Standing ovations and applause during the Mass

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Early on in my Mass attendance I recall a mother daughter violin preformance during the Mass that got everyone to clap wildly and some standing and clapping. I wish I remembered why and at what exact point it was, but it was before the consecration. For some reason this has been bothering me, and I wondered if this is something that is in keeping with the rules or not. I think I will be attending another Mass at that parish and want to know before I go.
 
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liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.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. THE SPIRIT OF THE LITURGY, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger)
 
buffalo said:
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liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.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. THE SPIRIT OF THE LITURGY, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger)
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Buffalo,

You are really good at not answering questions. I need to know if this breaks any rule or maybe the word here would be rubric. You are basically telling me here it’s not good. Not good but allowable? Or not good and not allowable?
 
Am I reading this correctly? There was a round of applause for a musical group during Mass? If so, (and I presume this was Novus Ordo – if it was Usus Antiquior, the problem is magnified many times), I really don’t care if it was mother-daughter or the Sistine Choir, at best it’s just plain tacky, not to mention more than a little disrespectful. Personally, I’m not a fan of the post-conciliar custom of applause during liturgy for any reason. Certainly never as an expression of appreciation for anyone’s talent. And even at an ordination or a wedding, the applause can hold until Mass is over.
 
malphono said:
Am I reading this correctly? There was a round of applause for a musical group during Mass? If so, (and I presume this was Novus Ordo – if it was Usus Antiquior, the problem is magnified many times), I really don’t care if it was mother-daughter or the Sistine Choir, at best it’s just plain tacky, not to mention more than a little disrespectful. Personally, I’m not a fan of the post-conciliar custom of applause during liturgy for any reason. Certainly never as an expression of appreciation for anyone’s talent. And even at an ordination or a wedding, the applause can hold until Mass is over.
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Okay, maybe you missed my reply to Buffalo, but I have to know if a rule or rubric? is being broken here. I want to know if I decide to ask the priest about it if it happenes again. My priest is too ill now to ask.
 
StrawberryJam said:
You are really good at not answering questions. I need to know if this breaks any rule or maybe the word here would be rubric. You are basically telling me here it’s not good. Not good but allowable? Or not good and not allowable?
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I don’t think there is a lot in the rubrics about what you can’t do. I think the idea is that if it’s not in the rubrics, you shouldn’t do it.

I think buffalo’s answer wasn’t bad, really. Then-Cardinal Ratzinger explained what the problem is with this. I don’t think the idea is to do anything that isn’t explicitly forbidden. I mean, “not good” is an important thing to know, regardless of whether it is allowable.

You had a danger word in your own post: there should be no such thing as a “performance” during the liturgy. I’m also having a hard time thinking at what point in the Mass it would be allowable to have instrumental music as the focus of attention at all. I mean there might be some as background at some point, but people’s attention would be focused on the priest, so applause would just be weird.

It would probably be easier to answer the question if you mentioned why you need to know about this prior to attending Mass there again.
  1. Are you wondering whether it’s OK to join the applause?
  2. Are you wondering whether you should go up to the priest afterwards and say something about it?
  3. Are you wondering whether you should write the pastor and mention it?
  4. Are you wondering whether you should report it to the bishop?
If it’s the first, then I would suggest joining the applause very briefly and then stopping.
If it’s the second, I’d advise against it. He won’t be in the correct frame of mind to take it in.
If it’s the third or fourth, it would make more sense to wait and see if it happens again, remembering more of the specifics, and then ask the question again, with the specifics of the more recent occasion.

Just MHO.

–Jen
 
StrawberryJam said:
Buffalo,

You are really good at not answering questions. I need to know if this breaks any rule or maybe the word here would be rubric. You are basically telling me here it’s not good. Not good but allowable? Or not good and not allowable?
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I am not an authority to I referred you to one.
 
buffalo said:
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. THE SPIRIT OF THE LITURGY, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger)
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I don’t know if it’s against the rubrics, but like Buffalo posted, - it’s not a good idea and dangerous to the liturgy.
 
I don’t think I will attend this parish again then. It seems there is an anything goes attitude there. The violin mother daughter team thing was weird enough, but she is paid to play at all weekend Masses. That may be common, but it adds to my list of reasons not to return. I will just drop my friend off for Mass and not attend with them.
It’s just going to be hard to explain why without ending up hurting feelings.
 
StrawberryJam said:
I don’t think I will attend this parish again then. It seems there is an anything goes attitude there. The violin mother daughter team thing was weird enough, but she is paid to play at all weekend Masses. That may be common, but it adds to my list of reasons not to return. I will just drop my friend off for Mass and not attend with them.
It’s just going to be hard to explain why without ending up hurting feelings.
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Perhaps you could forward the Pope’s writing to your pastor. Sometimes they are not even aware. At least then he would know why you left.

