No more bells?!?!

[prv]

I looked up the details on my church’s tower bells:

Great bell: 7,150 pounds, 69 inches in diameter, named Sancte Petrus Quirinus, sounds the note “A”.

First bell: 2,940 pounds, 54 inches in diameter, named for St. Jean and St. Bernard, sounds the note “D”.

Middle bell: 2,230 pounds, 45.5 inches in diameter, named for St. Peter and St. Paul, sounds the note “F”.

Small bell: 1,795 pounds, 40 inches in diameter, named Sancta Maria, sounds the note “G”.

They were made in France, and installed in my church, in 1906, and have been ringing ever since.

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Pace e Bene

Oh, I see now, you’re talking about the big bells.

 

[a_cermak]

I loved the bells! I missed them when I started attending a parish that didn’t have them. What I find odd is I had to start attending an Episcopal Church to get my bells back (and incense!).

I was tought to bow my neck when the bell rang and then to look up so I could see the elevated Matter.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

Oh, I see now, you’re talking about the big bells.

Yep, but we have (and use) the little altar bells, too.

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
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Pace e Bene

 

[lak611]

Several parishes that I have been to also ring a bell before the Mass starts. The bell is rung, then the opening hymn begins and the procession to the altar starts.

 

[Atk_Aheeni]

It is amazing how its has stood about a quarter of us not having the smaller bells in church anymore and 75% have

 

[hilde_the_dog]

At my home parish the bell is rung once at epiclesis (I believe this is the point where the Priest puts his hands over the bread and wine palms down) and the bells are rung three time for the elevation of the consecrated wine and host.

A church near my office by the Senate Office Buildings **reintroduced **ringing the bells once at the seperate elevations. Maybe bells are coming back.

 

[RCCDefender]

It is amazing how its has stood about a quarter of us not having the smaller bells in church anymore and 75% have

Actually I think the scales are tipped. I don’t think the poll is a true representation of all churches just because of the types of Catholics that this forum tends to attract are probably on the more traditional side and as such choose to attend more orthodox parishes that keep the “smells and bells” if you will.

 

[a_cermak]

Actually I think the scales are tipped. I don’t think the poll is a true representation of all churches just because of the types of Catholics that this forum tends to attract are probably on the more traditional side and as such choose to attend more orthodox parishes that keep the “smells and bells” if you will.

You know the curious thing is it’s flipped in the Episcopal Church (not including the splinters). From my own experience, the more smells and bells, the more politically liberal (and, hence, one would assume theologically liberal as well). The less smells and bells and the less Catholic in appearance, the more politically and theologically conservative.

I’m not sure why this is so. One theory would be Catholic converts to the Episcopal Church, who are liberal by and large, gravitate towards a Catholic style of worship.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

We ring them at daily Mass, Sunday Masses, and any other Mass. And there’s a frequent visitor of a priest who has hte servers ring them longggggg and louddddd at all phases mentioned.

 

[Atk_Aheeni]

Actually I think the scales are tipped. I don’t think the poll is a true representation of all churches just because of the types of Catholics that this forum tends to attract are probably on the more traditional side and as such choose to attend more orthodox parishes that keep the “smells and bells” if you will.

Thats ok too though because those would be the only church’s I have attended in my youth. Some of these church’s although changed. If this is just traditional old catholic churchs then that validates my assumption if it is a mix of the new and the old looks like there is more bells than none anyways. I like hearing about peoples stories about there parish bells. They still ring in my heart.

 

[Atk_Aheeni]

You know the curious thing is it’s flipped in the Episcopal Church (not including the splinters). From my own experience, the more smells and bells, the more politically liberal (and, hence, one would assume theologically liberal as well). The less smells and bells and the less Catholic in appearance, the more politically and theologically conservative.

I’m not sure why this is so. One theory would be Catholic converts to the Episcopal Church, who are liberal by and large, gravitate towards a Catholic style of worship.

That could be…Not in the mission city though. I have met liberal folks but in this Portugese/Mexican community most of these parish’s are pretty conservative with the smells and bells.

 

[RCCDefender]

You know the curious thing is it’s flipped in the Episcopal Church (not including the splinters). From my own experience, the more smells and bells, the more politically liberal (and, hence, one would assume theologically liberal as well). The less smells and bells and the less Catholic in appearance, the more politically and theologically conservative.

I’m not sure why this is so. One theory would be Catholic converts to the Episcopal Church, who are liberal by and large, gravitate towards a Catholic style of worship.

Hmmm! That’s a very interesting observation!

 

[Melissa]

Our parish has the bells in three places, the epiclesis and then at consecration.

