How long...?

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andremiguel

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How long is a long Mass for you?
Look, in Russian Liturgy you have got masses that last 6 hours.
In Africa, many liturgy last 3 hours.
Now, in Europe, we have workdays masses of 30 minutes. And Sunday Masses of 60 minutes. Some people complain when the Sunday Mass lasts 61 minutes.

So, I would like to know how long is long for you.
If you please, quote the part of the Planet where you live so that we may have a global a regional view.
Thanks.

I will not tell my opinion first so to let people free but anytime I will state it.
 
I’m Canadian, so have been assimilated into the fast-paced Western mentality.

I would say that a Mass/Divine Liturgy beyond around an hour and a half is long for me. I don’t really mind if it clocks in at about an hour and fifteen minutes, though.

The Divine Liturgy I went to yesterday (Sunday) was two hours long, and that definitely left me tired–especially since we were standing for most of that time. I couldn’t imagine going to Coptic Liturgy–a service that’s often supposed to last three hours–bright and early every Sunday morning.
 
The average Coptic Orthodox liturgy here at St. Pishoy in Albuquerque is about three and a half hours, from 8:30 AM to around noon or just south (I count the raising of the morning incense although it’s not technically part of the liturgy proper, mainly because that’s when our priests and congregation consider the day’s worship to be started, so it’s not like it’s really optional; the one time I missed it due to car trouble, people actually called the friend I was traveling with several times, asking where we were). Longer if there’s some special thing to do that day (anointing, washing of the feet, etc).

I have a feeling that if I were attend a Roman Mass now, I might be a little disappointed…things just start getting good, and then everybody goes home! 😃 In fact, the last liturgy I attended here at St. Pishoy was significantly shorter than usual (like 30-45 minutes! I’m not even sure how it happened, but our priests have to fly in from Arizona, from the nearest church, so it could be that Fr. Filemon couldn’t get his usual flight and had to return earlier), and I actually found myself feeling a bit scandalized. “So…that’s it? We’re done?” And then I looked at my watch and realized I had been there for just under three hours. Also, we still had the sgape meal, so I really don’t know what my problem was… How quickly we become accustomed to our ways of doing things, right? 🙂 “Father, the mass should have been over a minute ago!” “Abouna, where did the rest of the liturgy go!” 😃 See, we’re not so different after all…
 
In Michigan, USA, weekday masses are typically 30 minutes, and occasionally there is a 10-15 minute novena afterward. Sunday masses run about 1 hour unless something special is going on. I don’t know how well I would handle a mass/divine liturgy that lasted 3 hours or more, but I do wish that I could spend more time in church; I would love it if the 3+ hours were divided between morning and evening. As it is, I come home after mass and think, “That’s IT? That was my Sunday?” 😛
 
Our parish’s Sundy Mass is typically 40-45 minutes. Though the average in the area is about an hour. Before you take pity on me, it is not rushed or hurried. There is music, but only as much as we need. The entrance hymn is a chorus and a single verse typically. By then, everyone has processed in and is in their place.

Our priest is an excellent homilist, but his homilies do not leave you feeling like you have gourged yourself at an all-you-can-eat buffet. More like a single course at a fine dining establishment. They are rich, and leave you with something to savor, but it does not go on forever and then leave you thinking 🤷.

The Eucharistic Prayer is prayed reverently. Typically, a Psalm is chanted during the distribution of Holy Communion.

There is a period of silence after communion.

Daily Masses are between 25 and 30 minutes.

However long it takes. A friend and I went to the Chrism Mass and it was a glorious two hours.
 
dzheremi said:
The average Coptic Orthodox liturgy here at St. Pishoy in Albuquerque is about three and a half hours, from 8:30 AM to around noon or just south (I count the raising of the morning incense although it’s not technically part of the liturgy proper, mainly because that’s when our priests and congregation consider the day’s worship to be started, so it’s not like it’s really optional; the one time I missed it due to car trouble, people actually called the friend I was traveling with several times, asking where we were). Longer if there’s some special thing to do that day (anointing, washing of the feet, etc).
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Holy smokes. For this Westerner, that’s just… intense. 😛 Hats off to you. 🙂
I have a feeling that if I were attend a Roman Mass now, I might be a little disappointed…things just start getting good, and then everybody goes home! 😃 In fact, the last liturgy I attended here at St. Pishoy was significantly shorter than usual (like 30-45 minutes! I’m not even sure how it happened, but our priests have to fly in from Arizona, from the nearest church, so it could be that Fr. Filemon couldn’t get his usual flight and had to return earlier), and I actually found myself feeling a bit scandalized. “So…that’s it? We’re done?” And then I looked at my watch and realized I had been there for just under three hours. Also, we still had the sgape meal, so I really don’t know what my problem was… How quickly we become accustomed to our ways of doing things, right? 🙂 “Father, the mass should have been over a minute ago!” “Abouna, where did the rest of the liturgy go!” 😃 See, we’re not so different after all…
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I know what you’re talking about. The Maronite Liturgies I’ve attended a few Saturdays with a Lebanese acquaintance were a total letdown. The services were only about an hour, and by their implementation I was reminded of the mostly protestantized Novus Ordo Masses I’ve been to (only a few such Latin Catholic celebrations in my experience were endowed with the splendour and reverence which they deserve).

