My friend Brent Stubbs has a great post on why clapping in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (or giving a “thank you” roll-call to all the liturgical “ministers”) is inappropriate. A good rule of thumb – if a certain act is deemed “inappropriate” for your wedding or your daughter’s wedding (e.g. puppets, clowns, rock music, liturgical dancing, rainbow vestments, chewing gum, whispering, applause), then it’s definitely not suitable for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which is a re-presentation of the Holy Sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The Holy Father says as much. The Holy Mass is the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
Here’s a preview from Brent’s post:
Imagine at the end of a wedding there was applause, but the applause was not for the bride and groom. Instead, the priest asked the solo violinist who did a great job during the wedding to come up to the front and everyone applauds him, followed by applause for the ring bearer, flower girl and a rousing round of high-fives for the groomsmen who did such a good job standing still. By this time the new bride and groom are slouching their heads but the priest, in dramatic fashion, pronounces a blessing, the music starts and they all process out–unsure as to what they are now celebrating or even celebrated (two groomsman are still doing a fist bump for the extraordinary job they did).
Please go read his post Liturgical No-No: Applause in Mass
Recommend book on the Holy Mass:
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