Mass restricted to one hour

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Eugene

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I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.

Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…

Why? Because certain members in the congregation have been complaining that Mass is too long. Our parish priest thus gets a lot of flack regarding this and is now very mindful to keep Mass to one hour. 5 min extra is a sacrilege!

I will comply as I am under authority but I do not agree with this at all. We are not talking about a 2-hour Mass. Why should those who have other priorities be given precedence over those who want to come and spend time with our Lord on a Sunday morning, whether it be 60min or 70min or whatever?

For my family Sunday morning is the highlight of our week and Mass take priority above all else. I could spend 2 hours in church if need be.

I do not want to take this up with our priest as I really feel for the man. He is a black priest from Nigeria in a predominantly white parish and he is very careful to do the right thing.

Anyone else been in similar situations?
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.
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I have to agree with this. You really don’t want to leave the priest just standing there while you finish a lengthy musical piece.
*Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough… *
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I’d be in favor of finishing the recessional hymn too except for the fact that, in my experience, Catholics simply cannot sing. The longer a hymn goes, the more painful and embarrassing it becomes. By the end of the second verse it has faded away to a weak tune being played by the organist. Better to get it over with than suffer through a long, protracted death.
 
The Offertory hymn I can understand.

The recessional hymn, though? Why does it really matter if you play two verses followed by a non-vocal postlude or six verses? The priest and congregation usually leave well before this is finished anyway.
 
Let me add that the priest loves singing. When he has finished the preparation of the gifts and waits for the Offerory hymn to sing he heartily joins in. And the Masses I play at are atypical in that the music is enjoyed by most, young and old alike. But there are the odd few to whom the priest has now given in to.

Also, the same goes for the Entrance - once Father raeches the alter - stop. Yet Father himself loves to join in. Actually it is something much deeper that is more than just the priest. It is about our preparedness and willingness to contribute to Sunday Mass. I wonder how much those who cannot stand a Mass of more than an hour actually put into preparation for Mass and how much they put into the Mass themselves whilst in attendance.
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.

Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…

Why? Because certain members in the congregation have been complaining that Mass is too long. Our parish priest thus gets a lot of flack regarding this and is now very mindful to keep Mass to one hour. 5 min extra is a sacrilege!

I will comply as I am under authority but I do not agree with this at all. We are not talking about a 2-hour Mass. Why should those who have other priorities be given precedence over those who want to come and spend time with our Lord on a Sunday morning, whether it be 60min or 70min or whatever?

For my family Sunday morning is the highlight of our week and Mass take priority above all else. I could spend 2 hours in church if need be.

I do not want to take this up with our priest as I really feel for the man. He is a black priest from Nigeria in a predominantly white parish and he is very careful to do the right thing.

Anyone else been in similar situations?
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  1. I couldn’t care less what the congregation thinks is an appropriate Mass time. And I do believe that this is Fathers decision no matter what country he is from. But it could very well be that it is coming from Father himself.
  2. I also think that it is not the role of the musicians to feel one way or the other about what they are being asked to do. All of the suggestions seemed reasonable. Other than a bruised ego (which all church musicians seem to have;)) What is your objection?
 
Our Masses always seem to run an hour 20 to an hour and a half and I haven’t heard ppl complain. Out of the 10,080 minutes God gives us each week, we ought not complain too much if we’re asked to spend an extra 5 or 10 of them worshipping Him.
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.

Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…

Why? Because certain members in the congregation have been complaining that Mass is too long. Our parish priest thus gets a lot of flack regarding this and is now very mindful to keep Mass to one hour. 5 min extra is a sacrilege!

I will comply as I am under authority but I do not agree with this at all. We are not talking about a 2-hour Mass. Why should those who have other priorities be given precedence over those who want to come and spend time with our Lord on a Sunday morning, whether it be 60min or 70min or whatever?

For my family Sunday morning is the highlight of our week and Mass take priority above all else. I could spend 2 hours in church if need be.

I do not want to take this up with our priest as I really feel for the man. He is a black priest from Nigeria in a predominantly white parish and he is very careful to do the right thing.

