Leaving Mass before the last song has finished?

[garn9173]

Because we have just been given the gift of Jesus’ body and blood, and it’s rude to run out the door after having received such a precious and invaluable gift.

We should stay even longer than when the song is over, kneel down and say a personal “thank you” to Jesus Christ for his presence within us.

.

Isn’t that what you should be doing when you have returned to your pew after receiving Communion? Father says “the Mass has ended” prior to the final hymn, not after.

 

[ahollars]

I have taught my children:

You do not do anything during the last song that you would not do during the first song. I don’t care what you see everyone else doing. If I’m singing with my ugly voice then you should be too.

 

[FullOfThought]

And you have an authoritative source for this guidance, or is it merely a personal practice you’re advocating here? I must stress that what you’re saying is ONLY a personal devotion and is not binding on ANYONE.

I* am going to say this… I am prepared for the negative comments that will follow*. BUT… this is OUR Christ. MY Christ. I expect ALL people to understand the awesomeness of what we are receiving at mass, and taking communion and leaving does not cut it! I don’t want people to receive MY Christ and leave, I find it extremely insulting. In fact upsetting.

 

[lo_amo87]

I* am going to say this… I am prepared for the negative comments that will follow*. BUT… this is OUR Christ. MY Christ. I expect ALL people to understand the awesomeness of what we are receiving at mass, and taking communion and leaving does not cut it! I don’t want people to receive MY Christ and leave, I find it extremely insulting. In fact upsetting.

 

[Katie966]

I* am going to say this… I am prepared for the negative comments that will follow*. BUT… this is OUR Christ. MY Christ. I expect ALL people to understand the awesomeness of what we are receiving at mass, and taking communion and leaving does not cut it! I don’t want people to receive MY Christ and leave, I find it extremely insulting. In fact upsetting.

Are you referring to leaving immediately after Communion, or after “the mass has ended”?

 

[promethius]

I* am going to say this… I am prepared for the negative comments that will follow*. BUT… this is OUR Christ. MY Christ. I expect ALL people to understand the awesomeness of what we are receiving at mass, and taking communion and leaving does not cut it! I don’t want people to receive MY Christ and leave, I find it extremely insulting. In fact upsetting.

But this thread is not about taking communion and then immediately leaving, a practice which I’m sure we all agree should be avoided except in cases of need.

This thread is about someone who is angry because people leave after mass has ended but before the choir has finished singing… something which is NOT defined as part of the mass at all. In fact, I wonder how this person would determine when it would be appropriate to leave mass if they were attending a low mass in which there IS NO EXIT HYMN.

In other words, staying after mass has ended to pray and/or reflect is a personal devotion which is not binding on anyone and nobody, and I mean nobody, has a right to DEMAND that others follow their personal devotions or judge others who do not.

When we start judging others by our personal standards rather than the universal standards of the Church, we can only serve as enemies of the body of Christ by seeking to fracture the body through our own internal desires.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

And you have an authoritative source for this guidance, or is it merely a personal practice you’re advocating here? I must stress that what you’re saying is ONLY a personal devotion and is not binding on ANYONE.

As if ANYTHING I SAY is binding on anyone!!!



Don’t we have the Pope for that??

 

[garn9173]

We all know the parishioners who leave mass after recieving The Eucharist, and I’m sure we all agree that this is disgraceful. However, so many people leave the Church before the final song has concluded, literally walk out straight after the Priest.

I know that the mass offically ends when the Priest gives his final blessing, but this drives me crazy!! We always stay till the very last note is sung and by then there are very few people left!

Thoughts?

Thanks

So do you have a problem then with Father and the altar servers leaving prior to the conclusion of the final hymn?

 

[NSFrame]

I think it is a matter of different practices in different churches. I usually attend Mass at a campus ministry chapel and it’s a small space and no one walks out until after the last verse is sung. However, when I attend the neighborhood parish, people tend to treat the last verse or so of the recessional song as background music for their post-Mass social hour (after the priest has retreated, of course).

I have noticed some priests wait until the very last verse to start the actual recessional down the aisle, probably to avoid this phenomenon.

 

[promethius]

As if ANYTHING I SAY is binding on anyone!!!



Don’t we have the Pope for that??

We do have the pope for that, which is why I asked for the church document which proscribes your asserted practice of staying until the conclusion of the exit hymn as a universal proscription…

 

[TheRealJuliane]

We do have the pope for that, which is why I asked for the church document which proscribes your asserted practice of staying until the conclusion of the exit hymn as a universal proscription…

oh geeez…I said nothing of the sort, let’s not get our undies in a bunch because I don’t want people to rush right out the church doors…Are you purposely trying to ignite controversy?

 

[Corki]

We all know the parishioners who leave mass after recieving The Eucharist, and I’m sure we all agree that this is disgraceful. However, so many people leave the Church before the final song has concluded, literally walk out straight after the Priest.

I know that the mass offically ends when the Priest gives his final blessing, but this drives me crazy!! We always stay till the very last note is sung and by then there are very few people left!

Thoughts?

Thanks

A couple of thoughts.

One, there are regional differences in how the concluding hymn is perceived. In some areas of the country, the song is intended to accompany the priest and the congregation as they leave. The expectation is that the priest leads everyone out. In fact, this is the way it was always done when I was in Catholic school. It would be unusual, in one of those parishes, to not leave while the last hymn is being sung. I have even seen parishes where everyone goes out while singing and then many come back in to say private prayers.

