Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
May the Lord give you His peace!


As we continue to make our way through the Bread of Life discourse in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, I thought this might be an opportune time to respond to a question I’ve heard raised by a number of parishioners about the periods of silence we typically encounter during the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. These have come more to the forefront of our collective awareness since Monsignor Makarewicz became our Pastor and we have experienced his dedication to presiding at liturgies celebrated according to the mind and heart of the Church. 

Here’s what the most recent edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (paragraph 45) has to say about the role of silence in the liturgy: “Sacred silence also, as part of the celebration, is to be observed at the designated times. Its nature, however, depends on the moment when it occurs in the different parts of the celebration. For in the Penitential Act and again after the invitation to pray, the individuals recollect themselves; whereas after a reading or after the Homily, all meditate briefly on what they have heard; then after Communion, they praise God in their hearts and pray to Him. Even before the celebration itself, it is a praiseworthy practice for silence to be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a devout and fitting manner.”

When living in an action-focused culture such as ours, the value of silence, of taking a moment of time free from external word or activity can seem like wasted time – “Why aren’t we doing something? What comes next? What’s the hold up?”, etc. Sadly but understandably, this attitude can easily carry over into our liturgical celebrations. However, the rubrics (i.e., the procedural directions written in small red letters in the Missal) are quite clear and specific about when silence is to be observed during the Mass. For example, after the Priest Celebrant invites us to “acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries,” the rubrics state “A brief pause for silence follows.” Then, when the Glory to God in the highest (the Gloria) hymn is concluded, and the Priest Celebrant, with hands joined, says, “Let us pray,” the rubrics specify, “And all pray in silence with the Priest for a while” [emphasis added, for a while, meaning not just until the Server can run to bring the Missal to the Celebrant to pray the Collect prayer].

The rubrics provide for the possibility of a somewhat different course of action to be followed after the reception of Holy Communion is concluded: “Then the Priest may return to the chair. If appropriate, a sacred silence may be observed for a while… Then, standing at the altar or the chair and facing the people, with hands joined the Priest says ‘Let us pray.’ All pray in silence for a while, unless silence has just been observed. Then the Priest says the Prayer after Communion…”  Our custom at Mary Immaculate and St. Rose has been to observe the post-Communion period of sacred silence while everyone, including the Priest Celebrant, is seated; hopefully we are using that time to “praise God in [our] hearts and to pray to Him.” 

I hope this brief explanation of the silences we observe during our celebration of the Sacred Liturgy will serve to answer any questions our parishioners may have about why we encounter them during Mass and what their intended purpose is. Never fear that the Server or the Deacon or even the Priest has perhaps fallen asleep or isn’t paying attention or doesn’t know what is supposed to come next! Please just be assured that, under Monsignor Mak’s guidance, all our liturgical ministers are deeply committed to a reverent and meaningful celebration of the Sacred Mysteries in accordance with the mind and the heart of the Church – to the glory and praise of God.     

 With a brother’s love in the Lord and Mary Immaculate,

 Deacon Dave, O.F.S.
T    In Persona Christi Servi