Anyone else been in similar situations?
Click to expand...
I’m reminded of the charitable and sacrificial attitude of St. Paul:

“As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.” First Corinthians 8:13

“Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall.” Romans 14:1-4 (RSV-CE)
 
The parish I attend is quite large. I don’t know the maximum seating capacity, but we do have like 5 aisles…very large. 3 Masses in the main church and 3 more in the historical church on Sunday. I’ve been on each Mass in the main church some time or the other, they are always full. The first Mass is at 8, then 10, then 12.
With so many people there, receiving communion isn’t a quick process. The average Mass time lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes. I can very well see a smaller parish having an hour mass.
I do believe that Mass is quite important, but there may be other factors than people wanna run out the door. It would be hard for my parish to have a 1 1/2 hour mass since you kinda need to clear the parking lot for the next mass. Maybe the priest has an important duty after Mass?
I mean, there can be so many factors, that aren’t necessarily negative.
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.

Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…

Why? Because certain members in the congregation have been complaining that Mass is too long. Our parish priest thus gets a lot of flack regarding this and is now very mindful to keep Mass to one hour. 5 min extra is a sacrilege!

I will comply as I am under authority but I do not agree with this at all. We are not talking about a 2-hour Mass. Why should those who have other priorities be given precedence over those who want to come and spend time with our Lord on a Sunday morning, whether it be 60min or 70min or whatever?

For my family Sunday morning is the highlight of our week and Mass take priority above all else. I could spend 2 hours in church if need be.

I do not want to take this up with our priest as I really feel for the man. He is a black priest from Nigeria in a predominantly white parish and he is very careful to do the right thing.

Anyone else been in similar situations?
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A friend of mine is a worship leader and he sometimes fills in at other churches. Once, he had a group that was super strict. ‘You have 4 minutes for this song, 3 3/4 minutes for that song.’, etc. I appreciate keeping to a schedule, but sometimes when the congregation is really being moved by a song, its a good idea to repeat a verse.

I think you should talk to the priest. Maybe he could give you a discrete signal when to stop the songs, or a signal to keep a song going longer. Something small that most people wouldn’t notice, but distinct enough to be clear.
 
Eugene said:
Anyone else been in similar situations?
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I was in a catholic choir for nearly 10 years, and covering 3 or 4 priests.

We had a priest that didn’t care if the mass went 20 minutes over and a priest that wanted it exactly one hour.

Bottom line is that we did what the priest wanted - it is his show to direct, after all.

And yeah, there were some decisions I didn’t like - especially when one priest cut out the singing of the Passion on Good Friday.
 
cheese_sdc said:
I was in a catholic choir for nearly 10 years, and covering 3 or 4 priests.

We had a priest that didn’t care if the mass went 20 minutes over and a priest that wanted it exactly one hour.

Bottom line is that we did what the priest wanted - it is his show to direct, after all.

And yeah, there were some decisions I didn’t like - especially when one priest cut out the singing of the Passion on Good Friday.
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I can understand cutting out music on Good Friday, especially if the musicians haven’t been trained by resident professional in sacred music. And I don’t think every diocese has one. We are lucky here in Philadelphia to have two musicians with a Ph.Ds in residence at the Cathedral Basilica and Archdiocese.

Director of Liturgical Music, Dr. John Romeri
odwphiladelphia.org/liturgical-music

Artist in Residence: Dr. Steven Ball
stevenball.com/bio.html
 
As someone who did church music for some time, I know that Sunday can feel like the day of the big show, and since we do all that practicing and prep we can really desire to engage the congregation with our music–but church isn’t really about music; the music is a bonus.

One of our piano players has the obnoxious habit of extending the song by repeating earlier verses, jumping from song to song without clear signals, and generally subjecting everyone to her bad taste in hymnal music. No one will say anything to her though because she lives for the music and no one wants to take that from her.
 
May I also add that our priest has to limit his sermons to 10mins? There are those who actually time him and confront him if he goes beyond 10 mins? I think that is really taking it too far. It is not easy for him coming from an African country where the Mass is typically 2-3hours and a sermon about 45 min.

I’m not saying it has to be the same here, but can we not even spend more than 10mins per week to receive our Godly instruction?

This whole issue to me is a question of priorities. Just how no. 1 is God to us?
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.
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The 1975 GIRM was clear that the Offertory chant should be over by the time the priest finished washing his hands.
The latest GIRM says that the Offertory chant should continue "at least until the gifts have been placed on the altar. "
Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…
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We usually have most people stay in the pews until the end of the Recessional and they usually pick one that has 3 or 4 verses.

I must say that I liked what I experienced at the Archdiocesan Cathedral parish: you pick up your hymnal as you walk in and at the end of Mass process out with it, singing the recessional as you leave. Replace hymnal in its rack as you leave the building.
 
