Leaving Mass after Communion

[Harsalter]

Is it a sin or only inappropriate to leave Mass immediately after receiving Holy Communion?

I have observed one lady at our parish that does this every Sunday. She gets up from the middle of the pews, races & cuts line to the priest, receives Holy Communion, and darts to the door.

I always wait as most until our priest has said “Go in peace, the Mass is over”, gives us our blessing, and then continue to wait until the priest and alter boys proceed down the aisle. But this Ash Wednesday, I need to be somewhere at the same time the ‘Ash Weds’ service is scheduled to be over, and it will probably run over as most special services do. I am considering slipping out very inconspicuosly once I receive Holy Communion.

 

[Pamtha]

Oh, my goodness, that is one of my pet peeves! At one of the churches here in town, I swear half of the people take off right after communion and I’m pretty darn sure that the mass hasn’t been shortened by Rome so they are leaving before mass is over. I have to wonder if they are fulfilling their Sunday obligation. Our obligation is not to ‘go to part of the mass on Sunday’ but to go to MASS on Sundays. I went to the Latin mass most of my life and I didn’t know what was happening the first time I saw a bunch of people leave the church right after communion at a Novus Ordo mass. I was in shock since I had never seen it before. I know of families who won’t bring their children to the church I first mentioned because they don’t want them to think it is okay to do what these people are doing. I really wish the priests would speak up about this.

 

[Gene_Church]

To me, this is the functional equivalent of eating at the Lord’s table, and leaving before saying thanks.

As to your question about Ash Wednesday, I do not see this as a problem as it is isolated and you have a valid reason to do so. Beating the Protestants to the Sunday buffet probably doesn’t qualify.

 

[CoolRich59]

I don’t know for sure if it’s a sin (but suspect it is), but it is for sure inappropriate.

I find it distracting and downright rude to everyone in the church to walk out the door rather than return to your seat. But, worse than that – it shows disrespect to our Lord. One of the saints – St. Josemaria Escriva I think – strongly encourages believers to stay 10-15 minutes after Mass to pray and offer thanksgiving to the Lord

After receiving Holy Communion, Jesus is inside us in a special way. Why not take a few minutes and enjoy that special time?

 

[benedictgal]

I may have posted this in another thread, but, the one time that I can remember my father leaving early was when his back began to hurt and he wanted to sit in his Jeep and use the heated seat to curb the pain. He felt bad, but, he just had to leave after Holy Communion. I remained for the conclusion of the Mass.

There is a priest friend of mine who serves as pastor of another parish. What he has done, of late, is to face the people during the recessional hymn and staring them down. He quickly venerates the altar, but, he’s pretty much watching everyone like a hawk. Once, he made the point of chasing a woman down and getting after her for leaving.

As for Ash Wednesday, I can understand. What I am going to do is ask for an hour’s worth of vacation time so that I can attend Mass and receive the ashes. At least it will relieve some of the pressure from rushing back to work.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

I can remember my father leaving early was when his back began to hurt and he wanted to sit in his Jeep and use the heated seat to curb the pain. He felt bad, but, he just had to leave after Holy Communion. I remained for the conclusion of the Mass.

benedictgal,

Yep. That’s why I try to remember that it is possible someone might have a legitimate reason to leave, and try not to jump to conclusions.

Also, there is a possibility that those who receive communion may have been at another Mass. Technically, I suppose, someone might even just be walking by the Church and could come in for communion (reverently, of course), correct?

I know some of the above are longshots, and especially if you see the same person doing the same thing week after week, (i.e. arriving for the beginning of Mass, but leaving after Holy Communion). But I try to remind myself that things are not always what they seem, and there might be lawful and legitimate reasons for people’s actions.

Then again, barring those things, there do seem to be an awful lot of people leaving sometimes! Poor catechesis, perhaps?

VC

 

[Miserissima]

You know, my mother decided to take us to her childhood parish for a while. I remember being embarrassed to leave early with her. We always showed up early and she was very, very reverent – in the beginning. As Mass wore on, she would get antsy, and it wasn’t a social phobia. It was just nearing the time to go for her.

In fact, there were people who would openly disapprove on our way out, because we never returned to our seats after receiving the Eucharist. It was a “get-it-and-go” mentality. I always hated that.

In my own parish (I went to a different parochial school than my mother’s home parish) we would genuflect as the priest was walking by, and then again as we exited the pew. In my current parish, I don’t see that anymore, but the majority of people do stay until the end of the last refrain of the recessional hymn.

 

[quiet52]

Just a reminder – Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation. So we’re not “obligated” to attend any or all of the Mass. That doesn’t mean it’s not rude to leave early though.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Judas was the first to leave mass early

 

[marcodimare]

If I’m not mistaken, the only obligatory part of the mass is the Eucharist. Indeed, that’s the whole point of it. Granted, it might be disturbing to have people push through in the middle of a mass (they could stay in the back of the church), [edited]

 

[Pamtha]

You are quite wrong. We are obligated to go to mass on Sunday, not just communion. Mass is not over until the priest says the mass is over.