MERGED: Applauding after Mass Poll / Why?

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SMHW said:
I agree.

I belong to a parish that applauds at the end of Mass. While I know the pastor and the music director are not fans they have apparently decided it’s not an issue they wish to address.

I belong to the choir and I don’t applaud, whether I am singing or not. But I remember one Sunday when I was not singing with the choir that a mother near me --who had obviously done a good job instructing her child on proper Mass behavior-- admonished her non-clapping to child to applaud because that was what we do when in Church. 🤷
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😃 I can understand a pastor not wanting to address it. I’m not a fan of the applause, but I would consider it a mild annoyance more than anything. It’s not the issue I’d want to go to the mat for.
 
Neofight said:
No offense, but the Mass has ended, and why disdain for unbridled joy? Was is St Teresa who said, Save me from the grim faced Christians? Wanting to put an end to it seems like something Saul would have strived for prior to his conversion!
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If they were clapping for joy, if they were clapping in thanksgiving, if they were clapping in adoration and worship of the Holy Trinity, then great! Let them clap! But because they choose to do it as the last note of the last hymn dies, they are indicating that they are clapping in approval of the choir, and I tolerate this kind of thing very poorly. The choir is not there to be applauded, we are there to lead the assembly in song.
 
Our choir gets applause only after being thanked by the priest for the music, which happens at Christmas and Easter. I don’t feel comfortable with it. As a cantor and choir member, I’m there to lead the congregation in sung prayer, just as the lector leads in spoken prayer when leading the intercessions. While it is nice to be appreciated, all the glory belongs to God. Applaud at the consecration, folks, that’s where the real miracle is happening!
 
Another thing to consider is societal expectations. Once one person starts clapping, there is sort of a domino effect. People feel pressured to join in because they don’t want to be the rude person standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.
 
Neofight said:
No offense, but the Mass has ended, and why disdain for unbridled joy? Was is St Teresa who said, Save me from the grim faced Christians? Wanting to put an end to it seems like something Saul would have strived for prior to his conversion!
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Because someone doesn’t clap or doesn’t think it’s appropriate, means they are "grim faced Christians? Many people in my parish kneel down and pray at the end and I’m sure are over joyed with the Mass and having been able to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I know I am! Does that make those of us who are saying a prayer of Thanksgiving like Saul? I think that would be a disruption from the peaceful beauty of the Mass and to those who are praying.

One of the many reasons I have come to enjoy daily Mass as much if not more. The reverence and peace. No one is chatting in the pews about social life, clapping, etc. Those who come to daily Mass seem to appreciate where they are as opposed to the majority at Sunday Mass.
 
They do this in my parish too, I think they are thanking everyone who helped or are applauding the priest who celebrated the mass, but I’m not exactly sure.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Another thing to consider is societal expectations. Once one person starts clapping, there is sort of a domino effect. People feel pressured to join in because they don’t want to be the rude person standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.
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LOL, this is so true. Someone tried to start a round of applause after the offertory hymn last Sunday. The thing is, is that the choir is really not that good. Anyways, someone tried, and it was met with stony silence from the rest of the congregation. (Church is sort of in an interesting spot, with lots loose liturgical types around, but also strongly orthodox people). I guess the founding pastor, started a practice at the end of Mass, after the priest recesses out, where whole congregation kneels and says an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and Glory Be, for the dead and those that will die today. I am guessing this practice was sort of restrained because of this.

I grew up in a “charismatic” parish, where the final song was often an upbeat, happy clappy song, not hymn, song, as the parish music consists of a band, drum set and all. (No offense really meant at the happy clappy comment, I have found memories of my childhood parish). So applause really was sort of continuation of the song, and there was some joy combined with appreciation for the music, and just following the crowd. There was a lot of social pressure in this particular parish to behave and act “charismatically.” Thus there was a lot of “speaking in tongues,” arms raised during songs as an act of praise an worship, being “slain in the spirit,” etc. Once the parish got a more sedate priest, who had more of a contemplative spirituality, many of these behaviors became limited to a select few people, or died out all together. So social pressure can indeed be very overwhelming, especially if the personality is strong, and clapping certainly applies.
 
