Theologian on clapping at Mass: Can be a great moment of liturgy
Paderborn - Should one applaud in the Holy Mass? The answers to this question often differ widely. In an interview with katholisch.de, liturgical scholar Stephan Wahle explains why clapping in church is polarising - and what a good way to deal with the issue might be.
Published on 06.10.2023 at 08:00 – by Roland MüllerWhen the church music has touched the hearts of the Massgoers at a service or the organisers of the parish festival are thanked after the Eucharistic celebration, applause may be heard in the church. But is clapping appropriate to the liturgy at all? The topic polarises not a few faithful. In an interview, Stephan Wahle, a liturgical scholar from Paderborn, analyses why this is so.
Question: Opinions are divided on clapping in worship: some vehemently condemn it, others are great supporters. Why does this topic have the potential to polarise?
Wahle: It has to do with the understanding of what liturgy actually is. If the focus is that liturgy is a sacred event, which is about the veneration of God, about worship or about silently abiding in the presence of God, then clapping does not fit into this concept. Those who place this emphasis wonder how such a human gesture as clapping can serve the glory of God. Others argue that liturgy is first and foremost an encounter between God and man, in which man actively participates with all his senses and can thus feel God's closeness and attention. And when appropriate, this active participation in worship can also be expressed physically, for example by the person clapping at an appropriate moment. The polarisation mentioned is therefore strongly related to what one fundamentally understands by the function and goal of worship.
Question: Is there a liturgical tradition or ritual of clapping?
Wahle: In the liturgical books and their instructions for action, the rubrics, there are indeed no instructions that one should clap at a certain time. But there are liturgical traditions that apply like an unwritten law in certain congregations or situations. In earlier times, physical participation in worship was certainly part of the service, which could express itself in different ways and perhaps also in clapping. There was no need for a rubric.
Question: That could also be a cultural question, such as dancing in church services in Africa, which does not exist like that in Central Europe.
Wahle: Stamping one's feet on the ground is something that is taken for granted in the liturgy of African countries, because it creates a connection to heaven and earth and thus also includes the ancestors in the service. There are many different cultural motifs for expressing the liturgical event, the encounter with God and with each other, in a meaningful way. Our German culture tends to be one that is at peace with itself. That's why we have the feeling that worship should be something quiet and sublime. In our mentality, many understand the sacred play of the liturgy as uplifting and quiet, whereas other traditions and cultures express exactly the same thing by showing exuberant joy - for example, by clapping.
Question: Can you understand people who oppose clapping in worship because they find it disturbing?
Wahle: I certainly understand that. I am against general bans on clapping, but there are moments in the church year, such as Lent or Good Friday, when it should be a matter of course not to clap. I am sceptical, however, if one understands the church service per se as such a sacred event that clapping has no place there. Each and every individual should be valued in his or her specific piety, but no general pro or con can be derived from this.
Question: In the 1990s, Cardinal Meisner tried to ban the faithful from clapping in Cologne Cathedral. But people continued to clap anyway.
Wahle: I can remember a Christmas mass in which a very good sermon brought everything to the point in such a way that the atmosphere in the room was unique and people spontaneously clapped. I had never experienced anything like it before and never heard such a coherent Christmas sermon again afterwards. Somehow this feeling had to be communicated to the outside world and people clapped because it suited the situation. This kind of thing cannot be stopped. It was an expression of approval for what had just been said, a kind of acclamation. Incidentally, this is an ancient liturgical element: the faithful acclaim, agree with what is expressed in the liturgical event. Clapping can have a similar function.
Question: But sometimes clapping in the service also has a kind of ritualised function, for example when thanks are given at the end of a service for the beautiful music or the preparation of the parish feast.
Wahle: I have also observed that. Then one almost feels obliged to clap out of gratitude or as an expression of appreciation. In this case, clapping is no longer a spontaneous expression in the liturgical event, but a conventional act. When this becomes routine and one feels literally compelled to clap as well, I can understand a criticism of it. By the way, this usually takes place not only at the end of a service, but also at the beginning, for example when concelebrants are introduced. But if, at the end of the service, the organist suddenly plays a grandiose organ piece without perhaps being expected to do so, and then roars of applause in gratitude for the coherence of the liturgical organ playing, that again has its justification in my view.
Question: Perhaps clapping in connection with music in the liturgy - I'm thinking of gospel choirs, for example - needs to be distinguished again from other forms?
Wahle: Absolutely right. There are psalms, such as Psalm 47, which call for clapping hands to the glory of God. There are songs that go with that, that situate it biblically. But clapping also occurs in certain musical genres or activities in the area of children's and youth liturgy. There it is an expression of participation in a holistic sense.
Question: I have already experienced in a service that people clapped at the end in thanks for the music, but the priest who was celebrating did not like it. He then quickly said before the applause began, "Now we all clap for the Virgin Mary." So the priest wanted to redirect the cheering and gratitude in a religious sense. What do you think of that?
Wahle: If you don't allow that worship can also be about experiencing a healing encounter with one another, you leave out an important facet of the liturgy. Of course we celebrate liturgy as thanksgiving for the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and in the living encounter with him. But this encounter with God aims at making the human being joyful and whole. And this aspect can also be experienced in the living encounter with the neighbour with whom one shares one's faith. I can also recognise a trace of God in music and song in some way. If you understand that, you don't have to make a sacred turn at the end and say somewhat woodenly that we are now clapping in honour of the Blessed Mother or the Child Jesus.
Question: Do you have a kind of master plan on how to deal with clapping in worship?
Wahle: Every congregation should try to develop its own liturgical celebration culture. We talk far too rarely in our congregations about the way we celebrate liturgy. Often there is a routine and we no longer even think about how we can celebrate liturgy coherently - in a way that on the one hand people can find themselves in it, but at the same time the message of Jesus Christ is carried forward in such a way that it can become a religious experience. In this context, one can ask whether clapping has become naturalised in worship where it is not necessarily appropriate. I find it difficult to come up with master plans or general liturgical guidelines that are, for example, generally intended for the universal church. For liturgy is always at home in the respective culture and, moreover, there are those unique events of which we have spoken, which rightly lead to acclamation. But the opposite also exists: intense spiritual situations in the liturgy in which one simply cannot clap because everything is wrapped in a spiritual silence. For example, when the congregation is so moved by a piece of music that at first there is a long silence. But once again: if joy spontaneously erupts, one should by no means stop it, but in this case understand the clapping as a great moment of liturgy.
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