Rosary not allowed before Mass

[allhers]

maggiec:

We have mass at 8:00am and at 9:30. On our schedule at 9:00 is the rosary. If anyone doesn’t want to pray they can wait until it is over and still have time for quiet reflection, private prayer before mass starts.
maggiec

This is the way it is done in my Parish also. Those who want to pray the Rosary together move to the small Chapel in between the Masses in the morning. Been doing it that way for years and years. Thankfully, all of the Priests have allowed it, some have even joined us at times.

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

Elzee:

I’ve been told our priest will not allow us to say the rosary before Mass (as a congregation) because it is a private devotion.
Has anyone heard this before? I think I can understand what he means…saying the rosary is not mandatory and not everyone may choose this form of prayer …but I also think we’re failing to introduce the people in our parish to a beautiful form of prayer by never saying it together or even discussing it. Does anyone have any thoughts on his comment?

There are three forms of prayer: Vocal, meditative, and contemplative. The Rosary can actually be a combination of the first two and in that regard can be good. However, for those engaging in mental prayer, or contemplation, it is holy Silence that enables it most.

In all charity toward’s this priest, he may be wanting people to have an opportunity to get themselves prepared for Holy Mass in silent prayer. I’m devoted to the Rosary and say it daily. I am consecrated to the BVM. But, those 15 minutes prior to Mass I cherish deeply in the parish that I am in, which is quite traditional and orthodox. I’ve never been in a church with so much holy silence just ahead of the Mass. I fall deeply into mental prayer. When the organist must rehearse, I am disturbed from this mental prayer. If a group of people were praying aloud, I would feel the same way.

At my traditional parish I have never seen a Rosary prior to Mass. However, I have observed and participated in the Rosary after Mass, usually on a specific weeknight, such as Tuesdays. It has also ocurred on the first Saturday of the month when the Secular Carmelites meet for Mass, Rosary, Divine Office and meeting.

I would advise that the first 5-10 minutes following Mass be silent, then something such as private recitation of the Rosary could be done in a group recitation.

If the priest still insists that it should not be said in groups, then I would suggest he try to tell any religious community that they should not be praying their rosaries in unison (a la Mother Angelica and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery).

 

[Joysong]

Hello, Diane,

But, those 15 minutes prior to Mass I cherish deeply in the parish that I am in, which is quite traditional and orthodox. I’ve never been in a church with so much holy silence just ahead of the Mass. I fall deeply into mental prayer.

When I spent some time in Florida, I was really edified when the church I attended made this announcement five minutes before mass:

“When the bell sounds, we will observe five minutes of silence to prepare our hearts to celebrate the liturgy.”

And then we heard the bell tone once, and the silence of the church was pregant with prayer and awe. I absolutely treasured this!

Sometimes at morning mass, our prayer ladies run overtime with their multitude of vocal prayers, and we only have a minute or two before the mass begins to recollect ourselves and offer our Mass intention to God. Yes, it is annoying, but since this does not happen often, I accept it as a human oversight in not always being able to time their prayers.

Have you run into people who are so devoted to the rosary that it becomes an obsessive attachment that interferes with true spirituality? St. John of the Cross spoke strongly about this in Bk. 3 of Ascent of Mt. Carmel. Years ago at my parish in Michigan, there was a prayer leader who began the rosary as the priest was leaving the altar, almost as if to cause a guilt complex for those who dared to leave the church. I recall a couple of times that he stood up and publicly admonished us for not staying to pray. So sad.

Carole

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

Joysong:

Hello, Diane,

When I spent some time in Florida, I was really edified when the church I attended made this announcement five minutes before mass:

“When the bell sounds, we will observe five minutes of silence to prepare our hearts to celebrate the liturgy.”

And then we heard the bell tone once, and the silence of the church was pregant with prayer and awe. I absolutely treasured this!

Sometimes at morning mass, our prayer ladies run overtime with their multitude of vocal prayers, and we only have a minute or two before the mass begins to recollect ourselves and offer our Mass intention to God. Yes, it is annoying, but since this does not happen often, I accept it as a human oversight in not always being able to time their prayers.

