Liturgy of the Word Silence

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CyrilSebastian

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In the Order of the Mass, a time of silence and reflection follows each of the two readings.
Exactly how long should the time of silence be?
 
I don’t believe there is an exact time. Not everything is regulated down to the last iota.

The aim is to allow sufficient time for reflection on the readings without losing the attention of the congregation. If it too long, people become restless, too short and they don’t have time to reflect. Most priests probably have developed a sense about this.
 
CyrilSebastian said:
In the Order of the Mass, a time of silence and reflection follows each of the two readings.
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 Exactly how long should the time of silence be?
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In my church, the “Thanks be to God” at the end of the second reading seems as though it is the beginning of the Gospel Alleluia. Time of silence? There’s hardly time for the congregation to rise.
 
Come to think of it, the only pause in my parish is for the lector to be seated and for the cantor to rise. Several seconds.

… okay, I was curious, so I looked it up in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:
Silence
  1. Sacred silence also, as part of the celebration, is to be observed at the designated times. Its nature, however, depends on the moment when it occurs in the different parts of the celebration. For in the Penitential Act and again after the invitation to pray, individuals recollect themselves; whereas after a reading or after the Homily, all meditate briefly on what they have heard; then after Communion, they praise God in their hearts and pray to him.
Even before the celebration itself, it is a praiseworthy practice for silence to be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a devout and fitting manner.
 
Beryllos, Thank you for looking up Sacred Silence in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
:tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:
 
Just for fun, I timed it on Sunday at the local abbey (Gregorian chant, and all that, very beautiful Ordinary Form liturgy).

After the 1st reading, about 50 seconds
After the 2nd reading, about 40 seconds
After the homily, about 1 minute.

I don’t think there’s an official time, other than “it’s quiet, and it’s noticeable”.
 
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