Is clapping okay after the priest declares that the mass is over?

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slh3016

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Our priest, a good and holy man, beckoned the parishioners to clap for one of our auxillary priest’s birthdays yesterday after daily mass and some teenagers in the crowd (that normally attend an ultra-traditional parish on Sundays) chided my son for clapping along with the priest. It hurt my son’s feelings and left a very bitter taste in his mouth because of their “holier than thou” attitude about it especially since we are recent converts and these are cradle Catholic kids. My son asked them why it was so wrong since the priest had said, “The mass is over” and they did not give him an answer other than, “Well, you’re just not supposed to do that at mass.” There have been occasions, too, where this priest has recognized other people for his or her birthday as well that have come after Holy Communion and after the host has been placed back in the Tabernacle but before the concluding rites.

I’d like to have a better explanation as to why this is wrong, if at all. The parents of these teenagers display the same disdain for our priest for doing these types of things as well. It feels very hurtful that they think we don’t attend a “good enough” parish, especially when I don’t understand if their disdain is due to personal preference or to valid liturgical abuse.

This is the only parish that we have regularly attending and we are relatively new Catholics so please no flaming! I’m asking for sincere, not sarcastic or haughty, replies.
 
It’s a little odd and out of place in my opinion, but I think the “fault” to the extent there is fault is on the priest rather than your son. His clapping after being asked to is a pretty understandable response.
 
slh3016 said:
Our priest, a good and holy man, beckoned the parishioners to clap for one of our auxillary priest’s birthdays yesterday after daily mass and some teenagers in the crowd (that normally attend an ultra-traditional parish on Sundays) chided my son for clapping along with the priest. It hurt my son’s feelings and left a very bitter taste in his mouth because of their “holier than thou” attitude about it especially since we are recent converts and these are cradle Catholic kids. My son asked them why it was so wrong since the priest had said, “The mass is over” and they did not give him an answer other than, “Well, you’re just not supposed to do that at mass.” There have been occasions, too, where this priest has recognized other people for his or her birthday as well that have come after Holy Communion and after the host has been placed back in the Tabernacle but before the concluding rites.

I’d like to have a better explanation as to why this is wrong, if at all. The parents of these teenagers display the same disdain for our priest for doing these types of things as well. It feels very hurtful that they think we don’t attend a “good enough” parish, especially when I don’t understand if their disdain is due to personal preference or to valid liturgical abuse.

This is the only parish that we have regularly attending and we are relatively new Catholics so please no flaming! I’m asking for sincere, not sarcastic or haughty, replies.
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Please ignore this family, they did not have the courage to confront the priest, so your son was an easier target. If the Mass has been declared over by the priest, IT IS OVER and you may clap for birthdays.
 
Catholic1954 said:
Please ignore this family, they did not have the courage to confront the priest, so your son was an easier target. If the Mass has been declared over by the priest, IT IS OVER and you may clap for birthdays.
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Is is liturgically appropriate for the priest to incite clapping after Communion but before the final prayer or declaring it over? He has done this in the past as well, but, yesterday, he DID say, “The mass is over.”

These families won’t confront our priest because he is graciously allowing our homeschool group to use the parish facilities FOR FREE while their own parishes will not :rolleyes: Again, he is a good and holy man and we are very thankful for him. He truly emulates Jesus in word and deed and I am thankful that my children have him as an example.
 
Our Pastor does not like clapping for the choir, etc., however after Communion, during the announcements he will occasionally ask for applause for something like Mother’s Day, when he asks all mothers to stand up, or if one of the seminarians got ordained, or a Baptism. So if he requests, I applaud. It doesn’t hurt the liturgy at all since it’s during announcements.
 
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Solomonson:
One of the very reasons I leave right after the dismissal is because I don’t want to hear the tortured applause for the cantor and the pianist…

That said I would have told those snots to close their pie-holes if they dared speak to my son in that manner.
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One of these same kids reached across my girls one day to stop a younger boy from clapping with the priest. It happened right in front of me and was very disruptive and disrespectful, IMO.
 
I never saw anything wrong with any form of recognition after dismissal. These teens need some social skills training…

There are plenty of references to clapping at various services in the bible, tell them to try reading it.

Psalm 47:
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. …
 
Strictly speaking, applause in the Church, while the Blessed Sacrament is present, is not appropriate. We are there to render praise, worship, and adoration to God, the Creator of heaven and earth, not to His creatures.

In this context, however, it is clearly inappropriate for anyone to scold a parishioner for clapping, because the practice is established in the parish and encouraged by the priest. If any action is to be taken, it should be to speak to the pastor and convince him of the inappropriateness of applause, then allow him to speak to the parish about it from his position of authority.
 
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Solomonson:
One of the very reasons I leave right after the dismissal is because I don’t want to hear the tortured applause for the cantor and the pianist…
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So… this applause occurs after you’ve left???
 
Lion_IRC said:
If the priest says clap - you clap!
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🙂 I have always taught my children to respect authority and the space that we have daily mass in is so small that not clapping is VERY recognizable and surely a sign of defiance.
 
There is nothing wrong with clapping outside of Mass. I do not know if I ever read that it was banned at all times during the Mass either. If that is in the GIRM, I must have missed it. In any case, I would thinking clapping after Mass would be preferable to being a jerk after Mass.
 
slh3016 said:
One of these same kids reached across my girls one day to stop a younger boy from clapping with the priest. It happened right in front of me and was very disruptive and disrespectful, IMO.
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The hang ups that some people have make life difficult for the rest of us. It would be tough to explain to kids why those teens did that to them. I’m not sure what I would say.

