Q. 1. I have a question. Are we allowed to applause during Holy Mass? I noticed that this practice seems to be on the increase, most of it encouraged by the presiding priest. It does not seem right. During Mass, the faithful applause the organ player, the choir, the altar servers, the new priest, after the (non-canonical) speach that substituted the homily, after the announcements before the blessing at the end of the Mass, and the list goes on. Going to Church is beginning to feel like going to a school play. If you do not applaud with the others, you feel out of place.
A. 1. There is no mention of applause in the Catholic liturgy. When something is not mentioned, that means it is not allowed. End of the subject!
Applause in most cases, if not all cases, is completely out of place in sacred worship. The Mass is not about us. The ritual itself exists to draw our attention away from ourselves.
In his book "The Spirit of the Liturgy," Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Now Pope Benedict XVI) wrote: "Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment" (Page 198).
On this subject, Pope Pius X stated, “It is not fitting to applaud the servant in the house of his Master.”
If the announcements are given after the final blessing at the end of the Holy Mass, as it should be done, then the faithful may applause at the accouncements since such would be outside of the liturgy. But applause cannot be done if the announcements are given prior to the final blessing.
From a different Pope, Saint John XXIII said as people waited for him to arrive to a church outside of Rome, “I am very glad to have come here. But if I must express a wish, it is that in church you not shout out, that you not clap your hands, and that you not greet even the Pope, because ‘templum Dei, templum Dei.’ (‘The temple of God is the temple of God.’)
Since the Church is the temple of God, there should be no applauding whatsoever at any time, not even after Mass. Announcements should be placed in the Parish Bulletin and applauding should be done at home when reading the Bulletin.