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JustaServant
Guest
After announcements and before the final dismissal, our priest tells a weekly joke. My question is, is this appropriate?
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Don9of11
Guest
Are the jokes injurious to anyone or offensive in anyway? Do they make you laugh or are they really corny like some priest jokes are? If the priest has given the final blessing and says mass is over, I don’t see it as being inappropriate. A little brevity can go along way. Once as an alter server many years ago I had to serve for a wedding and I asked the priest who was getting married and he replied it was a mixed marriage; between a man and a woman! I still get a chuckle every time I think of it.
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RSD
Guest
Please tell us the jokes. I could always use a little more laughter.
I don’t know if it’s wrong or right, but I fail to see what the point is… does he think the congregation is there for entertainment and he feels he needs to send them out with a laugh? Does the joke tie in with the homily and therefore drives the point home in a humorous way?
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JustaServant
Guest
No relation to the homily. Just random, clean jokes before the final dismissal.
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JustaServant
Guest
I only laugh when I see an undersized altar server trying to balance an oversized crucifix to the altar.Are the jokes injurious to anyone or offensive in anyway? Do they make you laugh or are they really corny like some priest jokes are? If the priest has given the final blessing and says mass is over, I don’t see it as being inappropriate. A little brevity can go along way. Once as an alter server many years ago I had to serve for a wedding and I asked the priest who was getting married and he replied it was a mixed marriage; between a man and a woman! I still get a chuckle every time I think of it.
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Mattapoisett64
Guest
Be grateful that the jokes are at the dismissal, and not as the lead-in to the homily - no matter how unrelated the joke is to the day, the scripture, or the topic of the homily.
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whatevergirl
Guest
*I do find it to be inappropriate if it is habitual. My opinion only.
When we belonged to our parish in PA, there were three priests, and one of them who presided over the Saturday evening mass, would ALWAYS tell a joke before dismissal. On the one hand, maybe he felt that it was drawing people to him more, from a humor standpoint. On the other hand, I didn’t see why it was necessary, and some of the jokes were potshots at wives. I didn’t find it appropriate…we just received Communion, have come out of deep prayer and reflection, and you tell a sexist joke about wives and marriage? Maybe if it were very occasional, but he did it every mass he presided over.
To each’s own…*
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whatevergirl
Guest
LOL–I hear you! I have been at such masses as well.Be grateful that the jokes are at the dismissal, and not as the lead-in to the homily - no matter how unrelated the joke is to the day, the scripture, or the topic of the homily.
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CappaMagna
Guest
Perhaps Mass is one of the few times he ever sees his faithful and maybe, just maybe, he wanted to try to connect with them even momentarily on a human level?
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zab
Guest
I don’t mind the celebrant haveing a sense of humor and using an occassional joke or anecdote or spontaneous humor given following some unexpected interuption. But a routine weekly joke is something that I would find annoying.
Last time I checked, the priest usually stands outside the door and greets people as they leave… sometimes they have coffee hours after Mass in the parish hall… those places would seem more appropriate for “connecting” with the faithful in the form of a joke.
And if Mass is “one of the few times” he sees his parishioners, then something’s not right.
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japhy
Guest
What was that joke that Christ told just before His Ascension? I can’t remember…
I would say that humor (not necessarily joke-telling) can serve a purpose in the homily, but I wouldn’t make a habit of it. The Mass is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it is not a show or entertainment or the weekly parish chit-chat gathering.
Telling jokes at Mass seems woefully out of place. As if we Americans didn’t already have a problem dressing and behaving appropriately in enough situations…
I would say that humor (not necessarily joke-telling) can serve a purpose in the homily, but I wouldn’t make a habit of it. The Mass is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it is not a show or entertainment or the weekly parish chit-chat gathering.
Telling jokes at Mass seems woefully out of place. As if we Americans didn’t already have a problem dressing and behaving appropriately in enough situations…
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H_Opey
Guest
Maybe he is trying to get people to stay instead of leaving right after communion.
That said, it is an art to be able to weave in humor in the homily.
Or maybe you could ask and suggest that he put them in the bulletin so you can read them or something like that.
That said, it is an art to be able to weave in humor in the homily.
Or maybe you could ask and suggest that he put them in the bulletin so you can read them or something like that.
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PrayHarder
Guest
In my opinion, I’m not a big fan of clapping or joke telling during Mass. Mass is a time of prayer and telling jokes turn the ceremony into a performance. It turns the focus on God and souls that need our prayers into a focus on those “performing.”
I’ve been at Masses where the priest was still chuckling after something someone said during the announcements as he did the dismissal and sign of the cross. I felt like the priest was just “throwing away” those closing aspects of the Mass. It wasn’t major, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. Because if you don’t take the end of the Mass seriously today then what other parts of the Mass will be casually dismissed tomorrow?
I think we should remember that we should focus on prayer during the Mass. There are plenty of other times for humor, jokes, and community building inside a parish but outside the Mass itself.
