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AmP Countdown: Time left to vote for me ("Thomas Peters") in the 2008 Student Blogging Contest: 2008-11-20 23:59:59 GMT-05:00


Monday, July 21, 2008

On leaving Mass right after Communion

Fr. McNamara tackles the question in a Zenit Q&A:

Q: Unfortunately some in the parish have developed the poor habit of leaving Mass immediately after Communion. I estimate around 30%, or approximately 225 people, leave early. Our church holds 750, so the disappearance is definitely noticeable. Could you provide a theological discourse on why this is not appropriate behavior? -- D.S., Port Charlotte, Florida

A: This is a perennial problem, but one which must be faced with patience, insisting, as St. Paul would say, "Opportune et inopportune" (in season and out of season), until the message reaches home. [Read the entire answer.]

His answer, briefly: leaving Mass early robs you of the opportunity for silent reflection and prayer after receiving communion; it's simply discourteous; we ought to participate in the thanksgiving of the community post-communion; we ought not to leave until we are dismissed (sent forth) by the celebrant.
And let's not neglect the practical:

"From a very material standpoint one could also see if there is some tangible motivation that leads so many of the faithful to leave early. Is there a bottleneck in the parking lot? Are Mass schedules too close together? If there are real practical inconveniences involved, then theology alone will be ineffective in changing people's habits until these are resolved."

This all appears airtight to me. Sadly, in my parish I see people leave directly after communion often. It strikes me as very selfish to deny the community (and the Eucharistic presence of Jesus) your attention once you've "received what you came for."

Is it horrid of me to suggest some sort of (mild) public shaming for this sort of juvenile activity?

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