Leaving Mass After Communion

[Augustine3]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

 

[ItalianLay]

I think it’s not true.
The grace isn’t an automatic mechanism, it depends on how your heart is open to God. I found in the Catechism (n. 1128) that “the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them”, but only God can see in your heart your disposition. I think it’s rare that someone goes to the Mass, receive the Eucharist, and his heart is completely closed, even if leaves straight after communion.

 

[thistle]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

No it is not true.

 

[ProVobis]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

I would think God’s blessing is important so yes.

 

[FrStevenJones]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

Mass is not over until the final blessing. So we must stay out of obedience and love for God, and respect for His Mass. If a person left early because of an emergency, not a problem. But one who intentionally leaves early will be depriving themselves of grace, due to a their lack of obedience and lack of full respect for God’s gifts of the Holy Mass.

 

[Isca]

This is something I’m trying to get used to - not that people don’t wait to leave until the end of the Mass (after the priest has left), but that no-one seems to kneel again to say a prayer. In the Anglican tradition, it’s often customary to kneel again, as you would when you first enter the church and take your seat.

The first time I attended Mass I knelt to say another prayer and was conscious that those around me were trying to get out of the pew!

 

[Loving_disciple]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

I don’t think so but you are still insulting our Lord by doing so

 

[Joe_5859]

This is something I’m trying to get used to - not that people don’t wait to leave until the end of the Mass (after the priest has left), but that no-one seems to kneel again to say a prayer. In the Anglican tradition, it’s often customary to kneel again, as you would when you first enter the church and take your seat.

The first time I attended Mass I knelt to say another prayer and was conscious that those around me were trying to get out of the pew!

I think it’s a good practice. My family kneels down and prays after Mass, too. It also has the side benefit of allowing us out of the parking lot much more quickly because everyone is gone by the time we get to our car.

In regards to the OP, I think there’s certainly grace to be had by staying to the end of the Mass and receiving the final blessing. I don’t know that I’d phase it as the grace of the Eucharist, though. That makes it sound like the mere fact of sitting in one’s seat is neccessary to earn all the Eucharist grace points.

Perhaps the person meant “grace of the Mass.” Sometimes, we use the term “Eucharist” to refer to the entire Mass. So perhaps they meant it in that sense.

 

[Mr_Clean]

It bothers me when I see the same ones leave early every mass. Same goes for not participating throughout mass. Why do so many refuse to sing? I guess coming from a Protestant background where they really get into singing their fool heads off, I’m still adjusting.

 

[po18guy]

Mass is not over until the final blessing. So we must stay out of obedience and love for God, and respect for His Mass. If a person left early because of an emergency, not a problem. But one who intentionally leaves early will be depriving themselves of grace, due to a their lack of obedience and lack of full respect for God’s gifts of the Holy Mass.

I have been taught that the mass is the Church’s greatest prayer. Thus, departing early is to leave one’s prayer of thanksgiving incomplete. I would think that arriving for the mass with early departure in mind risks adding insult to disobedience.

 

[jjtc]

I always got a chuckle out of the old joke that “Judas was the first one to leave Mass early”…

 

[Boy_Wonder]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

That’s silly. He’s a PRIEST - not a sorcerer.

We may not derive the full grace if we take the Eucharist and don’t use the time afterwards to give appropriate thanksgiving and love to Our Lord within us. It always galls me when people run out the door directly after receiving Communion. But if there are valid reasons, then I suppose it’s be OK. Depends on circumstances and interior disposition. There are 3 or 4 cops who come to my church. They’re part of a paramilitary gang/drug unit. They stand in the back in full battle rattle, guns, kevlar (sp?) vests, helmets, etc. They run out the door right after Communion. One of them told me they aren’t supposed to be in mass while on duty but that it’s their only opportunity to attend.

 

[KrazyKat]

We barely get a chance to kneel after Communion before the singing starts and then announcements begin. These rude interruptions end the Mass as far as I am concerned. I often leave to pray.