Today, many people spontaneously clap when a “performance” concludes whether it is good or bad. The issue they need to understand is that it is not a performance. When they face the audience this is also partly to blame. If they turn and face the cross it changes the entire dynamic.
 
StrawberryJam said:
Okay, maybe you missed my reply to Buffalo, but I have to know if a rule or rubric? is being broken here. I want to know if I decide to ask the priest about it if it happenes again. My priest is too ill now to ask.
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Not everything is in the rubrics. I don’t think it’s in the rubrics that a priest is not allowed to process down the aisle via cartwheels, either. 😉

I don’t mean to be glib, but the Church isn’t into hyper-regulation (contrary to the popular perception). Is that type of thing appropriate? Probably not. Is it, as that quote from then-Cardinal Ratzinger states, “a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared”? Probably.

But does it invalidate the Mass? No. Is it worth writing a letter to the CDWDS? Probably not.
 
It is not uncommon to pay the musicians for playing at mass. We pay our musicians and choir directors.
 
At my church, they clap for the musicians at the end of Mass. Every Mass. I try to hide behind the piano because I’m embarrassed by it.

During Lent, our pastor wants us to depart in silence, so there is no recessional hymn. Without that “cue,” people are confused about how they’re going to clap for the musicians. Usually by the last Mass of the Second Sunday of Lent, they get it – they’re not going to clap.
 
A priest gave a jaw droppingly good homily. We all cheered and clapped. If you don’t like it, well, I’m sorry.

I know mass should be a solmen, serious occasion where no one smiles and we all glare at each other in misery and no one is happy. Sorry, I just can’t help it. Happiness-even in mass, is so much more inviting and loving than acting mopey.

Whatever happend to the bible quote that says something like, “Today is a day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!”
 
Rascalking said:
A priest gave a jaw droppingly good homily. We all cheered and clapped. If you don’t like it, well, I’m sorry.

I know mass should be a solmen, serious occasion where no one smiles and we all glare at each other in misery and no one smiles. Sorry, I just can’t help it. Happiness-even in mass, is so much more inviting and loving than acting mopey.

Whatever happend to the bible quote that says something like, “Today is a day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!”
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It depends on where the applause is directed.

Recently, our Pastor took on the homosexual marriage issue very strongly. Most have not heard anything about it for years. After the homily they clapped not because of his performance, but because of the truth he conveyed and his courage. This time I clapped too. Normally I won’t.
 
I’ve laughed at a point in the homily when it was funny. I’m not one of the picky stuffy types who needs things to be my way. I just felt like I was not attending Mass, and that it was more of a musical event with the Mass as an afterthought.
 
StrawberryJam said:
Early on in my Mass attendance I recall a mother daughter violin preformance during the Mass that got everyone to clap wildly and some standing and clapping. I wish I remembered why and at what exact point it was, but it was before the consecration. For some reason this has been bothering me, and I wondered if this is something that is in keeping with the rules or not. I think I will be attending another Mass at that parish and want to know before I go.
Click to expand...
Either you know each other very well or your response to Buffalo was unpolite. Were it with me and I do not think I would accept it. His response tells it all.

Mass is not a music concert. When there are concerts at Churches, the Eucharist is taken to another Chapel and even so, the Church only sees it with good eyes if it is sacred music.

The scene you saw it is not acceptable. Nevertheless, it would not make me go to another Church.
 
At my parish, we clap after the priest and alter servers, etc have left the church and the music has stopped. The clapping is for those who have played the organ, piano, or sang. It is our way of showing appreciation to them for doing that and saying “Good Job!!” I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that at all.

Now, I think that cheering and clapping during communion would be a bit strange, for example. 🤷
 
Rascalking said:
I know mass should be a solmen, serious occasion where no one smiles and we all glare at each other in misery and no one is happy. Sorry, I just can’t help it. Happiness-even in mass, is so much more inviting and loving than acting mopey.

Whatever happend to the bible quote that says something like, “Today is a day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!”
Click to expand...
Who said anyone had to be mopey? Who said anything about misery? I think your straw man is on fire. 🙂

There is no reason not to laugh if there is a funny part of the homily. There’s no reason not to spend the whole Mass smiling, if it takes you that way (which it sometimes does me).

There is a big difference between that, and stopping in the middle of Mass for a concert complete with standing ovation. The music at Mass is supposed to make you think of God, not the musicians.

–Jen
 
revert_jen said:
Who said anyone had to be mopey? Who said anything about misery? I think your straw man is on fire. 🙂
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Better my straw man than straw house! :eek:

I think some people imply that mass should be solemn and mopey. Just the impression I get. If I’m wrong-great. Hope I am.
 
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