Question about ringing bells during Words of Institution

[Lprdgecko]

Hello everyone!

A friend of mine got married yesterday in a Catholic church with a full Mass for the ceremony. I have been to several Catholic weddings/funerals/Masses before, but this ceremony had a few things in it that I had never seen before. The one that stands out in my mind was, when the priest was speaking the Words of Institution and held up the bread/wine, one of the altar boys (I apologize if that is not the correct term) would ring a set of bells - about 4 or 6 bells all connected on one handle. The first time he rang them I thought somebody's phone had gone off, but then I noticed he was holding the bells. He rang them both when the bread and when the wine were raised up by the priest.

I was just curious as to what the meaning of ringing the bells was, and if it was a common practice? Are they used to sort of draw attention to the significance of what is happening? I know that in the Lutheran church my dad grew up in, they toll the church bell in the steeple at certain points during the Lord's Prayer. I'm told that they do that so the farmers in the fields nearby know to stop and pray. I'm wondering if this is something similar, although these were small, handheld bells, not the ones in the steeple.

 

[Crandaddy]

Those are the sanctus bells. One of their uses is to signify that the bread and wine on the Altar have changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. We Anglicans have them too.

 

[Wolseley]

The bells are rung while the priest is pronouncing the words of consecration over the bread and the wine; as he does so, the Holy Spirit changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

The bells first were used way back in the days before there were microphones and sound systems; if you had a huge cathedral full of people, a good many of them couldn't hear what was going on up front, so the bells were used to get their attention, in effect to say, "Bow your heads and pay attention: something important is happening here, Christ Himself has come into our midst."

The bells fell out of use after Vatican II, but happily are making their way back in more and more parishes, as younger, more orthodox priests take over the reins and the Pepsi Generation mercifully retires from the scene. My young, very orthodox priest uses the bells, as well as a considerable amount of Latin, in every Mass.

I love him.

 

[Fantine]

As a child attending the Latin Mass, I always thought the bells were meant to let all the people saying their rosaries and private devotions know that the Consecration had occurred.

My parents gave us missals to follow, but I don't even think that helped, necessarily. I was a really good reader, even as a kindergartener, so I'd just read the book from cover to cover each week--not following the priest, just reading.

Interestingly enough, in Catholic school the nuns used clickers (yes, the movie "Doubt" was like a blast from the past).

They let us know when it was time to stand, sit, kneel, genuflect--all at the same time, of course.

 

[WarriorAngel]

Yes, it is an important feature - because we all know - He is with us and we need to revere His Presence.

Regardless if folks were praying or not. I remember even where I went to Mass growing up as a child - the priest kept pre-Vatican ll Masses. I vaguely recall much - but I do remember intinction was still used when I received 1st Holy Communion. I remember bells. I remember some stuff - but some of it was changed.
I also know my mom and grandparents weren't praying the Rosary but kept their eyes up at the Altar - and when the bells rang - ppl were glued.

So I suggest perhaps only a few 'thot' the bells were to get their attention - but it was truly not typical in my Church that folks were praying or doing anything else.

I don't recall what or how things were said. Latin or English? I don't know. I was a kid. But the bells - as we were told in the school - meant the Holy Spirit was in our midst and the Lord was now in the Eucharist.

 

[AMDG]

The sanctus bells are rung in most Catholic Churches to show that Jesus is now present. For a few years my liberal parish tried to do without them (tried to do without the priest's chalice too--choosing a stemmed K-mart water glass instead) but they're both back. I for one, am glad.

 

[Colin]

As a child attending the Latin Mass, I always thought the bells were meant to let all the people saying their rosaries and private devotions know that the Consecration had occurred.
.

As an altar server at the old Latin Masses that was the reason given for the ringing of bells , to let the people know of the elevation so that they would raise their eyes and look .

There was also bell-ringing at the epiclesis , but this was referred to as "the warning bell" , warning the people that the consecration was approaching .

Then they started to ring a bell after the priest's Communion , which was the signal for the people to go to receive Communion .

There was the bell at the Sanctus of course , and some places had bell-ringing at the doxology at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer .

 

[Wolseley]

For a few years my liberal parish tried to do without them (tried to do without the priest's chalice too--choosing a stemmed K-mart water glass instead

That's forbidden. The General Instructions of the Roman Missal clearly state that all chalices must be made of precious material (gold, usually), and must be unbreakable.

My wife and I visited a parish near where we live a couple times when we first moved here; the priest seemed like he was trying to re-invent the wheel---he would put incense into a ceramic bowl, light it, and then hold it in front of his face and blow the smoke out onto the congregation, and I would think, "They make censers for a reason, and they work perfectly well...why is he fooling around with this makeshift, do-it-yourself nonsense?" The music was provided by three people up next to the altar, playing a flute, a bongo drum, and (I kid you not) a kazoo.

He also used glass water goblets in place of actual chalices; and he had some weird deal where the whole congregation was supposed to turn around and face the back of the church at the start of the processional, and then rotate to the front as the Book of Gospels went past. Really strange.

