No Bells at Mass

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Justin_Mee

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I attended Mass today at a large beautiful new CC. The Father was young and dynamic. The music wonderful and appropriate. The homily was perhaps the best I ever heard. The only thing that I question: No bells at the moment of transubstantiation of the body and blood. I thought the bells were rung at every CC at that moment. I’m not complaining. If I lived closer, it would be my church. What is the GIRM rule on this? Thanks…Justin
 
GIRM on the topic:
  1. A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice.
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I have to admit they don’t use bells in my parish except at the Easter Vigil and Easter morning.
 
At my parish, they ring bells after the consecration of both the Body and Blood of Christ. I love it. At my former Church, however, they do not ring bells. I kind of miss it when I attend a Church that doesn’t have them. I am always waiting for it, but then it doesn’t happen. :o
 
As Phemi posted above, the rubrics say “when appropriate”. It also uses the term “custom”. When words such as these are used, there is some flexibility.

Bells are not rung at every mass or in every Catholic Church. Some places don’t own them. Other places have them. The wording does not seem to be a hard-fast rule. Though I have to add that it is a common practice in masses where the laity is present.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
At my parish we always use the Sanctus bells (Ordinary Form) except from after the Gloria of Holy Thursday until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil. (We use the clackers at the consecration on Holy Thursday.) The only other time we don’t have them is the very rare occasion that there is no altar server to ring them at a daily Mass. But I haven’t seen that happen in almost a year.

Many of the parishes around here don’t use them though, or only use them for certain seasons or special occasions. We also seem to be the only parish in the area that uses communion patens (not counting the FSSP community that celebrates the Extraordinary Form).
 
ljubim said:
Wait… so is it disobedience to not ring the bells? :confused:
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No. It’s merely customay to ring them, but apparently is not required in the Ordinary Form.

\I thought the bells were rung at every CC at that moment.\

Not necessarily in Eastern Catholic Churches.
 
I thought the bells were for situations when the words of consecretion might not be able to be heard.
Our church has a good audio system, and bells are not used.
 
I have always felt the bells add an important dimension to the Mass. It was surprising to me when I first learned they were not a requirement.
 
annb said:
I thought the bells were for situations when the words of consecretion might not be able to be heard.
Our church has a good audio system, and bells are not used.
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The Vatican has a bell that is rung (almost similar to a gong, but, not a gong) during the Consecration. It looks like a three-bell aparatus and it has a mallet.
 
As a kid, there was no bells in my church. When we moved, the bells were quite a suprise.

My current parish uses the bells. I went to a different one for my cousin’s baptism…no bells.

Some use 'em, some don’t. It started in the middle ages when people wanted to know exactly when something important was taking place. When the masses were in latin, many people had no idea!
 
Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Wasn’t the original purpose of the ringing of the bells during consecration started in Cathedrals and large churches with many chapels. I thought they were used to alert those in the smaller chapels in private meditation so they would know that the consecration was taking place.

Again…this was something I read a long time ago. If anyone can provide more info…that would be great.
 
Since it was a new CC, then maybe they hadnt gotten any yet, or didn’t have enough money…though that isn’t really an excuse.
 
Whatever the reason the bells got started, I see them as a wonderful way to joyously celebrated the miracle that occurs. I miss them when I go somewhere that they are not used.
 
Bbigam said:
Whatever the reason the bells got started, I see them as a wonderful way to joyously celebrated the miracle that occurs. I miss them when I go somewhere that they are not used.
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We do have them at our church…St Jude the Apostle in Taunton.
 
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