At least the Maronite parish that I’ve visited is far too latinized for my tastes–(name removed by moderator)ut from practicing Maronites would be appreciated. In contrast, the Melkite parish in the same city, despite the taint of latinization in holding First Communion services, offers Divine Liturgies lasting about an hour and a half which are celebrated in a manner far more faithful to the Eastern tradition. 😃
 
Most Sunday OF Masses last about 45 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes. I feel like it would be longer if many of propers were sung or even said and if the Roman Canon was used instead of the other Eucharistic Prayers. Weekday Masses are 20-30 minutes. Usually, though, this is because they are low Masses with no singing and reception of the Eucharist is quick because not many people are there. The EF Mass that I attend takes about an hour and a half and that’s a High Sung Mass. The priest at that Mass speaks unbelievably quickly (or maybe it just seems quick to me because I read Latin like a 1st grader reads War and Peace). 😃
 
The answer for me is completely dependent on if my children are with me. Sometimes 30 minutes seems like a long time if my children are being impatient. :o

In all seriousness, I don’t mind a lengthy mass (say two-three hours), but I have trouble remembering things. In these instances I can forget the readings or the homily and I feel bad when that happens. Personally, to me it’s not the length of the Mass that matters as much as the length of the Homily. The longer it gets the greater the chance that I am going to forget, or miss the point entirely. I understand that’s probably my own shortcomings, so I try to work on it, but I always appreciate a shorter homily because it seems to “pack a greater punch,” I guess.

I also think that the attendance matters for me. I know the more crowded it is, the shorter my patience becomes. If I am standing in a crowded crying room full of people who only attend twice a year, with children who act accordingly, I have a tendency to lose patience. Terrible I know because I should be happy to see so many people in the Lord’s house. Again, my fault, I know, but I’m just truthfully answering the question.
 
We have the full sung High Mass in the EF and takes approximately an hour and a half, but it seems to feel a lot shorter. So having said that, theoretically if it was for 2 or 3 hours it might not seem like it. This may be due to the fact that time is “heaven time” at Holy Mass. By the way, I’m in Normandy, France.
 
Trebor135 said:
Holy smokes. For this Westerner, that’s just… intense. 😛 Hats off to you. 🙂
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Eh, I thought it might be too, and it was for a little while (maybe the first month or so), but you really do get used to it. It’s just like the fasting or any other discipline that is guided by the church. It seems really hard for a while, and then you settle in after a bit, and by the time the fast is concluding you forget those things that you used to eat. I actually forgot to stop fasting at the end of Lent this year (it was my first one in the COC, so nobody gave me a hard time), because I didn’t know that during the Holy 50 days (between Lent and Pentecost) we aren’t allowed to fast **at all ** – no Wednesday/Friday fast, either! So during that time I asked abouna about how I should handle the fasting when I was having a guest from out of state who is not Orthodox, and abouna was scandalized! “You are still fasting! Oh no, my son…no, no, no…NO FASTING right now! Stop it immediately! It is the holy 50 days, you eat whatever you want and enjoy life with Christ!” 😊
I know what you’re talking about. The Maronite Liturgies I’ve attended a few Saturdays with a Lebanese acquaintance were a total letdown. The services were only about an hour, and by their implementation I was reminded of the mostly protestantized Novus Ordo Masses I’ve been to (only a few such Latin Catholic celebrations in my experience were endowed with the splendour and reverence which they deserve).
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Oh, the Maronites…from what I’ve learned, this is all too common. I would not be too hard on them, myself. They face a lot of challenges from within and without. I do hope that they can free themselves somehow from the N.O.-inspired neo-Latinizations that plague them, of course. They deserve better, and I have plenty of evidence that it was not too long ago that they had much better liturgies than they usually have now.
At least the Maronite parish that I’ve visited is far too latinized for my tastes–(name removed by moderator)ut from practicing Maronites would be appreciated. In contrast, the Melkite parish in the same city, despite the taint of latinization in holding First Communion services, offers Divine Liturgies lasting about an hour and a half which are celebrated in a manner far more faithful to the Eastern tradition. 😃
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Yes, I have heard that about the Melkites. Good for them. My only experience with the Eastern Catholics was with the Ruthenians, which was a bit underwhelming but pleasant. I was sad to see in the only full-length Coptic Catholic service I’ve yet found that they did not have fraction prayers as we do; they gave communion by intinction using pre-cut little cruton-like squares, so it wouldn’t really be possible for them to have such prayers.

