Mass - Applause - Baptisms

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At Mass, after the Homily, our priest will baptize an infant then carry the child to the altar and ask the parishoners to welcome the child by applause. I never feel comfortable applauding so I do not because the Mass is not about the child baptized, but about the worship of God (and I view anything that detracts attention from God during the Mass is wrong). I am more the exception than the rule.

Is it allowed to welcome the newly baptized with applause? Or is it inappropriate? Does the baptism and “welcome” take away from the attention due God?

Am I over analyzing?

Thank you.

Jim
 
I see both sides to the issue; on one hand, I too feel a bit uncomfortable applauding. On the other, the applause is a contemporary form of welcome into the body of the faithful.

You’ll undoubtedly get some responses that quote chapter and verse that applause is not within the rubrics, that we cannot add anything to the mass, etc, etc, and that’s fine.

I guess I look at it as a form of praise to God through the momentary attention we give to his newly adopted son or daughter. 🤷
 
jim1130 said:
At Mass, after the Homily, our priest will baptize an infant then carry the child to the altar and ask the parishoners to welcome the child by applause. I never feel comfortable applauding so I do not because the Mass is not about the child baptized, but about the worship of God (and I view anything that detracts attention from God during the Mass is wrong). I am more the exception than the rule.

Is it allowed to welcome the newly baptized with applause? Or is it inappropriate? Does the baptism and “welcome” take away from the attention due God?

Am I over analyzing?

Thank you.

Jim
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In my parish, our Pastor (who does not like applause during Mass) asks for applause for the newly Baptized at the end of Mass before the final blessing. Having a person baptized IS about God–a person has just been reborn in the Holy Spirit and has become a Christian. That is an action of God, and that is really what the applause is about–God has done a great work in another soul–freed them from Original Sin and brought them into the Church.

Now as to whether it is an abuse of some sort, I don’t really know, but I’m sure that someone will come along and point out a rubric to fit the occasion.🙂 However, IMO, of all the things that are deemed inappropriate at Mass, applause after a Baptism is way down on the list of things I am going to concern myself about, because it is a recognition of something God, not man, has done.
 
IMO, When the celebrant asks us to welcome new members after Baptisms or a newly married couple, or to congradulate a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, I have no problem with applauding.
 
I’m pretty stuffy, and even I think applauding the baptism of a wee one is just instinctively right to do! 😉
 
jim1130 said:
At Mass, after the Homily, our priest will baptize an infant then carry the child to the altar and ask the parishoners to welcome the child by applause. I never feel comfortable applauding so I do not because the Mass is not about the child baptized, but about the worship of God (and I view anything that detracts attention from God during the Mass is wrong). I am more the exception than the rule.

Is it allowed to welcome the newly baptized with applause? Or is it inappropriate? Does the baptism and “welcome” take away from the attention due God?

Am I over analyzing?

Thank you.

Jim
Click to expand...
I do exactly as you do. We can welcome by applause if we want AFTER the final blessing.

Or in person in the social hall after Mass.
 
From the Catholic POV it is a victory. A another soul is brought to the fullness of truth where than can get the truth and God’s grace unfiltered (hopefully) and slowly but surely grow to Sainthood becomeing another Saint to combat Satan and help more people get into the Church and ultimatly Heaven.

The Church militant grows stronger with each new baptism. How is this now something a Catholic can happily applaued? 🤷
 
I cannot applaud anything during Mass.
(Even applause inside the church outside of Mass) makes me uncomfortable because I’m always aware that Jesus is present in the Tabernacle.)
I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. Clapping in Mass seems down right RUDE. We are in the presence of the Lord of all. Should we really be clapping or chit-chatting?
 
Applause is part of the ordination Mass for a priest or deacon. Would you feel uncomfortable doing it then, or is it only when applauding lay people that it seems wrong?
 
\We are in the presence of the Lord of all. Should we really be clapping or chit-chatting?\

**Psalm 47/46 says, “O clap your hands, all ye people; sing unto God with a voice of triumph.”

Applause might be a pious experession at a baptism, but the choir should not be applauded.**
 
This is the problem with our church. Too much constraint and analyzing of rubrics and etiquette and no room for the Holy Spirit. These forums are discouraging. I don’t even want to go to church anymore, only to be scrutinized by all the zealous scrutinizers.
 
Middleman said:
This is the problem with our church. Too much constraint and analyzing of rubrics and etiquette and no room for the Holy Spirit. These forums are discouraging. I don’t even want to go to church anymore, only to be scrutinized by all the zealous scrutinizers.
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Ahhh don’t let the Puritan-Catholics get ya down. Some of them would probably have a heart attack when the Priests and Deacons I know crack a joke in the homely to get the point across.

But I know what you mean, some Priest I know are warning people away from the forums due to this.
 
bpbasilphx said:
\We are in the presence of the Lord of all. Should we really be clapping or chit-chatting?\

**Psalm 47/46 says, “O clap your hands, all ye people; sing unto God with a voice of triumph.”

Applause might be a pious experession at a baptism, but the choir should not be applauded.**
Click to expand...
👍
 
MusicMan said:
Everytime you clap at Mass, the Pope kills a kitten.
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Joannm said:
I thought the Pope liked cats. 😉
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It’s a very long, very drawn out inside joke between a couple of my band students, my church choir, and I, and it involves the fact that Pope Benedict XVI does indeed like cats

The last time my choir sang for Confirmation, we rounded out the choir with some of my top band students who were also in Choir. My church has a tradition of clapping for the music at every single Mass, and my students were quite appalled by this (public school kids, btw).

Seeing that it was the commercial Christmas season, we knew the Pope liked cats, we knew the Pope didn’t care for applause for human accomplishment during Mass, one thing led to another and the “every time you hear a bell ring an angel gets its wings” got twisted to “every time you clap at Mass, the Pope kills a kitten.”

It may have also been a time when the old “Emperor Popatine” photomanip was going around the Internet , and so that might have contributed to my students’ dark, twisted, and geeky humor.

Like I said, long, drawn out joke, but every time my choir sings and they clap after Mass, we all look at each other and giggle.

It’s terrible, I know, and I should probably discourage it, but, alas…
 
One thing to keep in mind is that there are two natural ‘pauses’ during the Mass.

One is for the Homily. The pause button is hit after the Gospel and resumed for the Creed. In the EF Mass, this is noted when the priest removed the maniple.

Since Mass is stopped, applause would not be out of place. A Baptism during Mass occurs during this pause, as do Marital vows, or Confirmations.

The other point is after Communion, more specifically after the Post Communion silence. This is when announcements are read, a lay missionary might give a short talk, organizations may be acknowledged. Applause might be appropriate here as well.

At any other points during the Mass, it would not be appropriate.
 
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