Two, there are differences in the kind of music that is chosen for the last hymn. Sometimes it is a congregational hymn and it would seem more natural to stand and sing together. Sometimes it is more of a choir piece in which case there is no real reason to stay. In fact staying makes it look like the choir is performing.

Sadly, there is another reason, which happens sometimes in my own parish where the last hymn is just not worth singing. I would rather move on out to the community gathering than to stand there silently until the musicians stop playing.

As long as the people leaving aren’t doing so while carrying on loud conversations, I don’t see a problem. The Mass is already over at that point so there are no “rules” as to what we are supposed to do.

 

[FullOfThought]

Okay to clarify and show my point exactly:

I believe that nobody should leave the mass till the last song is finished, which to me is praising Our Lord, and is a prayer in lyric form. This is due to the fact that we receive Christ and should remain praising Him till the very last note.

 

[FullOfThought]

A couple of thoughts.

One, there are regional differences in how the concluding hymn is perceived. In some areas of the country, the song is intended to accompany the priest and the congregation as they leave. The expectation is that the priest leads everyone out. In fact, this is the way it was always done when I was in Catholic school. It would be unusual, in one of those parishes, to not leave while the last hymn is being sung. I have even seen parishes where everyone goes out while singing and then many come back in to say private prayers.

Two, there are differences in the kind of music that is chosen for the last hymn. Sometimes it is a congregational hymn and it would seem more natural to stand and sing together. Sometimes it is more of a choir piece in which case there is no real reason to stay. In fact staying makes it look like the choir is performing.

Sadly, there is another reason, which happens sometimes in my own parish where the last hymn is just not worth singing. I would rather move on out to the community gathering than to stand there silently until the musicians stop playing.

As long as the people leaving aren’t doing so while carrying on loud conversations, I don’t see a problem. The Mass is already over at that point so there are no “rules” as to what we are supposed to do.

This is interesting. I have never experienced a choir piece in Church always a congregational hymn.

Even if it is an awful song, it’s still praising Our Lord.

Honestly, this whole thread has made me sad.

 

[Corki]

Even if it is an awful song, it’s still praising Our Lord.

Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t. With the so-called “songs for sending forth” they are rarely, in my recent experience, songs of praise. They are more often songs about us.

 

[SummerSmiles]

Okay to clarify and show my point exactly:

I believe that nobody should leave the mass till the last song is finished, which to me is praising Our Lord, and is a prayer in lyric form. This is due to the fact that we receive Christ and should remain praising Him till the very last note.

I do prefer to stay until the recessional hymn is completely finished. But that’s because I love to sing, so I just want to do it for as long as possible.

Technically, the end of the Mass is when the priest says, “the Mass has ended, go in peace.” Once the priest has left, it is acceptable for people to leave. If for personal reasons, someone chooses to stay longer to say prayers, they may do so, but there is no *obligation *to do so. The mass is over and people are free to leave.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Isn’t that what you should be doing when you have returned to your pew after receiving Communion? Father says “the Mass has ended” prior to the final hymn, not after.

Most people will have time for their thanksgiving after communion when they return to the pew. If they then leave after the priest has said that Mass is ended, they cannot be judged as forgetting to thank God.

There is no real reason for the recessional hymn to go on for verses after the priest has recessed. And no reason why any particular person has to stay in their pew after Mass is over and the priest has left.

 

[EasterJoy]

Okay to clarify and show my point exactly:

I believe that nobody should leave the mass till the last song is finished, which to me is praising Our Lord, and is a prayer in lyric form. This is due to the fact that we receive Christ and should remain praising Him till the very last note.

You can believe that, but that is not the way the Order of the Mass has been laid down by the Church. When the final sign of the Cross is given at the dismissal, the assembly is sent forth. Liturgically, it is entirely acceptable to leave the church, particularly after the main celebrant does. Sure, we could argue that we ought to fall down and pray, but by all rights, we ought to be going out and praying at all times. That doesn’t mean we all have to display a constant attitude of prayer in some outward form in order to satisfy someone else.

The rubrics of the Mass do not require the assembly to stay and sing after the dismissal. The priest may leave in silence, or if there is music, it can be instrumental. If a song is selected, though, there is no requirement that anyone remain and sing if a song. If there were, the main celebrant would stay and sing until the Mass really was over!

Again: I don’t have anything against the pious practice of remaining after Mass is ended for prayer. That’s great, but there is time for thanksgiving after Communion built into the Order of the Mass. There is also no necessity for the assembly to remain behind and sing. Again: great, but it is not required, no matter how advanced in virtue you are.

It is bad form to add things to the rubrics that the rubrics do not call for. Say the black, do the red, and do not add or subtract from what is there.

 

[EasterJoy]

Honestly, this whole thread has made me sad.

Sorry, but that happens when you put expectations on other people. You will be less sad if you reconcile yourself to the idea that the Church has not made what you like part of the Order of the Mass. It is just what you like, and not everyone else can be expected to comply.

It does not mean that they love the Lord less than you do, that they were less involved with the liturgy than you were or have less gratitude for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that their life is too hurried, that they don’t like music, or that they don’t appreciate the choir.

Catholics aren’t required to stay after the priest gives the final dismissal and retires from the altar, and so many of them don’t. That’s all.

 

[Norseman82]

I have heard two “rules of thumb” when I was growing up:

1. Wait until after the priest passes your pew
2. Wait until after the second verse of teh song has finished