(I just realized reading over my post that it reads like I was saying the Coptic liturgy lasted 30-45 minutes last time…hahaha…impossible. Of course, I meant it was that much shorter than usual. I know you know that, but…well, honestly, that does bug me. That’s what I get for posting so late at night. Stupid cold.)
 
It depends on a lot of factors, mainly how painful it is for me be in attendance. I can make it through the 90 to 120 minute High Mass on Sundays. I made it through the 3 hour Easter Vigil Mass in the EF that went on to almost 3:00 am no problem despite being ghastly sick. My first Easter Vigil in the OF, I wanted to cry with all the clowning around to keep people entertained. I’ve been to 60 minute Masses where the reverence was so poor and the abuses were so rampant, that it was a trial for me to make it through the homily without walking out. I’ve been to reverent 3+ hour ordinations that went by no problem.
 
Archdiocese of Atlanta:

At my local parish, Sunday Mass lasts 1 hour (you can almost set your watch by it), with some solemnities and special occasions lasting 1.5-2 hours.

At the college I just graduated from, our Mass used to last 30 minutes. Enough people made a “comment” about how short it was, so it was lengthened to 45 minutes. Some of it, however, simply cannot be helped. We only sing two verses for a processional and 2 verses for a recessional. We also only had an average of 33 people attending in a small space (in other words, not much time is needed for things like offertory, reception, etc.)
 
I heard a sermon and the priest said that he still had 90 seconds for, because of the complaints of the parish, he settled for a 4 minutes and a half sermon !!!
I made a huge effort not to burst into laughter for I noticed that he had a big clock suspended in front of him.
 
Australia, Archdiocese of Brisbane

Typical Western Masses. Weekdays 1/2 hour, Sundays 1 hr is the norm.

I come from a pentecostal background however and only converted 3 years ago so I am used to much longer services. Both of these seem incredibly short, although I love the length of the weekday mass as it is more accessible.

For me to be annoyed, mass would have to go over 2 hrs. Midnight mass is 1 1/2 hrs and the Easter vigil 2 hours - both still seem short to me.

Sufficed to say I’ve never attended a ‘long’ mass.
 
I think it is useful for a weekday Mass to be short (depending on when it is during the day) so that those attending can make it to/back to work. At my parish, weekday Mass last about 25-30 minutes which provides enough time for those who are taking their lunch break (Mass is at 12) to get back to work after a quick bite to eat.
 
It would depend on the length of the communion line. 🙂

At our mission, the priest could give the same homily as in the parish church, but because there are only 25-30 communicants the Mass would seem much shorter. We rarely run as long as an hour and it’s never rushed.
 
In Oregon…the weekday Mass…usually 30-40 minutes…the weekend…usually about an hour. People complain at any more.

Me personally? I just read where I wrote in my diary that I would LOVE a 24 Mass…but I don’t think Fr. would like it…😃

During the weekday I do have to get back to work. I just don’t understand why people complain on Sunday…you would think it’s a mortal sin for Mass to run over…and people will leave early…which bothers me…what…you can’t give God 10 minutes more?
 
Where I worship, a Benedictine monastery, Mass is typically 50 minutes on weekdays and an hour and 20 minutes on Sundays. Some occasions can stretch it out to nearly 2 hours. I’ve seen close to 3 hours when a solemn profession was combined with Ascension. If you attend Vigils and midnight Mass together on Christmas eve, your derrière will warm the pew for over 3 hours. Same thing at the Easter Vigil.

This is in the Ordinary Form but with fully chanted propers and ordinary from the Graduale Romanum (including the gradual instead of responsorial psalm), and everything else except homily chanted in French. There is no homily on weekdays.

In local parishes, on Sunday 50-60 min is more typical, and 25-30 on weekdays.
 
Weekday masses tend to be about 25-30 mins. No sermon and usually just one hymn, a thanksgiving hymn after communion.

On Sunday the mass I attend is roughly an hour, give or take, I never notice how long it is though! My husband is usually the one to comment on the length or brevity of the mass, as he isn’t Catholic he is at home while the children and I are at mass and seems to be more aware of how long we are away!

ETA. I live on the west coast f Scotland!
 
My cousin Ken tells me of his parish priest who broke all records: 15 minutes Masses. Coming from the altar to give communion, he would not bother to go down the stairs. He would jump down (and up again) to be faster…It was in India, Mumbay, former Bombay.
 
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