Have you run into people who are so devoted to the rosary that it becomes an obsessive attachment that interferes with true spirituality? St. John of the Cross spoke strongly about this in Bk. 3 of Ascent of Mt. Carmel. Years ago at my parish in Michigan, there was a prayer leader who began the rosary as the priest was leaving the altar, almost as if to cause a guilt complex for those who dared to leave the church. I recall a couple of times that he stood up and publicly admonished us for not staying to pray. So sad.

Carole

HI Carole,

Where abouts in Michigan were you?

When I read about the 5 minute bell, at first I thought it was a good idea, and maybe in some ways it still is.

However, that gave way to another thought and that is, that precious silence is suppose to be observed out of respect for the Blessed Sacrament. This is posted at all of our entrances - that silence is to be observed. It happens very rarely that anyone will talk or greet anyone else in the Church. It is not uncommon for it to begin filling up some 20 minutes ahead of Mass - without all the greetings, laughter and noises so typical of parishes today.

Your testimony that the church fell silent after the first bell is proof that such chatter is taking place. This is a pastoral issue that all priests need to help the faithful with. Maybe the first step is to use the bell. The next step is to train the people to greet each other before or after entering the Church. We are big on socials which happen weekly. It is not uncommon to see people from the 9:30 Latin Novus Ordo Mass still there at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Hamburgers and hotdogs are BBQ’d weekly. Kids play basketball or football, prayer groups assemble and others just hang out. So, for those who think it is cold to not greet each other in church, I would have to say it is so much better to spend all that time in church greeting the Lord and giving Him undivided attention.

As for the Rosary, I feel that a pastor should allow, out of charity and understanding, groups of people to assemble and do devotions following Mass, with a reasonable buffer time for those who want to enter mental prayer following the Eucharist. Ideally, we should all remain in the Church for at least 15 minutes following holy Mass. It takes at least that long for our Lord to be dissolved in our stomachs and was once a pious practice from what I am told.

 

[Elzee]

Lux_et_veritas:

In all charity toward’s this priest, he may be wanting people to have an opportunity to get themselves prepared for Holy Mass in silent prayer. .

I wish this was the case and would welcome such an announcement…unfortunately silence before Mass is typically not the norm. Not saying the priest approves of all the talking, cell phones, musical toys…but he has never said or done anything to discourage it to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Joysong]

Hi Diane,

I was at St. Gertrude’s in St. Clair Shores - but this was in 1974, and I have moved since then to PA. I should add that this only took place at daily mass, for on Sundays, the rosary leader was not there. Funny how these old memories stay with us when they are not too pleasant, huh? I like your idea of a buffer time before beginning the rosary. Now that I am older/wiser, I would have mentioned it to the pastor and/or the prayer leader rather than let it continue without attempting to find a common solution.

Your testimony that the church fell silent after the first bell is proof that such chatter is taking place.

I don’t recall that being the reason, Diane. In this Florida parish, they had a commentator bring the parish up to date with news, followed by a reminder to turn off pagers and such. Sometimes the musicians would rehearse a hymn before mass, so that is the reason for the bustle, not necessarily that people were disrespecting the Blessed Sacrament. Once the bell rang, though, the people were usually all seated and recollected, probably even praying. It was a lovely reminder punctuated with one somber tone of a bell. But the silence was incredible - no shuffling feet, clearing throats, turning prayer book pages, or anything!

Carole

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

Joysong:

Hi Diane,

I don’t recall that being the reason, Diane. In this Florida parish, they had a commentator bring the parish up to date with news, followed by a reminder to turn off pagers and such. Sometimes the musicians would rehearse a hymn before mass, so that is the reason for the bustle, not necessarily that people were disrespecting the Blessed Sacrament. Once the bell rang, though, the people were usually all seated and recollected, probably even praying. It was a lovely reminder punctuated with one somber tone of a bell. But the silence was incredible - no shuffling feet, clearing throats, turning prayer book pages, or anything!

Carole

Ahh, that explains it. One parish I belonged to did that too. Lots of noise leading into Mass.

However, in many parishes the silence in other ways is just not there.