Leaving Mass Early

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pacersFan

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Every time I go to Mass, there is always a group of people who leave right after Communion. It has always bothered me a bit, but really got to me a couple of weeks ago when it seemed like about 15-20% of the parish left after Communion.

This kind of action, in my mind, is saying to God that you have more important things that need tending to, and you can’t possibly wait another 10 minutes to get started. Traffic afterwards is never a problem, so that should not be an issue. I guess I am just saddened by this kind of behavior, and I pray that Mass will never become simply an obligation to me.
 
I remember seeing a joke somewhere, wish I could find it that defined different parts of the Mass.

Paraphrasing:
Processional - that part of the Mass where the Priest walks into Mass followed by a majority of the Parish

Recessional - that part of the Mass where the Priest follows most of parish out of the church.

One thing that has started to upset me is that not only are the people leaving early, a lot of the people that are leaving early or coming in late sit in the front, center of the church. The look like they are really trying to be part of the processional or recessional.

I was always taught that if you really need to come in late that you should enter via the side.
 
We have some of that too. It is a terrible habit some people get into I guess. Although, every now and then Father will put a little zinger at the end of his sermon to teach on such things. My favorite was when he said: “Please remember when you receive, that the Mass is not ended yet. Give thanks to God for His gift of the Eucharist. Let us not imitate Judas. He was the only one who left the Last Supper early and you know what happened to him don’t you?” 😃
 
One thing about regularly arriving late to and leaving early from Mass is that you show where your priorities lay. There are other things that take priority over your worship of God.

If you do it, think about it.
 
One thing that you can do is talk to your Priest about this. Maybe he will give a little talk to all of these people. I once heard a homily about ‘why are you at mass.’ Needless to say, no one sheeplishly left after communion.

Another thing that irks me is when people leave while the choir is still singing. Do people not realize that singing is just another way of praying? It is so disrespectful, but I digress.
YOu just have to realize why you are at mass: do you have to be there or do you choose to be there?
 
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newsjag:
Another thing that irks me is when people leave while the choir is still singing.
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The Mass ends at the dismissal. Remaining until the priest has left is a courtesy to him. But when the music keeps on going for one, two or more verses after that, the musicians are looking to be recognized for their own “performance”, and not realizing that Mass is over.
 
An old neighbor of mine, now deceased, was an usher at a Catholic church that had this very problem.

The priest solved it, and quickly, by having the ushers lock the doors until the end of mass.
A simple problem, but one with a simple solution.
 
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Fullsizesedan:
An old neighbor of mine, now deceased, was an usher at a Catholic church that had this very problem.

The priest solved it, and quickly, by having the ushers lock the doors until the end of mass. A simple problem, but one with a simple solution.
Click to expand...
Unhappy, perhaps, is the fact that locking egress from a public building is illegal almost everywhere (occupancy usually being the only variable).
 
Melman:
The Mass ends at the dismissal. Remaining until the priest has left is a courtesy to him. But when the music keeps on going for one, two or more verses after that, the musicians are looking to be recognized for their own “performance”, and not realizing that Mass is over.
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I dont know what you mean by “performance.” From my experience, these musicians are not trying to show off to you. They are there because they have a talent to share that allows others to find another way to praise/and feel good. They are doing this for God. You should stick around because the singing is really just a form of a prayer. I dont think people realize that.

Anyways, are you really in that much of a hurry to leave? I do not mean this as an attack or anything, but I think all of us need to examine why we are at mass. Are we giving FULLY of ourselves at the mass?

If the choir is going on with their performance, stand there and join in as you deliver your performance to God.🙂
 
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Fullsizesedan:
An old neighbor of mine, now deceased, was an usher at a Catholic church that had this very problem. The priest solved it, and quickly, by having the ushers lock the doors until the end of mass.
Click to expand...
Which, in addition to probably violating a fire code or two, would make those with a perfectly legitimate need to leave, feel unnecessarily embarrassed.
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newsjag:
If the choir is going on with their performance, stand there and join in as you deliver your performance to God.
Click to expand...
You missed my point, or I didn’t make it well enough. Musicians are not there to “allow others to find another way to praise and feel good”, they have a specific defined role in the celebration of Mass. These are two different mindsets.

In many churches, the singing goes on for quite awhile after the dismissal (like it or not, the words of dismissal mark the official end of the Mass), after which the remaining congregation applauds. This is the “performance” mindset, and it is inappropriate. And I have no qualms in leaving after the priest has departed.
 
Folks,

Our priest had an interesting solution for this when our church was built a year ago. In the back of the main section of the church in which the Mass is celebrated (I think this is the sanctuary), there are three sets of very large doors. These open into the entry area (I think this is the narthex) through which people enter the church. It’s the main, high volume place for entry and exit.

When Mass begins, these doors are closed. Ushers guard the main doors and refer people to the small side doors if they choose to leave early. The side doors allow the late-comers and early-leavers (if that’s a word) 😉 to enter and exit, but they are fairly small and hard to find. Most people hesitate before going to the ushers and asking about how they can leave early.

