The Great Post-Eucharist Stampede

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In my parish leaving early isn’t much of a problem (although there’s always a small few that do)…it’s half the congregation showing up ten minutes LATE that’s our issue.
 
I’d say the majority of people at my parish stay until the priest leaves.

But there are those who do leave early. (And I’m not referring to those few who stand in the back after communion and/or need to man a table in the courtyard.)

Unfortunately Catholics have a long tradition of leaving at or just after Communion. I’m not sure how long this “tradition” has existed but I suspect it’s at least since the early 1900s. It definitely predates the Mass of Pope Paul IV.
 
exnihilo said:
At my parish a few people always leave after communion.
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Oh, I’ve done it, too, especially when my kids were babies and toddlers. It was no longer an issue when we moved to a new town and parish with childcare for the tots during Mass.
exnihilo said:
I will occasionally leave early myself (after the Mass has ended) if the last hymn is particularly irritating.
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That’s about every Sunday for me <<ducking.>> Is music snobbery grounds for going to confession? :-o
 
I think it may be the area too. I live in Las Vegas. It might just be the general climate.

Nothing to do with this topic, but I’m really hoping to move. My husband and I just need to save some money first and get in a better position to handle it. We want to move to Texas where his family is. Las Vegas is just where we wound up when he got out of the Air Force / last place we were stationed.
 
deMontfort said:
inutes LATE that’s our issu
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Ha ha- oh my goodness- this happens a lot here too, and I have to confess I’m one of the guilty. Every time I feel like I have figured out the best time to leave my house, traffic surprises me or a child can’t find a show. I somehow almost always manage to either hurry in just before the mass starts or somewhere during the first reading.

This week I swear I’m going to get it right.
 
katiecall87 said:
Oh my goodness- most people bolt after getting communion. I kid you not. I don’t understand why so many people do this, even after the priest gently reminds us, at almost every mass, to please remain seated until the mass is over.

It really is a stampede.
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We get that reminder also! I find it really sad when they can’t wait for the final blessing and leave right after receiving the Eucharist.
It also irks me when people arrive late -
sometimes right before the Gospel!
 
katiecall87 said:
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deMontfort:
inutes LATE that’s our issu
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Ha ha- oh my goodness- this happens a lot here too, and I have to confess I’m one of the guilty. Every time I feel like I have figured out the best time to leave my house, traffic surprises me or a child can’t find a show. I somehow almost always manage to either hurry in just before the mass starts or somewhere during the first reading.

This week I swear I’m going to get it right.
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I am sure with children trying to arrive on time. I live in a tourist town too and sometimes visitors might have problems finding our church.
 
At my parish, we have two big rushes: one after the priest leaves the nave, and one after the choir finishes singing. This is, fortunately, better than many parishes.
 
Guilty.

I have a lot more control over when we leave Mass than when we arrive.

I’m married to a man with no internal time clock, and my beloved spawn have always timed their melt-downs, poopy diapers, and luchador-style fights to when we’re walking out the front door. I’ve tried for years to fight it - yell, nag, crack the figurative whip. I now throw in the towel and cry uncle. Let the Pharisees glare and judge. At least we made it to Mass!
 
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7_Sorrows said:
I live in a tourist town too and sometimes visitors might have problems finding our church.
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We get found a lot, and people sure are surprised 🙂

We are the closest church to the airport by some measures (the exits from it!), and Brother is usually there to explain East and West.

I think we average one a week that gets here not known what “byzantine” is. We’ve only had one couple walk out partway through, apparently deciding that we were too Orthodox 😦

Oh, and that arrogant pair who was insistent that we were all there fleeing the Novus Ordo . . .

hawk
 
Ushered in ushered out and you shake the pastors hand when leaving and a little small talk before potluck.
 
I was once told that it’s disrespectful to the Blessed Sacrament to leave before the priest has bowed in front of the altar and left at the conclusion of mass, at least if you could help it.

I don’t recall people stampeding out in my home parish. It was a small parish and people generally enjoyed staying to sing the final hymn. I guess I have seen it at times in some of the more urban and larger churches I’ve attended since moving away.

Though if I’m honest I generally try to just mind my own business and not really keep tabs on anyone else.
 
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I hadn’t thought of parking issues. We have a potential merger and I was just thinking that our car park and street the church is on probably doesn’t have enough parking to cope. Maybe we will start to see this.
 
We constantly have these judgmental threads on people coming late/ leaving early.

I don’t usually leave early, but I’ve been late for daily Mass three times in the last week. At one parish, the Mass time had been changed to an earlier time than shown on the Masstimes app. I also recently had a family tragedy and I am not feeling all that well but I still would like to get to Mass or at least Communion every day.

If somebody is going to feel “irked” that I am going into Mass around gospel time, as far as I’m concerned they can just offer it up. If they’re that bothered by it, they can ask me for the explanation, which they probably don’t want to hear.

I was also in a retreat in church yesterday and I needed to get up and go out and come back in a couple of times because I am not feeling so good and it’s harder than usual to be around people.

Seriously, people need to MYOB and get over it. You simply don’t know what’s going on with other people.
 
Exactly. If it irks someone that I show up a little late or a little early in order to make it to my shift at the hospital on time, shame on him, not me. God understands.
 
I agree 100%. I hate to think that at Liturgy there could be people who are taking a mental inventory of what I’m wearing, where I’m sitting, how much makeup I have on, what time I got there, etc… seriously people. Eyes on your own paper.
 
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DeniseNY said:
I agree 100%. I hate to think that at Liturgy there could be people who are taking a mental inventory of what I’m wearing, where I’m sitting, how much makeup I have on, what time I got there, etc… seriously people. Eyes on your own paper.
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Well, when everyone is seated quietly focused on the lector, it can be disrupting when out of the corner of your eye you see people walking down the side aisle to look for a seat or an usher asks you to move over for someone to sit down. You are not intentionally taking note of it, but you can’t help observing the people arriving 10-15 minutes late.
I don’t arrive late to a movie or if I am supposed to meet someone at a certain time I try to be on time.
Why shouldn’t we expect people to be on time for Mass?
 
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