I keep hearing stories like yours, on CAF, of people having this ‘in persona Christi’ envy. At Mass, or in the confessional’s of other people, want to tell priests what to do. I haven’t seen it in person but I’ve never seen a lion in the wild either.

You could ask your pastor how you should deal with it if it happens again. I honestly don’t know what I would say or do if that happened to me.
 
pnewton said:
There is nothing wrong with clapping outside of Mass. I do not know if I ever read that it was banned at all times during the Mass either. If that is in the GIRM, I must have missed it. In any case, I would thinking clapping after Mass would be preferable to being a jerk after Mass.
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Anything is preferable to being a jerk anywhere! 🙂
 
Lion_IRC said:
If the priest says clap - you clap!
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This is how I feel. I seems odd to me sometimes, but the priest is leading the mass. It doesn’t happen often but for mothers day, fathers day, veterans day, etc.
 
1Lord1Faith said:
The hang ups that some people have make life difficult for the rest of us. It would be tough to explain to kids why those teens did that to them. I’m not sure what I would say.

I keep hearing stories like yours, on CAF, of people having this ‘in persona Christi’ envy. At Mass, or in the confessional’s of other people, want to tell priests what to do. I haven’t seen it in person but I’ve never seen a lion in the wild either.

You could ask your pastor how you should deal with it if it happens again. I honestly don’t know what I would say or do if that happened to me.
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There was another post recently about rigidity of some young people in the faith as discussed by the pope, is this possibly what he means? Just curious.
 
slh3016 said:
Our priest, a good and holy man, beckoned the parishioners to clap for one of our auxillary priest’s birthdays yesterday after daily mass and some teenagers in the crowd (that normally attend an ultra-traditional parish on Sundays) chided my son for clapping along with the priest. It hurt my son’s feelings and left a very bitter taste in his mouth because of their “holier than thou” attitude about it especially since we are recent converts and these are cradle Catholic kids. My son asked them why it was so wrong since the priest had said, “The mass is over” and they did not give him an answer other than, “Well, you’re just not supposed to do that at mass.” There have been occasions, too, where this priest has recognized other people for his or her birthday as well that have come after Holy Communion and after the host has been placed back in the Tabernacle but before the concluding rites.

I’d like to have a better explanation as to why this is wrong, if at all. The parents of these teenagers display the same disdain for our priest for doing these types of things as well. It feels very hurtful that they think we don’t attend a “good enough” parish, especially when I don’t understand if their disdain is due to personal preference or to valid liturgical abuse.

This is the only parish that we have regularly attending and we are relatively new Catholics so please no flaming! I’m asking for sincere, not sarcastic or haughty, replies.
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Of course it was appropriate for the parish priest to make the request and for his parishioners to instantly comply with the request to honour His Excellency, the auxiliary bishop.

Show your son this video…it was one of the most moving moments in February 2013 as Pope Benedict celebrated a final Mass in Saint Peter’s before retiring – and this is during Mass, not after Mass – with all the Cardinals, all the Bishops, the Curial officials, the Sistine choir…even the Masters of Ceremonies of the Supreme Pontiff…giving His Holiness a standing ovation that swept the entire basilica, after His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State had addressed the Holy Father with words that evoked provoked profound emotion in His Holiness and everyone present…it was an unforgettable moment.

youtube.com/watch?v=l3_J4wQIDEE

It says everything about these people when you say they hold your parish priest in disdain. It is their behaviour that is repugnant and worthy of condemnation. This family who did what they did were completely wrong…and it is they who should be reminded, and in the strongest of terms, of what Pope Francis has said against the rigid. Frankly, you should be extremely wary of these people and those of their ilk.

On a positive note, I hope His Excellency, the auxiliary bishop, was touched by the outpouring of affection for him, which is due him by the lay faithful as well as by the clergy who serve him.
 
slh3016 said:
Our priest, a good and holy man, beckoned the parishioners to clap for one of our auxillary priest’s birthdays yesterday after daily mass and some teenagers in the crowd (that normally attend an ultra-traditional parish on Sundays) chided my son for clapping along with the priest. It hurt my son’s feelings and left a very bitter taste in his mouth because of their “holier than thou” attitude about it especially since we are recent converts and these are cradle Catholic kids. My son asked them why it was so wrong since the priest had said, “The mass is over” and they did not give him an answer other than, “Well, you’re just not supposed to do that at mass.” There have been occasions, too, where this priest has recognized other people for his or her birthday as well that have come after Holy Communion and after the host has been placed back in the Tabernacle but before the concluding rites.

I’d like to have a better explanation as to why this is wrong, if at all. The parents of these teenagers display the same disdain for our priest for doing these types of things as well. It feels very hurtful that they think we don’t attend a “good enough” parish, especially when I don’t understand if their disdain is due to personal preference or to valid liturgical abuse.

This is the only parish that we have regularly attending and we are relatively new Catholics so please no flaming! I’m asking for sincere, not sarcastic or haughty, replies.
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Forgive me if this sounds cliche, but I’d say something to your son about peer pressure and about the importance of thinking for himself rather than automatically imitating whatever he’s sees in his friends.

And, of course, about praying for those teenagers. 🙂
 
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