The end result is that people don’t really leave early (and we’re not breaking any fire codes). It may be cheating, but it works… 😉

Philip

PS: The only way I think someone should leave Mass early is if they are on their way to the hospital, the firehouse, or the police station… 😉
 
Once the priest leaves, the mass is completed.

Our choir director loves to hear the sound of his voice and will sometimes even pick out songs with solo portions for himself. He also picks songs that are obscure and only the choir know, that is, songs not in the missal or Glory and Praise book.

I find that all the music that is performed during the mass can be distracting, especially when it is intentionally played wrong to make it easier to sing or the music is being performed wrong. Ocassionally I attend masses without music at another parish and I find those to be more moving, however, my wife is the vocalist at the noon mass and I end up going to it because of the rest of the family there.

What I find worse than people leaving during the song, is the altar servers going around and extinguishing the candles before the song is complete.
 
That is illegal and the priest could be arrested for imprisonment
Fullsizesedan said:
An old neighbor of mine, now deceased, was an usher at a Catholic church that had this very problem.

The priest solved it, and quickly, by having the ushers lock the doors until the end of mass.
A simple problem, but one with a simple solution.
Click to expand...
 
It is disrespectful, and should not be done.

BUT, it is not YOUR place to condemn them. In my parish, our pastor has stated quite openly that there is no need to race to the parking lot, and that leaving early is not something that should be done.

Some still leave early. They are NOT emergency providers, etc., and tend to be the same people week after week.

Some people have no concept of respect for anything.
 
This entire issue was recently, lengthily addressed in our parish bulletin, with the priests going so far as to say that those who leave early (after communion or before the dismissal, as well as even arriving late) have not attended a valid Mass. I have another pet peeve – which is people who bring “baggage” to communion (large purses, etc.). Sometimes they do this because they have every intention of making an immediate exit; other times because they can’t seem to part with their baggage for some emotional reason. But I won’t hijack the thread regarding that, just wanted to add that as an indicator.

It’s to be noted also that this is a solidly (even retro) parish, with the vast majority specifically seeking it out because of its traditional practices, as well as OF and EF Masses (even daily Latin Mass), so it’s surprising to me that this even has to be addressed, but apparently there are those who still do not see the liturgy as a unified whole and do not see themselves as a participant in a unified Mystical Body. Sad.

The priests enumerated what can be classified as an emergency, justifying early departure. I don’t know how many leave early in this case, because I rarely see it at this parish, and I usually sit toward the front in any case. But it would have to be of some significance (or some constancy with at least a few parishioners), or no mention would have been made of it in the bulletin.

In other parishes, it’s an all-out epidemic. There have people – esp. women – who come quite late, chew gum and eat mints during Mass (ceasing just barely prior to communion), bring everything and the kitchen sink with them into church, then bring all their accessories with them as well to communion, and leave immediately afterward. That’s one of the many reasons I never go to a typical parish unless I absolutely have no choice.
 
My Priest actually called people out on this practice during a recent homily. If I recall correctly it the homily itself was about how we can no longer be passive witnesses of Christ but must be active in our call as Catholics.

It was a good thought however I will say I feel that the way he choose to express it was wrong. I felt as though I was being publicly scolded.

Anyways, he said, You all think I don’t see you from where I sit. I see you reading the bulletin instead of listening to the readings. I see you texting or checking your e-mails or in some other way fiddling with your cell phones. I see you coming in late. I see you leaving before I leave. I see you going through the motions but what I don’t see are your lips moving.

He was getting all worked up that Catholics seem to feel that showing up for Sunday mass is all that is required. He said something along the lines of “I am here to tell you showing up won’t do it. You need to PARTICIPATE”

I will say, alot less people left early that week…lol
 
I can not imagine eatting anything…even a mint during mass. I have brought a water bottle with me in the past but I was pregnant and I had experienced lightheadedness and fainting at mass the week before, so I found that the water helped. I am sure that God would rather I stay hydrated during mass then disrupt the mass by continuing to have fainting spells. I did find that a trigger for me was kneeling, so I did refrain from kneeling and simply sat on the edge of the pew instead.
 
pacersFan said:
Every time I go to Mass, there is always a group of people who leave right after Communion. It has always bothered me a bit, but really got to me a couple of weeks ago when it seemed like about 15-20% of the parish left after Communion.

This kind of action, in my mind, is saying to God that you have more important things that need tending to, and you can’t possibly wait another 10 minutes to get started. Traffic afterwards is never a problem, so that should not be an issue. I guess I am just saddened by this kind of behavior, and I pray that Mass will never become simply an obligation to me.
Click to expand...
People in the back of my church do that, too. I think it’s so rude. My father used to arrive late and leave early, always standing in the back of church instead of sitting down. Again, rude. 😦
 
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