Playing Jeopardy, of course, with the question being: \u00a0\u201cwhy should I wait to leave mass after the closing song has finished?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m getting on my soapbox here, but a post I wrote a week ago, and the reaction to it, both here, and in other forums, really has me p*&!ed off, what with people claiming that since the Roman Missal doesn\u2019t have anything to say about the matter, they are allowed to leave after the dismissal, and anyone who suggests otherwise, or creates any further addition, is creating an unjustifiable imposition, that they are wholly entitled to ignore.<\/p>\n
So, yes, fine, it\u2019s technically correct: \u00a0after all \u2014 fun fact \u2014 the very word \u201cmass\u201d came from the Latin, \u201cite, missa est,\u201d which simply meant, \u201cgo, be dismissed.\u201d \u00a0And the missal doesn\u2019t say anything about a closing song. \u00a0On the other hand, here\u2019s what The General Instruction and the New Order of Mass<\/em>\u00a0(as published in 1969 and purchased at a used book sale at Notre Dame many years ago) has to say \u00a0about singing at the end of mass:<\/p>\n The song during the communion of the priest and people expresses the union of the communicants who join their voices in a single song, shows the joy of all, and makes the communion procession an act of brotherhood. \u00a0This song beings when the priest receives communion and continues as long as convenient. \u00a0The communion song should be finished in time if there is to be a distinct hymn after communion. . . .<\/p>\n After communion, the priest and people may spend some time in prayer. \u00a0If desired, a hymn, psalm, or other song of praise may be sung by the entire congregation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So should we make this trade-off? \u00a0Extra music after communion (and note: \u00a0the song is prescribed for the congregation to sing, not<\/strong>\u00a0just the choir or cantor, and at least the one song to be song by all is prescribed<\/strong>) and drop the closing song instead? \u00a0That\u2019s not dissimilar to what the Lutherans (some Lutherans, anyway) do, where the dismissal occurs after the final hymn, with the pastor processing during the recessional hymn, then standing at the rear of the church and only after the last verse saying the dismissal rite. \u00a0But if you\u2019re determined to spend as little time as possible at mass, then this isn\u2019t going to make any difference.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re on your high horse, and say, \u201cI don\u2019t like the music at mass anyway \u2014 they should use chant\/traditional hymns\/praise music instead\u201d, then please recognize that a church is a community of people. \u00a0You don\u2019t get to run the show yourself, and aspects such as this, part of being in a community is accepting consensus decisions. \u00a0If you want to persuade your fellow worshipers that chant is preferred, knock yourself out.<\/p>\n And if you say: \u00a0\u201cthe Catholic mass is all about the Eucharist, and has nothing to do with a Protestant worship service\u201d \u2014 no, sorry. \u00a0The Order of Mass could have been constructed in the form of a priest saying the Eucharistic prayer, followed by communion distribution and a few announcements, but it\u2019s not. \u00a0From the beginning of the church itself the Eucharist has been one part, but not the only part of mass.<\/p>\n But notwithstanding the above, Sunday mass does not simply, strictly follow the Order of Mass as laid out in 1969. \u00a0Every country, every locality, has local customs. \u00a0Around here, they\u2019ve taken to reciting a decade of the rosary in October and May. \u00a0In Germany, they\u2019ve swapped out the Nicene Creed for the Apostles\u2019 Creed, substituted a generic praise hymn for the Gloria, and dropped the first reading (or is it the second? \u00a0I\u2019m not sure) entirely. \u00a0These are local customs and the fact that don\u2019t correspond to the Roman Missal precisely doesn\u2019t mean you get to signal your objection by your behavior at church.<\/p>\n In the end, yes, technically you\u2019ve fulfilled your Sunday obligation if the priest says some variant of \u201cgo, be dismissed.\u201d \u00a0But if you don\u2019t wait until the closing song, you are being rude<\/strong>. \u00a0Now, is it a sin to be rude? \u00a0I\u2019m not going to get into that. \u00a0But as a general rule, one shouldn\u2019t be rude.<\/p>\n You think the choir is creating an imposition on you? \u00a0Fine, think that. \u00a0You\u2019re still being rude<\/strong> \u2014 not just to the choir but to your fellow congregants, who feel like c&^! when they\u2019re trying to sing and the entire f*&^ing church is emptying out, making them feel like G*!d&^@ fools for staying.<\/p>\n And by the way \u2014 \u00a0How do you think a non-Catholic visitor perceives this? \u00a0Sure, you\u2019ve already got one strike against you when they observe that most of the music seems to be cantor solos, for all they can tell, \u2019cause no one is singing, but when they see everyone emptying out? \u00a0Are you really going to say, \u201cit\u2019s their own d&^! fault if they leave with a bad impression; it\u2019s not my job to create a good impression for visitors\u201d? \u00a0That\u2019s a load of c#@!.<\/p>\n Cut it out. \u00a0Sing. \u00a0Stick around. \u00a0Don\u2019t be rude.<\/strong><\/p>\n (off the soapbox)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Playing Jeopardy, of course, with the question being: \u00a0\u201cwhy should I wait to leave mass after the closing song has finished?\u201d I\u2019m getting on my soapbox here, but a post I wrote a week ago, and the reaction to it, both here, and in other forums, really has me p*&!ed off, what with people claiming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n