Should there be clapping during the Mass?

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Here is a quote by Pope Benedict 🙂

“Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation.”
 
I couldn’t say it better myself.

Unfortunately there seems to be a wide-spread attitude that the musicians who perform a music ministry during the Mass are somehow performers, and that they must to be thanked for their service by the congregation in a way that singles them out for praise and admiration. This flows from a kind of personality-driven egoism, wherein the Mass is seen as a merely human accomplishment or the product of talents or personalities. Then Mass really does just become a sort of banal entertainment and we leave Mass feeling and acting like theater critics. (This attitude is difficult to avoid when the musicians or even the priest insist on acting so much like performers, imposing their personalities on the Mass as if it were their creation.)

If only there were an attitude of humility and solemnity among more church musicians and priests. The Mass does not need us; we do not “create liturgy”. Those who act in a liturgical context do so at the service of the liturgy—they are the servants of the liturgy.

Ecce ancilla Domini. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
 
Laura15 said:
Should there be clapping during the Mass?
Yes or no.
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In the Philippines, it is becoming very common for people to break into an applause after the Mass. It is giving the younger generation the impression that they are witnessing a stage presentation rather than a Holy Sacrifice. Looking at their faces, you would notice that everything is done automatically.

I am hoping that our bishops would put an end to this nonsense!:mad:

albertziggy
 
No, but I would add one exception.

At an ordination, after the rite of election, a priest presents the ordinandi to the bishop, and to the people, the bishop accepts them, and in an official manner, agrees to ordain them. Often, people will clap at this time. But… still in line with the Pope’s quote, we are not clapping because they are nice guys. We are clapping because the work that God has done through them, and will continue to do, as the prayer directly before this says so well.

“May God who has begun the good work in you now bring it to fulfillment.”
 
This used to drive me up the wall when people would do this at the NO mass I went to in Oregon. I think it was the fault of the leadership for allowing such wretchedly inappropriate things as a jazz trio to accompany the hymns (no, I’m not kidding), and then people would break out in applause once they were finished. I dunno…why applaud them and not the miracle of the transformation of the bread and wine, if you absolutely MUST applaud something? Ughhh!

So, uh…my opinion is “no”. 😛
 
No, I don’t believe that clapping should be allowed during Mass.
 
TheMc said:
No, but I would add one exception.

At an ordination, after the rite of election, a priest presents the ordinandi to the bishop, and to the people, the bishop accepts them, and in an official manner, agrees to ordain them. Often, people will clap at this time. But… still in line with the Pope’s quote, we are not clapping because they are nice guys. We are clapping because the work that God has done through them, and will continue to do, as the prayer directly before this says so well.

“May God who has begun the good work in you now bring it to fulfillment.”
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People also will occasionally clap after baptisms, or when the catechumens are received at the Easter Vigil, and I don’t see anything particularly wrong with that either (nor, again, is it within the meaning of Pope Benedict’s quotation). I recall priests inviting a response by saying “Let’s welcome the newest members of our parish family” or something similar, and clapping is the most sensible way (for an American congregation, at least) to do that. Doubtless there are some who think that anything but stony-faced silence in these circumstances is an affront to God, but I am not among them. So I haven’t voted, since there’s no option for “Mostly no, except for some cases.” After a choir piece during the Offertory or something like that, certainly not.
 
I think all applause of any sort ought to be totally discouraged. 👍

The ordination is a solemn, glorious experience whereupon the Holy Ghost takes up the man and makes him a priest. Every single Mass is an invitation and journey into the opened veil of Heaven, but an ordination is even closer since the Holy One dives straight into the deacon/priest. Why should anyone clap at this amazing, awe-filled moment? It is so wondrous that the parishioners should be engaged more in prayer than in clapping. Don’t tell me clapping is a form of intercessory prayer, though… 😛

My baptismal rite will be torture, because I know the parishioners here will clap. They’re very happy-go-lucky, and even clapped at a Franciscan brother’s birthday during a weekday Mass (after singing Happy Birthday, of course). It will totally ruin my feeling of sacred awe, which is the only feeling anyone ought to have when faced with the Holy Body of GOD. Applause is for the concert hall, in-between classical symphonic movements (;)), and when hearing a rousing speech. Should we really associate such responses of political rallies and rock concerts with the Holy Sacrifice? Would you have clapped at anything while Calvary was being bloodied by crimson drops from the hands of God?
 
MarkThompson said:
People also will occasionally clap after baptisms, or when the catechumens are received at the Easter Vigil, and I don’t see anything particularly wrong with that either (nor, again, is it within the meaning of Pope Benedict’s quotation). I recall priests inviting a response by saying “Let’s welcome the newest members of our parish family” or something similar, and clapping is the most sensible way (for an American congregation, at least) to do that. Doubtless there are some who think that anything but stony-faced silence in these circumstances is an affront to God, but I am not among them. So I haven’t voted, since there’s no option for “Mostly no, except for some cases.” After a choir piece during the Offertory or something like that, certainly not.
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Or at special blessings, like the one done in our cathedral during the holy family.
 
Monica4316 said:
Here is a quote by Pope Benedict 🙂

“Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation.”
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We have a pastor who “showboats” and this used to happen regularly after his homilies. It drives me crazy. It happened on CHRISTMAS for goodness’ sake! It’s NOT A PERFORMANCE it’s a SACRAMENT!!! NO APPLAUSE!!! EVER!!!
 
The Liturgy is rite = rule. For an hour or so, the priest and the community should do what is told to do by the books, and only that. There is not a single word in the liturgical books: here people may applaud.

Three years ago I left my territorial Church and since that time attend masses 12 miles apart, because there was five applauding during the Holy Mass praising the human success. The Mass is for God, not for the worldly things like graduation, success in a competition, win a tournament and so on.

Naturally one can say that the human success is important, and that is right. We can learn from the mormons. They have their service, that is for God, after that they have the teaching, and after that a social meeting. That third session is for praise the human achievement.

The Mass is sacred: it should be set aside for God and only for God. The Applause removes this sacredness.
 
And, this pastor thinks HE is responsible for saving our souls, which is why his homilies run up to 45 minutes. Yes, really.
 
Would you clap at the foot of Calvary? That is where we all are at Mass. I don’t think clapping would have been appropriate at Calvary, so it isn’t appropriate at Mass, not even with such exceptions as an ordination or a baptism. Congratulations are for after Mass.
 
Unfortunately, at my parish, applause is happening more often lately. Before Mass, the organist/pianist plays some music for about 15 minutes before Mass begins. He stops before the opening song, and many of the congregants break into applause. I know that it’s not really part of Mass since this happens before the procession, but it still seems wrong. As posted above, it leads to the belief that we are at a performance and we are saying the performer did a great job, when in reality we are preparing to celebrate Mass.
 
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