I’ve never seen this happen unless it was a special occasion that was announced. The choir shouldn’t be applauded. The Mass isn’t a secular performance.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Another thing to consider is societal expectations. Once one person starts clapping, there is sort of a domino effect. People feel pressured to join in because they don’t want to be the rude person standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.
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Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too. And if I do clap (as sometimes I don’t), I usually do it in such a slow and weak manner that I can’t even hear myself clap. 😃
 
Neofight said:
No offense, but the Mass has ended, and why disdain for unbridled joy? Was is St Teresa who said, Save me from the grim faced Christians? Wanting to put an end to it seems like something Saul would have strived for prior to his conversion!
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Totally agree! What’s the big deal anyway?
 
I clap to say ‘Thank You!’ The reason I clap after the last note is because even though technically the Mass is already over, I consider the final hymn as still part of the Mass. It annoys me that people rush out to leave the Church even before the presider processes out.

Don’t forget that during Pope John Paul II’s Funeral Mass, there was plenty of clapping. I’ve heard that it’s an Italian tradition. 😉
 
Originally Posted by Neofight View Post
No offense, but the Mass has ended, and why disdain for unbridled joy? Was is St Teresa who said, Save me from the grim faced Christians? Wanting to put an end to it seems like something Saul would have strived for prior to his conversion!
rondirect said:
Totally agree! What’s the big deal anyway?
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Furthermore, our congregation loves it (and stays!) whenever we sing a joyous, upbeat song that they join in by singing and clapping along. God forbid that we should show joy in the Lord by this outward expression and leave church feeling uplifted in the Spirit. Why would a choir director or choir feel uneasy when this form of expression is portrayed?
 
Convert2013 said:
Because someone doesn’t clap or doesn’t think it’s appropriate, means they are "grim faced Christians? Many people in my parish kneel down and pray at the end and I’m sure are over joyed with the Mass and having been able to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I know I am! Does that make those of us who are saying a prayer of Thanksgiving like Saul? I think that would be a disruption from the peaceful beauty of the Mass and to those who are praying.

One of the many reasons I have come to enjoy daily Mass as much if not more. The reverence and peace. No one is chatting in the pews about social life, clapping, etc. Those who come to daily Mass seem to appreciate where they are as opposed to the majority at Sunday Mass.
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👍👍👍

Completely agree with everything you said.
 
I am very appreciative of all these comments. This thread was not started as a frivolous issue - it is very important to me.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
I don’t think it is spontaneous. I think it is mistaken applause. Spontaneous applause would only happen once. If this is happening multiple times after mass, it is not spontaneous.
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Something to think about and a very good point.
 
Joe_5859 said:
I’ve been to many parishes and it is true that some do and some don’t.

As for the reasons, I’m sure that varies. I think a lot of it is just going with the flow. If that’s what the parish always does, people will clap just as a matter of routine.

If people were applauding for Jesus and the Sacred Mysteries, I would have less of a problem with it. I’d venture to guess, though, that if you took a poll of people after Mass and asked why they clapped at the end, you would get a lot people shrugging their shoulders and admitting they really hadn’t thought about it before.
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Yes, this is true. I have asked (in bewilderment) why they are clapping even when there is no choir and only a cantor. I have yet to receive an answer.
I can appreciate that sentiment – and I hope that unbridled joy really is the source – but most any parish I have been at where there is clapping, it is done just as much by rote as sitting, standing, and kneeling. The only time I’ve seen unbrdled joy as the cause for applause at Mass was on the Easter Vigil after people were baptized. That I have no problem with. 🙂
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I would think if it was unbridled joy at Sunday Mass, they would be quite “in touch” with that sentiment and happy to say so.
 
PietroPaolo said:
If you are not applauding for Christ when He comes in the flesh to be received into your body, why would you applaud for the singers?
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One of the reasons for clapping is to express appreciation. Since music is only one ministry among others, I would think it logical that they might be clapping for the readers, for the EMHC’s, and, might I add, even for the ushers. The ushers may not have a voice to sing for the Lord, nor feel comfortable getting up to a mic in front of 200 people, but they certainly serve a very useful purpose during Mass. All these functions are ministry – is one more important than the other (assuming they are applauding for the people who serve?)

Here is my main dilemma. Please help! If they are applauding for the people who have served community during the Mass, does this then draw attention back to man as opposed to satisfying two of the four “ends” of the Mass which are praise and adoration of the Lord and thanksgiving to Him? I mean, after all, we have just been to Calvary!
 
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