What's up with people interrupting the preface?

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We’re not supposed to do that? I always considered the last phrase, “And so, in company with the choirs of Angels, we praise you, and with joy we proclaim:” to be part of the Holy, so it seemed appropriate to respond amen (especially with everyone else doing it).
 
No, that part is still a part of the preface. The Sanctus begins with “Holy, holy, holy…”
 
The Santus? Yes I was expressing the preface prior to the Santus. There’s the Prayer over the offerings which you do say amen at the conclusion,followed by the preface and then the Sanctus.
 
Kind of like for all intense and purposes? Shudder…

I love grammarly!
 
LilyM said:
Lifelong Catholics will often joke about going into, say, the cinema, and in a moment of distraction genuflecting in the aisle before taking their seat. Or hearing “may the Force be with you” and absentmindedly responding “and also with you.”
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Or Father beginning Mass by saying “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
“Amen.”
Then remarking, “There’s something wrong with the mic.”
“And also with you.”
 
Onthisrock84 said:
It’s somewhat funny when you think about it , I don’t know if it is purely impulsive, if people are not properly understanding the liturgy , or what. Like when I go to the EF and it’s a dialogue Mass you would never see people reply amen during the preface like that. It really makes no sense.
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I’m 64, have a certificate in Pastoral Liturgy issued by a theology school, have been chair of the Liturgy Committee in my parish, and have been serving the Church for decades. One moment of inattention and I’ve found myself responding “Amen” because the words just spoken triggered that response. That’s all it is, a moment of inattention, not a lack of understanding of the liturgy.
 
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It’s called a conditioned response. There are 844, or thereabouts, Catholic prayers that end “… through Christ our Lord,” and which people are expected to reply “Amen.” So when those words occur in the liturgy, it’s easy to slip. Not a conspiracy. Not an attempt to undermine the liturgy. Even Fr. Z might understand.
 
Noone else thinks when you begin to have so called conditioned responses it isn’t a problem? Like are we actually listening and engaging in the liturgy or just waiting for our cues? I’m just wondering. It seems people have admitted to doing it before when not paying attention. I quite possibly have done it before while not paying attention. So basically what’s going on is people aren’t really engaging in the Mass as much as just waiting for their next recitation which they probably don’t understand either?
 
Is it really a bad thing that the Mass is so much part of one’s life and psyche that these things happen?

I may have days where I don’t consciously focus on brushing my teeth or dressing or having breakfast, it doesn’t mean that I don’t understand the importance of doing these things.
 
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It essentially means " verily " or “truly”. This has nothing to do with what it means.
 
Yes exactly. When you weren’t paying attention. I may have done it while not paying attention.

So basically half of my church isn’t paying attention is the lesson here?
 
Onthisrock84 said:
So basically half of my church isn’t paying attention is the lesson here?
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Yes, the half that remained silent was not paying attention. The other half heard of the wondrous work of God (our thanksgiving is itself your gift,
since our praises add nothing to your greatness
but profit us for salvation, through Christ our Lord.) and responded Amen, a totally normal response to the proclamation of God’s gifts. That amen is then rapt up into the response of all the angels and saints singing in heaven.

Prefaces vary with season and celebration, everytime recalling what God has done to bring us together with the saints and angels. That the priest evokes a spontaneous Amen by presenting these gifts should help us understand why we sing with the angels and all the saints.
 
It is not in the rubrics to ever interrupt the preface with an amen. I am following my missal.
 
Most people haven’t read or even been educated on the basic order of the mass nor even know what the parts are called and would not have known what you meant by preface. They know the mass only by their experience with it, which probably included the “Amen” in the preface. Many don’t even follow it in the missal. It doesn’t mean they aren’t engaged, they just think they’re supposed to “Amen” there.
 
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