 

[Casilda]

I attend a noonday weekday Mass once in awhile at the cathedral downtown. Its always very quiet and reverant in there. I have noticed a small trickle of folks leaving right after communion, they walk straight out. It did not occur to me that they were doing something wrong, as I see it they are fortunate to be able to take their lunch hour off and come to Mass. You never know their reasons, if its something that dishonors God, He will deal with them.

 

[anruari]

We barely get a chance to kneel after Communion before the singing starts and then announcements begin. These rude interruptions end the Mass as far as I am concerned. I often leave to pray.

The Communion hymn or chant is a part of the mass as defined in the FIRM is not an extra or an intrusion. It’s a time when the entire congregation at supposed to lift their hearts and minds together in the medium of common sing prayer of Thanksgiving and adoration.

We’re lucky in our parish. There’s a hall where people can retreat to straight after Mass for a time off community fellowship. Not all parishes have this.

I see this time of fellowship as being a vital part of what Sundays are about. We have come together to worship add a community. The Church of Christmas. But how can that be if it’s a parish where no one knows the person beside them in the pew? The fellowship is essential to the building of community.
Many Catholic parishes are very bad at promoting such a sense of community.

 

[robwar]

I always got a chuckle out of the old joke that “Judas was the first one to leave Mass early”…

I know a local parish that has that posted above the exit doors of the Church,
“Judas left early too”. It’s one thing if someone had an emergency etc but when it is a regular habit it is another. It really is rather sad because if it is the habit type, they only hurt themselves. A couple of Sundays ago, my family (5 people) just made it to Church on time, (priest hadn’t walked down yet). The only pew that would fit all of us had an elderly couple at the end. They gave us dirty looks because the man had to stand up to let us in the empty pew and then they leave right after communion. Now maybe they had too but it seems all too often that those who want to book it right away, sit at the ends of pews, get mad if they have to move to let others in, never sing and seem grumpy and unhappy. Such a great witness of the faith.

 

[PhiloMed]

Just a funny story about leaving mass early:

We almost never leave early. The one time we did was because my son was in desperate need of a diaper change. The crisis arose sometime during the consecration and when he’s messy like that it’s just easier to change him at home than in church.

To save ourselves and our fellow parishioners any further odors, we bolted out the door right after communion. Got to the car, buckled him in, only to realize we were trapped by two other cars. We had to wait until those people came and moved their cars. We ended up being nearly the last ones to leave the parking lot.

Coincidence? Or divine humor?

 

[tawny]

Mass is not over until the final blessing. So we must stay out of obedience and love for God, and respect for His Mass. If a person left early because of an emergency, not a problem. But one who intentionally leaves early will be depriving themselves of grace, due to a their lack of obedience and lack of full respect for God’s gifts of the Holy Mass.

Agree.

 

[Joe_5859]

I know a local parish that has that posted above the exit doors of the Church,
“Judas left early too”. It’s one thing if someone had an emergency etc but when it is a regular habit it is another. It really is rather sad because if it is the habit type, they only hurt themselves. A couple of Sundays ago, my family (5 people) just made it to Church on time, (priest hadn’t walked down yet). The only pew that would fit all of us had an elderly couple at the end. They gave us dirty looks because the man had to stand up to let us in the empty pew and then they leave right after communion. Now maybe they had too but it seems all too often that those who want to book it right away, sit at the ends of pews, get mad if they have to move to let others in, never sing and seem grumpy and unhappy. Such a great witness of the faith.

It has always seemed odd to me that some people arrive at Mass early just to get a pew by the door so that they can leave early. At my parish, there’s only way way in and out of the parking lot, and the entrance is by the far end away from the Church building. Some people will arrive early and park furthest away from the door because it puts them in a position to leave the parking lot quickly. Or you could do what my family does and pray for two minutes after Mass ends. By the time I get to my car, the parking lot is 3/4 empty and it’s a clear shot to the exit.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

I once heard on a talk show that if you leave straight after communion you will not receive the appropriate graces from the Eucharist. You must wait until the priest gives the final benediction in order to receive the full grace from the Eucharist. Is this true?

I recommend that you don’t model your life after what you hear on a talk show.

As another poster said, yes we lose graces when we walk out of Mass early because we can’t be bothered to stay until the end. But there is nothing magical about it.