Leaving Mass early...

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agname

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Has anyone noticed this problem? Individuals will receive the Eucharist…and then leave Mass early? Is five minutes really that vital?

I changed several individuals minds about leaving early when I asked them…“Do you know who left the Last Supper early?” “Judas.”
 
That is a fantastic thing to say to people :tiphat:

It has irked me all my life that people leave early.

Even if they dont like singing the final hymn to the very end, they should at least wait until the priest has walked down the aisle.
 
That is an awesome thing to say… I’ve also heard people say:

When someone invites you into their home for supper, do you get up immediately after the meal and leave without saying Goodbye or Thank you!?

How rude!
 
those are two good ways of thinking about it… i never really thought about it in that matter. But I knew it was wrong to leave early.:bounce:
 
Just realize that there are a few people out there who do have good reason to leave Mass as soon as possible. So be careful about being a judge about this. It is also troubling to me that so many people walk out the door before returning to their seat .

Dianne
 
I don’t remember which saint it was but I heard that she appeared to a member of her order and told her how tragic it is for a person to leave Mass early beacause if we only knew how many graces we get from a blessing from a priest we would be chasing them down for blessings.
 
2 things I find HIGHLY disrespectful and wish the church would prohibit… if there is, I am not aware.

People who wilfully arrive just in time to recieve communion, and those who leave BEFORE the Priest DISMISSES them! Anyone doing these just for the sake of not wanting to “endure” an HOUR LONG MASS…OH MY! should be ASHAMED of themselves.

What…you cant give God a measly HOUR? UNACCEPTABLE.

I truly believe those who go to church just in time to get communion are recieving unworthily. They have missed the prayers of the Priest to forgive them all their sins… some even show up AFTER the pronouncement…“Lord I am not worthy to recieve thee, but only say the word and I shall be healed”… thats alot of nerve to go up there and get the Lord in the Host! I also couldnt FATHOM leaving church until the Preist gives his FINAL blessing as we bow our heads…what kind of Catholic wants to leave church before the Father says, “May the peace of the Lord be with you”???
I never leave my pew until that procession carrying Christ on the Cross goes BEFORE ME. People need to get perspective of what they are doing and where they are at.
 
It’s not a good thing to teach your kids. There are usually many options for mass. So, choose a mass where you can attend the whole time.

Also, it can be distracting to have to get out of the pew when you are singing the last song so that fellow parishioners can leave. 😉
 
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agname:
Has anyone noticed this problem? Individuals will receive the Eucharist…and then leave Mass early? Is five minutes really that vital?

I changed several individuals minds about leaving early when I asked them…“Do you know who left the Last Supper early?” “Judas.”
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Thanks for the quote, I now know what to say to those people that leave early, it annoys me to say the least, It is not the done thing to leave the Church untill the priest leaves the altar.
Anyway thanks for the insight.
:amen:
 
Good quote. We don’t have a lot of people leaving right after the Eucharist, but the stampede after the final blessing is atrocious. I stand, hands folded, facing forward until the Priest genuflects and leaves the Sanctuary. I’ve had people look at me strangely for doing this, too.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. It’s not for shopping or doing major chores around the house. I try to do what I need to to live - a little cooking, maybe iron a shirt for work on Monday. Otherwise, I will read a spiritual book of some sort, go for long walks and think or call my far scattered family and friends on the telephone just to say “Hi”. Maybe it’s easier for me since I’m single with no children, but God only asks an hour a week of us.

“Can you not watch with me for one hour?”
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agname:
Has anyone noticed this problem? Individuals will receive the Eucharist…and then leave Mass early? Is five minutes really that vital?

I changed several individuals minds about leaving early when I asked them…“Do you know who left the Last Supper early?” “Judas.”
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My father was on his death bed. He had slipped into a coma and was having seizures. The hospital staff said that he would be dead before the day was out. The priest who gave my father his last rights explained that staying at the side of a gravely sick and dying family member who might go at any moment was a valid reason to be excused from Sunday mass.

I was raised to never miss mass if at all possible but i wanted to minimize my time away so that I could be at his side at the time of his death. I arrived late at the start of the first reading and left immediately after receiving.

If somebody would have walked up to me as I was walking out the door and started quoting about Judas leaving the last supper early, I would have been very hurt for being critized when I went above what was required.

The point is that YOU don’t know why a particular person is leaving mass early. Granted that most of them just want to “get out of there” but some have very valid reasons.

Do you really wish to offend someone with your comments if they have a valid reason? I think that it is best to leave the judging up to God who sees inside of every heart and knows why that person is walking out the door early.
 
Sir Knight:
The point is that YOU don’t know why a particular person is leaving mass early. Granted that most of them just want to “get out of there” but some have very valid reasons.
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That’s right, you can never really know for sure, so it’s best to just offer a silent prayer for them.

JimG
 
I taught my kids that the priest is the last one to enter Mass, and the first one to leave. We don’t leave until the last note of of the recessional.

Another note - I’ve seen people stay just long enough to throw in their envelope and leave right at offertory. Prospective brides and grooms, perhaps? That way their envelope said they attended Mass.:tsktsk:
 
**As you all know by now, I grew up in the Methodist Church, and have been active in several other denominations. NOWHERE have I ever seen people leave early except in Catholic churhces. It always aggravates me. I was always taught that you stayed in your pew 'till the last note of the last hymn was sung…Then you could leave. What is it with Catholics? **
What is awful is to be outside waiting for a Mass to end (so you can go to the next one) and watch all the early leavers…Most Protestants would never understand this practice.
 
Detroit Sue:
I taught my kids that the priest is the last one to enter Mass, and the first one to leave. We don’t leave until the last note of of the recessional.

Another note - I’ve seen people stay just long enough to throw in their envelope and leave right at offertory. Prospective brides and grooms, perhaps? That way their envelope said they attended Mass.:tsktsk:
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**I was taught to wait 'till the last note of the recessional, also. **
**Never thought of the envelope thing…Have never seen it, either, but I’m sure it happens. 😦 **
 
When I am by myself I stay for the whole thing. When my Protestant husband drops me off I might try to slip out right after "The Mass is ended’ bit. My husband has not complained about the awful traffic problem we have outside afterwards but I think that’s because he’s just being polite. If he is nice enough to bring me I can be nice enough to allow him to miss the gridlock after church. I don’t want to leave early and I’m not looking for reasons to slip out…but at the same time I want him to get to the point where he is comfortable with at least driving up to the door of the Catholic Church… 😉

dream wanderer
 
One thing our Church does that you all may want to encourage at your Church is to add a simple line at the end of the bulletin or at the end of the handout sheet for the recessional (depending on how your Parish does it):

We kindly ask you to respect our custom of waiting until the last refrain is completed before exiting the Church.

I’m not sure if it is this line or the terrific Church we have here - but, for the Mass that this handout sheet is used, no one leaves early. You can tell the newbies to this Mass when they get ready to walk out and then notice that everyone else is still there singing and rejoicing!
 
I was always taught that you could not participate in the Liturgy of the Eucharist if you didn’t make it in time for the Liturgy of the Word. As a member of the choir, I am always amazed by the number of people who come as we are singing the first song. We kind of joke about it - “gosh, there is no one here!” but then we finish the song and look up and BOOM - the church is full - how does that happen?!?!? I was also always taught that you stay until the recessional hymn is ended. But a few years ago, we went to a liturgical music workshop and they referred to the hymnal as the “Sending” song. So it seems that it is okay to leave once the priest has gone out. But I still like it when people stay and sing the whole song.
 
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