Does anyone else have bells at the epiclesis anymore? (I mean at the Holy Spirit part right before the consecration of the host).

Yes, they do that at our parish, too–all three places.

 

[Pug]

Yes, they do that at our parish, too–all three places.

I’m glad. You and several others said yes.

I’ve been to a number of parishes over the last twenty years, and I don’t remember bells at them. I wonder if they are coming back? I think one other poster wondered the same thing.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

One nearby parish where I have served as acolyte for weddings and the Easter Vigil uses a “mushroom gong” instead of the usual four-bell handbells. This stands about 2 feet tall, looks like a bronze mushroom, and gives a deep, resonant tone when struck with a small mallet. These gongs (and triple-gong versions also) were common in churches in the late 1800’s, and this building dates from that period. The tradition in that parish was to strike the gong three times at each elevation. On several occasions, I coordinated with the other acolyte so that after each strike on the gong, I would press the striker button for one of the tower bells, creating a beautiful, alternating, indoor-outdoor sound.

The hard part was getting the younger servers to NOT muffle the gong after striking it, as they seemed to think it was not supposed to continue resonating after the Consecration. As you know from my previous posts, I am a musician and one of my pet peeves is hearing altar bells muffled after they’re rung. With handbells, they should be held until the sound dies away, unless they have little legs to keep the bells off the floor.

 

[prv]

One nearby parish where I have served as acolyte for weddings and the Easter Vigil uses a “mushroom gong” instead of the usual four-bell handbells. This stands about 2 feet tall, looks like a bronze mushroom, and gives a deep, resonant tone when struck with a small mallet. These gongs (and triple-gong versions also) were common in churches in the late 1800’s, and this building dates from that period. The tradition in that parish was to strike the gong three times at each elevation. On several occasions, I coordinated with the other acolyte so that after each strike on the gong, I would press the striker button for one of the tower bells, creating a beautiful, alternating, indoor-outdoor sound.

The hard part was getting the younger servers to NOT muffle the gong after striking it, as they seemed to think it was not supposed to continue resonating after the Consecration. As you know from my previous posts, I am a musician and one of my pet peeves is hearing altar bells muffled after they’re rung. With handbells, they should be held until the sound dies away, unless they have little legs to keep the bells off the floor.

This is interesting; the gong instead of liturgical bells and not muffling the sound. When I was an altar server at one of my previous campus ministries, I would put down the bell as soon as the priest lowered the Host and the chalice of our Lord, respectively. The bells were rung once for the consecration each of the host and the chalice. I was never taught not to muffle the sound or to ring three times. At my new church here, the bells are also rung three times after the consecration of the host and the chalice, respectively.

 

[Victorious]

We ring the sanctus bells at my parish.

I’ve noticed the liberal priests dislike the bells. WHY???

 

[lak611]

Gongs are interesting. I have never been to a parish that used gongs! Personally, I think gongs would be a little too much. I like just having the sanctus bells. Plus, before and after Mass, and at 6 p.m. for the vespers, the church bells are nice!

In my parents’ neighborhood, the Lutheran Church rings the bells at 6 p.m. My parents’ church (which was my church when I was a child) doesn’t have bells anymore because they needed repair and the parish is probably going to close soon (lack of members and lack of money–the school has already closed, and people have either moved away or died.).

 

[Atk_Aheeni]

This is interesting; the gong instead of liturgical bells and not muffling the sound. When I was an altar server at one of my previous campus ministries, I would put down the bell as soon as the priest lowered the Host and the chalice of our Lord, respectively. The bells were rung once for the consecration each of the host and the chalice. I was never taught not to muffle the sound or to ring three times. At my new church here, the bells are also rung three times after the consecration of the host and the chalice, respectively.

I think when i was a kid we use to stop the bells when the priest lowered the host as well till kids got to wild with the bells

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Altar gongs are not like the Oriental type of flat gong with an atonal sound. These are something like the gong on an electric fire alarm bell, except heavier and mounted on an upright pedestal. Most of them have a solid and deep musical pitch, but a few of them sound like inverted steel mixing bowls. Some have three gongs, one above the other, to be struck sequentially (N-B-C!). I believe a factory in the UK still produces single altar gongs, as there is a nearby Episcopal church that has a fairly new one. I bought one on eBay and have used it for outdoor Masses where the sound can carry. The effect is very dignified and reverent.

There is no liturgical norm as to whether altar bells should or should not be muffled, but stopping a bell from resonating creates an ugly and non-musical effect. The nature of a bell is to resonate, rather than to make an abrupt sound like a Lenten clacker. That is why the better quality altar bells had legs to elevate them off the floor.