Monday 13 August 2012

Applause.....at a funeral?....during Holy Mass?





This is one strictly for the mods and libs, how crass! Clapping at a funeral - but it appears to be the thing to do these days. What are they after? An encore, a curtain call? To me, this speaks volumes about the modern Church, the Church that I cannot associate myself with.

 My only consolation is that Our Lord would not be clapping.....He would be waiting to receive the soul of that person. I believe that He would wish that we pray for the salvation of that soul, not that we "honour them" by giving them a round of applause. Cheap and nasty. Ugh!

20 comments:

  1. I think the Mass had ended by the time the applause happened, from what I could make out of the fox reporters words.

    Jesus would have received the late Pope's soul at the instance of His death, not during the applause, from what I understand of Catholic teaching (which isn't much). Therefore, maybe Pope John Paul and Jesus were watching from heaven!

    I know the Lord takes delight in His creation (you, me, everyone) so He may forgive a round of applause for a faithful servant. Are you seriously suggesting/claiming that no prayers had been offered by the congregation, during the Mass?

    Your final comment of 'cheap and nasty' just shows your position in Catholic society, middle class English snob, perhaps.

    I wonder how you would have received Christ as Saviour, had you been introduced to him lying in a manger? The King of Kings, a homeless man who mixed with undesirables most of the time. Did He EVER dress in fine robes, such as we see (and some increasingly desire to see)priests dressed in today? If you saw His miracle with water, at the wedding in Canaan, how would you have reported it, on your blog? Or His exorcisms, especially the one where the pigs went fleeing over the mountain, how would that have fitted in with today's popular traditionalist thinking?

    A real encounter with the risen Jesus would scare the hair of most Catholics I know(apart from the ones with no hair already)!

    I don't think He will frown on a round of applause, I think He would have joined in and shouted "Three cheers for Pope John Paul!"

    To judge the actions of all the faithful at Pope John Paul 11 funeral Mass, as 'cheap and nasty' is wrong. Then to state that due to your sensitivities, you cannot even associate yourself with the Church of today!
    You are solely consoled by the thought of Jesus not clapping!

    What do you think he sees when he reads that you no longer wish to be associated with Him? He IS the Church, after all.

    Meditate on the Crucifixion for half an hour, whilst looking at the faces of the crowd applauding. They were the faces Christ saw, whilst in Gethsemane and on the way to the Cross and whilst hanging on it, dying.

    He loves them. Do you?

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  2. Shadowlands - Ooops! Middle Class? Moi?

    I think that my best response is to use Fr Simon Henry's "You don't have to read this blog, really you don't"

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    1. Richard said:

      "You don't have to read this blog, really you don't"

      And you don't have to watch and post videos of followers from a Church that you do not even wish to be associated with, (my Church) but you do.

      I just like to defend the faithful, when I see them being judged en-masse (if you'll pardon the pun).

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  3. When I first met what is done here, if not in Spain,Spaniards clapping at funerals many decades ago, I was surprised."HappyClappy" didn't cover it, it was something else.We have very limited and circumscibed liturgical dance here too from way before Trent.I remember the fuss there was when General De Gaulle visited Ireland and Stood through most of mass: some French if not most, always did.
    Catholic means universal. You may consider other people's accidentals warts, you may be right to so consider them, and you may be right to resist the spread - that's another question.Not everything is necessarily modern and liberal and checklist.
    I don't have to read your blog as you say.What's hecubadotcom to me., or me to hecubadotcom? But you are fairly representative of quite a lot of traddieish friends and family and aquaintances.
    So I do worry about Donatism in the UK, I don't know about having to , I just do.

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  4. I suppose we all have to be rather careful of taking the "holier than thou" stance. On a personal level I'd rather any applause which may be due to be given after Mass - in a non-liturgical setting - when we have rendered unto God what is God's.
    We do pray for the dead at a Requiem. It's what a Requiem Mass is for; commending the soul of the deceased to the mercy of God.
    Indeed, we pray for the dead at every single Mass. It's part of the liturgy which, incidentally, does not assume that we are all a shoo-in to the Kingdom.
    We may judge what we understand to be the saintliness (or not) of others. Only God knows.