I’ve been at Masses where the priest was still chuckling after something someone said during the announcements as he did the dismissal and sign of the cross. I felt like the priest was just “throwing away” those closing aspects of the Mass. It wasn’t major, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. Because if you don’t take the end of the Mass seriously today then what other parts of the Mass will be casually dismissed tomorrow?
I think we should remember that we should focus on prayer during the Mass. There are plenty of other times for humor, jokes, and community building inside a parish but outside the Mass itself.
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CappaMagna
Guest
Perhaps at your parish, certainly not at all. At my parish our priests are either preparing for the next Mass that immediately follows the one that let out or they are rushing to get to another parish to celebrate a Mass.
I would guess far more than 50% of the people who attend my parish (let’s call it an even 2k) never set foot on campus unless it’s to attend Sunday Mass. Even if we had coffee and doughnuts after every Mass they wouldn’t stick around.
Why? A couple of decades where the priests did not interact with them for various reasons and they’ve hardened. Maybe a clean joke is just what the doctor ordered for some of them.
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NewEnglandPriest
Guest
Yes and no. While there’s nothing technically wrong with it, it does seem to be rather quirky that it could be distracting. But is this really something to get upset over? Why bring it up?
It could simply be this priest’s way of making himself seem approachable to people who might otherwise be nervous about approaching a priest. Are there better ways to do this? Perhaps. But I don’t see a need to jump to conclusions that put anyone in a bad light, i.e. thinks people are there for entertainment.
There may be “more appropriate places” but the people aren’t always in those places. Coffee hours don’t tend to attract those who would be nervous talking to a priest.
First of all, many biblical scholars have written that Jesus appears to have had a great sense of humor and that many 1st century peasants would have found humor in many of his parables.
And yes it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but since when is laughing the opposite of holiness?
This is a situation where people of good will are simply going to disagree. Some will find it ok and others will not. But I don’t think anyone can claim to have some kind of moral high ground on the issue.
On a not too different note, I’d like to point out that these forums seem to attract people who simply want to complain about their parish priest.
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Spencerian
Guest
I concur that occasional joke telling is a very human thing to do and is welcome.
Not to veer too off-topic: What distracts me more than joke-telling are when people are wearing sports jerseys as they prepare to go to a football game or are supporting their team. Many Catholics dedicate only one single hour to the Lord, but will spend several hours later in “worship” of their teams. Hm. That’s a misplaced spiritual modifier, there.
That said, one example comes to mind where Scripture appears to give us a bit of humor, as noted by another poster in another thread. During Pentacost, the Apostles, of course, spoke in many languages by way of a miracle of the Holy Spirit. The gathered crowd are both amazed but also skeptical. “They’ve had too much wine,” they say.
Peter dismisses the accusation in what could be taken humorously. He says, paraphrasing, “We’re not drunk, for it’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!” (Acts 2:1-15) rimshot
And what were they doing after nine, I wonder.
Not to veer too off-topic: What distracts me more than joke-telling are when people are wearing sports jerseys as they prepare to go to a football game or are supporting their team. Many Catholics dedicate only one single hour to the Lord, but will spend several hours later in “worship” of their teams. Hm. That’s a misplaced spiritual modifier, there.
That said, one example comes to mind where Scripture appears to give us a bit of humor, as noted by another poster in another thread. During Pentacost, the Apostles, of course, spoke in many languages by way of a miracle of the Holy Spirit. The gathered crowd are both amazed but also skeptical. “They’ve had too much wine,” they say.
Peter dismisses the accusation in what could be taken humorously. He says, paraphrasing, “We’re not drunk, for it’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!” (Acts 2:1-15) rimshot
And what were they doing after nine, I wonder.
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RSD
Guest
I have often told people who complain that church is too formal or stuffy that the very first Christian sermon began with an indignant denial that the speaker was drunk.I concur that occasional joke telling is a very human thing to do and is welcome.
Not to veer too off-topic: What distracts me more than joke-telling are when people are wearing sports jerseys as they prepare to go to a football game or are supporting their team. Many Catholics dedicate only one single hour to the Lord, but will spend several hours later in “worship” of their teams. Hm. That’s a misplaced spiritual modifier, there.
That said, one example comes to mind where Scripture appears to give us a bit of humor, as noted by another poster in another thread. During Pentacost, the Apostles, of course, spoke in many languages by way of a miracle of the Holy Spirit. The gathered crowd are both amazed but also skeptical. “They’ve had too much wine,” they say.
Peter dismisses the accusation in what could be taken humorously. He says, paraphrasing, “We’re not drunk, for it’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!” (Acts 2:1-15) rimshot
And what were they doing after nine, I wonder.
My next favorite early Christian sermon was the one that was so boring that the girl sitting in the window fell asleep and fell out the window. That is why pews were invented- so people could fall asleep safely during the sermon.
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