Singing Happy Birthday during Mass

[latingirl]

Can someone explain to me whether it is wrong or right for the priest to sing “Happy Birthday” to people before the end of Mass with a full organ accompaniment? Is this liturgical abuse, is it okay or is it just bad taste?

 

[mburn16]

before or after the final blessing? Define “end of mass”

 

[YoungTradCath]

Before blessing, abuse.

After blessing, extremely bad taste and glorification of an individual. At least that’s what I’d say.

 

[latingirl]

During the announcements after communion. Before the dismissal

 

[pnewton]

Neither. If this is what constitutes abuse, then is just shows how well our priests are doing. From the GIRM

1. To the Concluding Rites belong the following:
   a) brief announcements, should they be necessary;

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-2.cfm

What constitutes “necessary” is the discretion of the priest.

 

[Sunbreak]

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was liturgical abuse. It seems inappropriate, though. A simple announcement would be sufficient and if people wanted to do more they could do so after mass was over.

 

[smndtupidisaftr]

If necessary has been expanded to mean things we’re doing this week, which is mentioned in the bulletin, making the announcements almost always redundant.

I don’t think a happy birthday can be deemed “necessary”. Do it after. Have something where the parish comes together to celebrate birthdays. Just make it separate from the Mass.

 

[superamazingman]

As YTC said,
Before the dismissal, illict. After the dismissal, absolutely horrible, horrendous taste. Not to mention tacky.

 

[YoungTradCath]

PS: If my birthday was mentioned by a priest within the context of Mass (before or after) I would personally speak to him to make sure it never happened again, please and thank you.

 

[latingirl]

I’ll give you the run down of exactly what happens. After the general announcements, the deacon or the priest will ask if anyone is celebrating their birthday this week and ask them to stand. When they stand, they are given a card and “happy birthday” is sung to them usually with the organ too. Then we will get the last blessing and the Mass will end.

Alot of the parishioners love it. It aggravates me and makes me uncomfortable. I do not like ending Mass this way. I want to think of the Eucharist instead or the Gospel message… If it were my birthday, I would not stand.

 

[pnewton]

As YTC said,
Before the dismissal, illict. After the dismissal, absolutely horrible, horrendous taste. Not to mention tacky.

I do not think the Catholic Church has said this is illicit. The GIRM allows a place announcements. In the absence of any other authority, the bishop of the diocese administers the liturgy and is allowed to delegate this authority to the local ordinary. I personally would not like this to be a weekly event, but whether this is done weekly, occasionally or never is a judgement left between the priest and bishop.

I would not object in the least to an occasional recognition of a particularly important milestone.

 

[YoungTradCath]

I do not think the Catholic Church has said this is illicit.

Not everything has to be “decreed” illicit. There are endless practices that can be called illicit yet the Church has not said them to be illicit. Their illiceity is understood to be.

As far as liceity is concerned I am sure that this can be counted as “announcements,” therefore licit. But it still seems to be very tacky. Regardless, nothing you can do about that. So OP, I’d say just deal with it, unfortunately.

 

[pnewton]

Not everything has to be “decreed” illicit. There are endless practices that can be called illicit yet the Church has not said them to be illicit. Their illiceity is understood to be…

I see. “Illicit” means literally in contradiction to that which is licit. If it is not called illicit, or is in direct contradiction to that which is licit, then it is not illicit.

In these cases, it is the opinion of the priest and/or bishop that matters. Calling it illicit does not make it so. To the OP, send the question to the Ask an Apologist forum. They have a canon lawyer that can be consulted in such matters.

 

[Whispering_Hope]

I think it has a lot to do with culture. What appears to be quite normal by some would be considered distasteful by other cultures. With the mixing of cultures we may have to be a little tolerant.

 

[Elizium23]

Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacky.

A birthday is all about an individual’s personal glory. Frankly I feel the Jehovah’s Witnesses have it right in eschewing this yearly celebration. Incidentally, for the Year of Faith we have been exhorted to determine the date of our baptism and celebrate it as a special occasion each year. Orthodox and Catholics in Europe celebrate their “name day”. Perhaps you could suggest that the pastor divert attention from the individual to Christ and the glory of God by acknowledging these days instead. But good luck getting it changed.

I once tried to quash the common practice of people giving applause seemingly to the music ministry after Mass, but our pastor reasoned that it is just the people’s expression of joy and a “thanks be to God” afterward. I think he was just unwilling to stop them from doing something they enjoy and hear the inevitable complaints. Now that your community is accustomed to singing “Happy Birthday” it will be hard to wean them from the habit. Best of luck to whoever has to undertake it.

 

[gh4]

We do this in our church and I flat out refuse to stand up or raise my hand when it’s my birthday.
During the announcements we have men who get up there and basically read the bulletin to the congregation. They do this because so many don’t read them, but then many of those same people don’t listen either.

 

[MSSheBear]

At my parish we do the whole birthday blessing thing at the end of Mass. I am not real fond of it. Let’s just say I won’t be going up in front for a birthday blessing. We at Daily Mass sang “Happy Birthday” to the priest but it was decidedly after Mass. I really don’t see anything wrong with that.

I try to pay attention to the announcements after Mass, honestly, and not everything is announced in the bulletin.:sad_yes:

 

[latingirl]

At my parish we do the whole birthday blessing thing at the end of Mass. I am not real fond of it. Let’s just say I won’t be going up in front for a birthday blessing. We at Daily Mass sang “Happy Birthday” to the priest but it was decidedly after Mass. I really don’t see anything wrong with that.

I try to pay attention to the announcements after Mass, honestly, and not everything is announced in the bulletin.:sad_yes:

well if it was just a birthday blessing that would be fine, it’s the singing of a secular song that diverts my attention from God that I fell is wrong.

 

[landon13]

I visited a parish once out in California with my family and the Priest asked for anyone who’s birthday it was that week to come forward and the Priest led everyone in singing happy birthday. I think it is a very nice thing to do especially for a smaller parish where everyone knows everyone and all the large Portuguese families have been going to the same church for generations

 

[sw85]

Probably not kosher. I get that the priest has leeway to say what needs to be said during the announcements before the final blessing/dismissal, but happy birthdays seem to be stretching it, and surely we can evaluate whether a priest is exercising the “necessary” clause properly or not.

At my parish, birthdays/welcomes/deployments (I go to Mass on a military base) are acknowledged before the entrance procession, so as not to distract from the liturgy, and the announcements before the final blessing are typically limited to “please refer to change X in the bulletin, and join us for event Y at time Z.” I appreciate that.