I sometimes play the organ at Sunday masses, though I’m not the regular organist at my church; and yes I completely understand the frustration of any organist/choir director who has put effort into learning something or writing exciting alternative harmonisations and registrations for different verses of hyms, only to be told “keep it 5 mins shorter…kthnxbye…”

I’m also reminded, however, of this quotation from a Anglican church music magazine (primarily written for priests/choral directors) dating from about 1845:
The Parish Choir said:
Next to the sanction of the Incumbent [priest], the most essential acquisition to start with a a precentor [choir director], one who by his firm yet courteous deportment may control the organist - a functionary not unfailingly suggested for his profound and nice sense of ecclesiastical propriety.
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There has always been a musician-priest tension; while most on either ‘side’ would surely agree that Mass is something of the priest’s show to run…the organ is louder…

Also I have to echo the point someone made about long hymns being painful in a Catholic church: people don’t sing (my experience of Roman Catholics wherever in the world I have been), and to play all 8 verses of the Lourdes Hymn just prolongs the agony for everyone involved…
 
As an organist I have to agree that Catholics can’t sing, or at least won’t put much effort into it. As a result, in our parish we are now having to consider getting a new carol book for the festive season with all the carols in lower keys. Last week I had the unusual experience of playing ‘For all the Saints’ in the key of F major, with its nightmarish walking pedal line rendered just that bit more difficult to feet that have been used to playing it in G major for the past twenty years!

If we carry on like this, all our hymns in the future will be written in bass clef!

Best wishes,
Padster
 
Eugene said:
I am a musician at our church. I have recently been approached by the music co-ordinator to keep the music brief. For example, if I am still playing the Offertory hymn and the priest is ready to proceed with the blessing of the gifts I need to stop asap as Father should not be kept waiting.

Similarly once Father has left the church the recessional hymn should finish as soon as possible as well. If there are any verses left to be sung then tough…

Why? Because certain members in the congregation have been complaining that Mass is too long. Our parish priest thus gets a lot of flack regarding this and is now very mindful to keep Mass to one hour. 5 min extra is a sacrilege!

I will comply as I am under authority but I do not agree with this at all. We are not talking about a 2-hour Mass. Why should those who have other priorities be given precedence over those who want to come and spend time with our Lord on a Sunday morning, whether it be 60min or 70min or whatever?

For my family Sunday morning is the highlight of our week and Mass take priority above all else. I could spend 2 hours in church if need be.

I do not want to take this up with our priest as I really feel for the man. He is a black priest from Nigeria in a predominantly white parish and he is very careful to do the right thing.

Anyone else been in similar situations?
Click to expand...
Our Masses are one hour because we have 10 Masses every Sunday.
 
Eugene said:
Let me add that the priest loves singing. When he has finished the preparation of the gifts and waits for the Offerory hymn to sing he heartily joins in. And the Masses I play at are atypical in that the music is enjoyed by most, young and old alike. But there are the odd few to whom the priest has now given in to.

Also, the same goes for the Entrance - once Father raeches the alter - stop. Yet Father himself loves to join in. Actually it is something much deeper that is more than just the priest. It is about our preparedness and willingness to contribute to Sunday Mass. I wonder how much those who cannot stand a Mass of more than an hour actually put into preparation for Mass and how much they put into the Mass themselves whilst in attendance.
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It’s not about what Father likes and enjoys. Neither is it about what any person or people like or dislike. Hymns should always be selected and reviewed with regard to length and a decision be made as to how many verses will be sung The priest should never be kept waiting at the altar for a choir to sing all 24 verses (:eek:).

Neither should Father be intimidated by a few people thinking that Mass should be limited to a one hour maximum. Padre Pio would not have been intimidated! Certainly, in the parish I attend, it appears that Sunday Mass should not exceed one hour - for the same reason. Nevertheless, sometimes it does - and some of the congregation leave right after having received Holy Communion! You can’t please everyone! So, keep the number of verses to a limit determined by the time it takes to sing only until Father is ready to continue with the liturgy. As for the recessional - if my parish is anything to go by, the noise of chatting after the priest has exited is always drowning out the choir - much better to switch to instrumental postlude.
 
Murmurs said:
The temptation at that point to indulge oneself with the full power of the instrument can be a little overwhelming… 😉
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But if ever there is a time to go for it that’s IT!

Now if only we had an organist – and an organ…😦
 
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