A few weeks ago I returned to my home parish and was given the opportunity to preach before a large congreation. It was standing room only as many came to wish a fond farewell to the recently transferred Priest. Very few knew that I would be on the altar that day and even fewer knew that I would be preaching. Preaching was pretty easy to do that day; it was the Feast of Pentecost and I am very fond of and have worked closely with Fr. Raymond. I both tackled the meaning of Pentecost in our lives today and addressed some words of appreciation and encouragement to our departing Priest. As I concluded, spontaneous applause broke out. Looking back I trust that this was in large part a sign of love and appreciation for Fr. Raymond. At that moment in Mass, it really took me by surprise. I'll elaborate more in a few moments.
Two of the blogs I frequent often, The Anchoress and Googling God, address the subject:
http://www.patheos.com/community/theanchoress/2011/07/07/the-applause-at-mass-has-to-stop/ct and http://googlinggod.com/
I think both posts make some good points. Sometimes applause is so common place at certain parishes and certain Masses that the faithful just think it must be normal. As the first post indicates there is an expectation of a performance; especially by the music ministry. I have witnessed this myself in some locations across my own diocese here in New Orleans. Now, I want you to think about this; we have some pretty powerful music down here in New Orleans and church is not excluded. Then I do believe that sometimes spontaneous applause just happens; maybe influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Our Holy Father has recently commented on this stating that applause has no place in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I have no doubt he truly believes this so it must be a point of some conflict for him as nearly no Mass that he celebrates lacks for that genuine applause of the faithful who are probably just overwhelmed at being in the presence of Christ's Vicar on earth.
Here should be the rule of thumb. Solicitation to applaud the choir, the homilist, the ministers, etc. should be avoided. Perhaps for some rare and special occassion it may make sense, but Sunday after Sunday too much. If we should applaud anyone should it not be Jesus Christ, who is present in the Word, the altar and most excellently, the Eucharist? Is not this applause taking away from the sacrifice of the Mass? Is our worship diminished by applause for human accomplishment or performance? I guess my answer is somewhat indirect as I believe applause should not be normative but rare and for special reasons.
Here are a couple of examples I've recently witnessed where applause seemed appropriate and, I believe, did nothing to shift focus away from worshipping Jesus Christ. Some months back a beloved Priest returned to celebrating Mass after a long and serious illness. The congregation applauded his return, out of love and respect. At the end of May we celebrated our graduating high school seniors at the 11 a.m. Mass. They served as lectors, ushers, etc. at this Mass and after the period of silence post Communion, they were each recognized by the Pastor. After all were introduced, the Pastor asked the congregation to show their "community" support with applause. Wrong to do? I did not think so.
I'm going to bet that this subject would solicit a wide range of opinion, from those who believe the Mass should be so reverent that no expression beyond every scripted word should be allowed. Then there will be those who want spontaneity and perhaps, even applause, at every Mass.
To be clear I'll state again, applause should not be normative but in appropraiate and tasteful circumstances it should be allowed. And again, we should not solicit applause week after week for ministries like weekly music, preaching, etc.
IMHO!
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