Restoring Sacred Silence

It is twenty minutes before Mass begins on a typical Sunday morning. I begin my Mass prep with praying before the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. As part of my prayers, I ask the Lord to keep me present to the miracle I am about to take part in. In the last few pews, the lady’s devotional group is praying a rosary. They fight to be heard over the musician pounding away at the piano while the cantor is practicing the responsorial psalm for the day. People are starting to trickle in and I head back to get vested.

The sacristy is in its usual state of chaos before Mass. The sacristan is busy trying to get everything ready while ushers, lectors, extra ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, homebound ministers, and even, sometimes, servers are checking in for their assignments. The conversations are vast and varied. They are often joined by people wanting to say hello, ask a question, lodge a complaint, or get something blessed.

In the priest’s sacristy the clergy are vesting. There are vesting prayers we should be saying, but these are often overlooked as we try to catch up with each other, discussing everything from how we are feeling, to the Mass we are about to celebrate, to whatever big news hit the media that week. These conversations are usually interrupted by people wanting to say hello or ask questions of the priest.

Literally hanging, unnoticed, on the walls and the doors leading into the sacristy are signs that say -

“In respect to our clergy preparing for Mass, please maintain sacred silence in the sacristy for 15 minutes prior to Mass.”

Before Mass begins, we start with some announcements and then a prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We process in, profess our sinfulness in the Penitential Act, recite the Gloria, pray the collect, and take our seats. The lectors begin their readings while people are still trickling in looking for places to sit in the back. The celebrant gives me a little nod letting me know that the 8:15am bus just made its drop-off.

At the end of Mass, I get to dismiss the people and we process out. There are a few people kneeling in the pews praying, but the majority of the people start to file out of the church. Many stop to converse with friends they only see here on Sunday mornings. After a few minutes the lady’s devotional group starts praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I can feel the prayer leader’s frustration as her voice rises in volume in a vain attempt to be heard over the crowd, who are oblivious to the prayers being said around them. It is a war they rarely win. I try to reassure them that God will hear their whisper of love over the noise of the crowd.

We have the narthex and a parish hall where we offer coffee and donuts, but people insist on having their conversations in the pews. We have lost our sense of what a sacred space is meant to be. Something I find myself guilty of more than I care to admit.

When we go from the narthex to the nave we enter a sacred space. Our demeanor should immediately change when passing through those doors. We are to clothe ourselves with reverence for the king in whose presence we are now in. Our attention and our focus should be directed towards him. We do Catholic calisthenics - genuflecting, kneeling, standing, bowing our heads, because what we do with our bodies we do with our spirits. We are not merely physical beings.

We need to have the same level of reverence when it comes to silence in these sacred spaces. These are places of prayer, preparation, and worship. They are not places to catch up on the latest gossip or discuss how one’s favorite sports teams are doing. Be mindful of those who are trying to pray and take the conversations outside.

And the same holds true to the sacristy before Mass. If you need to check in before a ministry do so quickly and as quietly as possible. There are always questions that need answers but anything not directly related to the Mass at hand can wait until after the Mass has finished. Give your priests and deacons an opportunity to properly orient themselves to the miracle they are about to be part of.

Silence is a gift only you can give to another.