What about a praise break (shouting in church) in the Catholic Church?

[dis006]

Hello, I am a convert to the Catholic Church from a Baptist Backround and I was wondering, what is the Catholic Church’s views on shouting in church? When someone is praising the lord by stompin there feet, clapping, jumping and blessing God through it all? Is this good? When I was happy about what God did for me I often would shout to. Even as a Catholic I still feel happy and feel like blessing the lord this way. A priest at one church told me it was ok. He said sometimes the spirit does have people do that but I want to hear from others as well. Thank You.

Here are some good examples:

youtube.com/watch?v=XMMKRB-B8W8&feature=related

youtube.com/watch?v=oiixZS0zNYw

youtube.com/watch?v=eWrj4mvkvfw

youtube.com/watch?v=dsBp_uUgt3M&feature=related

Devin

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Definitely not! I don’t know what planet that priest is living on. This is not the practice in any Catholic Church that I have ever been in. If people feel the need to make a lot of noise while in a Catholic Church, let them go outside to get it out of their system. The Mass is not about expressing our feelings; it is all about appreciating the Lord’s Passion. I doubt that any of us would have been making a lot of noise at the foot of the cross.

When we see the body and blood of Jesus on the altar and recognize what suffering He endured for us, we are taken up by what He felt–rather than by what we feel. It’s all about Him. Certainly, during Easter season we sing our alleluias. But as we sing, we focus on Him.
We don’t act in Church the way we would at a football game. There is a definite place and time for everything. But such times and places are not always interchangeable.

That being said, you will find that Catholic Churches in Africa use drums and dance as a part of the liturgy because of the culture of that country. Dancing is a common way for them in the way they live. It is not for most Americans. There are some sub-cultures in the United States where such expressions are more common. But this is not the case for most Americans.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.