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  5. It does not sit well with me either.The commentator says that it is an Italian custom,and at times this continuous applause caused the late Pope much frustration even in a non-liturgical setting.The Mass had not finished...hence the rather patient look on Our Holy Father's face.I think indeed they were honouring the late Pope's life,and how much they loved him,but in my anglo saxon book such outpourings are inappropiate at a Requiem Mass however saintly the departed soul appeared in life.I guess what I am trying to say is that A Requiem is a very, very, solemn part of the christian journey,and that the judgement on the departeds life, belongs to God and to God alone.

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  6. There's absolutely no way you can compare the tone of that clapping to the silly mutual admiration stuff that goes on at Mass in churches where it's "all about us and how wonderful we are"!

    If something does not suit us, at least let us have the grace to recognise we don't know what's going on in other people's hearts. In this particular case we should be especially sensitive to the collective grief that was obviously in that square at that time.

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  7. Shadowlands - I believe that I am entitled to my point of view just as you are entitled to yours. This is my blog and I express my thoughts and beliefs. Clapping in church or after a funeral matters not to me, it is still clapping and a secular form of approval which has no place on sacred or reverent occasions. Epsilon, can't quite get your point. I think you are stating that some clapping on some occasions is acceptable. If so, I would, of course, disagree. I am not being holier than thou or insensitive to collective grief, whatever that may be. Clapping has no place in church or in association with a funeral (unless it was Josef Stalin's).

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  8. Richard

    Of course you may say what you want on your own blog, but until I am banned from the com-box, I assumed I was allowed to disagree? It was your comment back (the priest's quote) suggesting I didn't have to read your posts that prompted my reply.

    I enjoy a good old ding dong now and again, blows away the cobwebs and I've never been known as a 'yes man' or 'yes woman' for that matter!

    However, if this is in any way distressing to you, I will, naturally, refrain from future commenting. I thought you liked a bit of banter though? I do agree with you occasionally.

    You can always ask me not to comment here, if you would prefer?

    I'll just write about you on my own blog then heehee! ;)

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    1. I have to agree with Richard when he asks that you leave the insults alone. You appeared to be particularly rude in response to one of my posts sometime ago hopefully unintentionally. We are all mature adults here and hopefully we can disagree without seeming to be disagreeable.

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    2. Not sure what happened then but my reply to shadowlands appeared without showing my user name. I would hate you to think that I lack the courage of my convictions.
      Regards Introibo

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    3. I wasn't aware Introibo, so sorry for any offense caused. I do get carried away at times.

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    4. Apology accepted thank you.

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  9. Ros, you are very welcome to disagree but you did call me "a middle class snob". I take exception to that. Upper class, yes. Please keep your comments coming but leave the insults alone.

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  10. Richard Im very much with you on this one. The clapping and the santo subito exclamations seem to me to be symptomatic of all that is amiss with the post V2 Church. There is a clear lack of reverence throughout the modern church which ultimately leads to a loss of belief in the real presence. What continually amazes me is that whilst folk of our generation lament the direction that Holy Mother Church seems to be moving in (all be it very slowly) many youngsters who have never experienced the glory that was are turning to tradition. The good Lord truly moves in mysterious ways. I do try to feel sorry for the guitar and tambourine brigade as they experience the loss of the familiar but then again charity was never my strong point .lol

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  11. Introibo, many thanks. You are right, there is much taking place that we should be grateful for but there is a big hill to climb.

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  12. Sorry for calling Richard a snob.

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  13. Maybe one has to make allowances for the intention of the people here. I don't think they meant to be rude or crass, though I believe that clapping at mass or in a funeral spoils the sacredness of the moment and it can be disrespectful...

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  14. Richard,
    You are absolutely correct in this posting -The Rite had not concluded ie, The Dismissal and Absolution had not been given or performed! A Requiem Mass is primarily to pray for the Soul of the Departed Not to celebrate a person life! this should only be done after the Committal or the Wake! Secondly, especially in the TLM (Traditional Rite OF Mass)) it is also to begin the process and to give time and help for the Relatives and Mourners to grieve too! However, the video does show how much the Church had moved to giving honour and glory to Man rather than God in the Pontificate of JP11.

    Michael.

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