miss mass or leave early, there’s no problem. Work is a legitimate reason, although you should try and schedule it around mass if you can. Sometimes that’s not possible though Kid’s sports or barbecues aren’t a legitimate reason to skip mass, or short-change your attendance, though.

 

[pickguard1]

My children’s behavior becomes a distraction for me and I find as though I can’t just devote myself to worshipping if they are requiring parenting. Lance

I often have the same problem. What I usually do is pick my kid up, and take them to a place away from others so they don’t spread the distraction. Then I just start praying the rosary in my head, asking God to unite it with the prayers of the priest who is saying mass. This way I’m still participating spiritually, even if it’s not through direct listening to the liturgy.

peace,
Will

 

[jmcrae]

I don’t mean to contradict you, but there are certain commitments that may require one to be away from home on a Sunday. For example, I work in a nursing home. I am required to work every other weekend as part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, I always go to Mass, but I am obliged to work on those Sundays. I am not able to spend the entire day with my family. What is your opinion about people that must attend work on Sunday?

You can get a dispensation from your obligation to attend Mass, if you have to work on weekends. I am not talking about situations where a dispensation would be appropriate; I’m talking about the normal situation where someone has a choice in the matter.

There is no law that requires children to be involved in organized sports on Sundays, and there are no penalties for being late arriving at a barbecue.

 

[EasterJoy]

Yeah, I’ve never been one to step out early. I don’t leave until the Priest walks by.

I don’t prefer a mass that is shorter as long as there is a decent homily or choir that justifies the added length. My children’s behavior becomes a distraction for me and I find as though I can’t just devote myself to worshipping if they are requiring parenting. The mass should last until the end but not because one feels the need to speak endlessly in a homily. The mass does follow a rigid series of events that vary mostly only due to the occasion and the reason for my post isn’t length due to speed. The only difference in added time I can see is the length of the homily or music. In my case it is usually the homily. I guess I should try another RC church but I hate having to leave my town to go to one.

Thank you all for the (name removed by moderator)ut.

Lance

In other words, length is not the issue here at all. It is the quality of the liturgy.

Self-indulgence or poor judgment by the homilist, celebrants, or musicians can work towards the ruin of a liturgy, whether the effect on the time is to shorten or lengthen the liturgy.

If a liturgy is really good, it can’t last long enough for me. If it is poor, I have to admit: it can’t conclude soon enough for me. I know I should be thirsty enough for grace to want to suck it out of even the poorest source, but truly poor quality is too much of a distraction for me. One has to offer it up as a penance and do one’s best, but it is a penance, and there is no getting around it.

I would do it at a discrete time, but there is nothing wrong with telling a priest that you have strained to understand him and can’t. You might want to look into whether the parish can improve amplification for him. Take him out to eat and socialize with him until you get the gist of his accent. Whatever it takes. But if liturgy after liturgy is a penance, the sacrifice of having to drive elsewhere at least some of the time may be have to be made.

 

[SienaFriend]

I live close by, I don’t have a watch, but I am usually count on being home an hour and half from the time mass is scheduled. Weekdays are about 30min. We have several masses 5 on sundays, so that means, they have to be on a pretty tight schedule too, cars coming in before cars are all out sometimes. Also, I try to read the readings for the day every day online, and then if there is a priest or anyone that I can’t understand I have read it before hand. I didn’t plan that but it has happened and helped. We don’t have missles at this parish, a first for me. I like the prayers that are usually in the back of missle to help me get settled down before it starts. So now, I’m either praying a rosary or divine Mercy, or like today I forgot my rosary, wasn’t very early, and so did the Jesus Prayer and finally got my breathing to slow down. I don’t know why, but I’m always kind of wound up and shakey when I get to mass. I admire parents with kids and how hard it must be. We don’t have a crying room here, but I would think that would be very helpful with a longer mass, or alot of kids or one unruley one. Just my two cents. You go girl!

 

[mcmitton]

Our liturgy usually is about an hour. But, some of our musicians [and ergo, the assembly] expect to only sing enough verses for the procession and recession to reach their destinations.

So, hymns sung are not complete, the verses are not completed, leaving us with an incomplete hymn, unfinished words of praise, petition, et als.

We are in such a hurry to leave God’s presence!

 

[Sr_Sally]

“It takes as long as it takes” is not an answer nor is it even remotely helpful. I was looking for an actual answer which you must not have. You are right about the importance but unfortunately there are many other commitments on Sunday to get to such as sports. Another consideration is having four children under eight sit on a wooden bench quietly for a hour and a half. I will take under advisement addressing the priest but it is the combination of a low monotone compounded with his thick accent.

Lance

Our parish has 4 Masses on Sunday mornings, so you can tell about how long a Mass will last by how soon the next one is scheduled.

That said, in general, no there is no limit on how long or short a Mass should be. It depends on what other things are happening (ie a commisioning of CCD teachers), how long the homily is, how many present themselves for Holy Communion, which hymns are sung, even which readings are scheduled.

The Wikipedia article you quoted sounds like it is referring to an OF daily ‘low’ Mass. Those Masses have no music, no responses from the congregation, usually no homily, and often no one but the priest receives Communion. Of course in that situation Mass can be over in 20 minutes, but that is not at all typical for a Sunday Mass.

Here is the US, most of us have the option of several Masses per Sunday and even several parishes to choose from. Try going to a few different times and see which once usually run shorter. Then settle into a routine on Sundays and your children will learn to sit quietly during Mass. The graces you receive from attending are immeasurable, so please do not skip Mass!

 

[Trad_Julia]

In the 2 parishes I’ve attended thus far, masses with music lasted an hour to 65 minutes. Without, they were typically 45 minutes, sometimes 40 minutes. I prefer a quiet, reverent mass without music to the OCP-inspired junk otherwise played, so I attend the shorter of the two, which is always the earliest in the morning on a Sunday.