ONE of the challenges the Church faced in liturgy was to allow silence to play its part, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said in a Pentecost letter to the people of the archdiocese.
Where once churches were places of silence for the sake of prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, the custom had arisen in recent years for people to talk freely in the churches, certainly before and after Mass.
Archbishop Coleridge said Mass in the Roman Rite presupposed seven silences: Before the Act of Penitence, before the Collect (after the celebrant’s call to prayer), after the First Reading and before the Psalm, after the Second
Reading and before the Gospel Acclamation, after the homily, during the Intercessions (after the intention is announced and before “Lord, hear us”), and after Holy Communion.
Well, silence as one enters the church need to be much more emphasised. Small talks and even chatting to each other before Mass disrupt the prayerful atmosphere.
The Archbishop mentioned it in his Pentecost letter to all the churches. Newsletters addressed by the parish priests to their congregations have also mentioned for a time of silence.
The only silence one does get is usually ten minutes before Mass.
But what about and yes what about “silence after the final blessing and final hymn?”
Surely we can all try to leave silently and allow those who wish to remain slightly longer a time of personal prayer in silence.
All I can suggest is to give it a go. The beauty of silence as one enters the church and leaves, is nothing more but true reverence.
ADEL HADDAD
Palm Beach, Qld