Needless to say, we did not join the parish. Some time later, the priest was recalled; he was (quite obviously) gay, and I don't know the specifics of the bishop pulling him out of there, but I do know that he was replaced with a priest that was decidedly more orthodox than the previous one was.

 

[hsilgne]

As an altar server at the old Latin Masses that was the reason given for the ringing of bells , to let the people know of the elevation so that they would raise their eyes and look .

This was the answer given to me as well by our parish priest. Although he used the phrase... 'gaze upon the Eucharist in adoration'.

He also elaborated that this tradition stems from the times when most Mass celebrations were held in large cathedrals where people further away from the altar could not here the liturgy of the Eucharist being proclaimed.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Hello everyone!

A friend of mine got married yesterday in a Catholic church with a full Mass for the ceremony. I have been to several Catholic weddings/funerals/Masses before, but this ceremony had a few things in it that I had never seen before. The one that stands out in my mind was, when the priest was speaking the Words of Institution and held up the bread/wine, one of the altar boys (I apologize if that is not the correct term) would ring a set of bells - about 4 or 6 bells all connected on one handle. The first time he rang them I thought somebody's phone had gone off, but then I noticed he was holding the bells. He rang them both when the bread and when the wine were raised up by the priest.

I was just curious as to what the meaning of ringing the bells was, and if it was a common practice? Are they used to sort of draw attention to the significance of what is happening? I know that in the Lutheran church my dad grew up in, they toll the church bell in the steeple at certain points during the Lord's Prayer. I'm told that they do that so the farmers in the fields nearby know to stop and pray. I'm wondering if this is something similar, although these were small, handheld bells, not the ones in the steeple.

A few years back I attended a Tridentine Mass at Assumption Church in Windsor Ontario. They rang the bells in the tower instead.

Some of our Lutheran Churches have retained a vestige of this practice in that the bells are rung during the "Our Father" in the Eucharistic Prayer.

 

[Fantine]

Seriously--there is no way you could know whether the glass chalice was purchased at K-Mart or Tiffany's.

We had a priest in our NY parish once who had spent several years in a monastery in Massachusetts. He was very prayerfully reflective.

He used a glass chalice and told the children he used it so that they could "see Jesus."

I thought it was beautiful.

 

[MKJ]

A few years back I attended a Tridentine Mass at Assumption Church in Windsor Ontario. They rang the bells in the tower instead.

My parish does this. It means that people outside can hear even if they cannot attend.

It's also how the people in the nursery know to round up the toddlers.

 

[Dylan Michael]

Seriously--there is no way you could know whether the glass chalice was purchased at K-Mart or Tiffany's.

We had a priest in our NY parish once who had spent several years in a monastery in Massachusetts. He was very prayerfully reflective.

He used a glass chalice and told the children he used it so that they could "see Jesus."

I thought it was beautiful.

It doesn't matter. Glass is not to be used. (At least in most circumstances)
It doesn't matter if if it comes from Tiffany's, Swarovski's, or K-Mart.
A chalice cannot be made from something that can easily break, no matter how much it costs.

From Redemptionis Sacramentum:

[117.] Sacred vessels for containing the Body and Blood of the Lord must be made in strict conformity with the norms of tradition and of the liturgical books. The Bishops’ Conferences have the faculty to decide whether it is appropriate, once their decisions have been given the recognitio by the Apostolic See, for sacred vessels to be made of other solid materials as well. It is strictly required, however, that such materials be truly noble in the common estimation within a given region, so that honour will be given to the Lord by their use, and all risk of diminishing the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic species in the eyes of the faithful will be avoided. Reprobated, therefore, is any practice of using for the celebration of Mass common vessels, or others lacking in quality, or devoid of all artistic merit or which are mere containers, as also other vessels made from glass, earthenware, clay, or other materials that break easily. This norm is to be applied even as regards metals and other materials that easily rust or deteriorate.

I think I'll go with the CDF rather than a 'Prayerfully Reflective Priest'.

 

[Dylan Michael]

To be honest, I never knew until a couple of years ago that there were parishes that didn't use the bells at the words of institution. All of the parishes in my area do.

 

[AMDG]

Seriously--there is no way you could know whether the glass chalice was purchased at K-Mart or Tiffany's.

Maybe you couldn't. But I was privy to the knowledge. I was an extraordinary minister at the time and knew the sacristan who did the shopping for the stemmed glassware. Also boxes of the glassware (with the K-mart sticker still on them) were kept in the closet where the glassware for the altar was kept.

BTW the reason glass is not to be used is because it is easily broken and yet it is intended to hold the Blood of Jesus when the wine is Consecrated. Not good.

Everything about that Consecration is to be special. That's why the bells are rung as well. It's like saying "Look people, something really special has happened on the altar."

 

[Needing_Grace]

As a former Lutheran myself, I can understand your confusion.

Pre-Vatican II, the Canon, a collection of prayers which includes the Words of Institution, were whispered over the Bread and Wine to transform them (to show that the Sacraments are effective ex opere operato). Some of these prayers are points when the faithful needs to be attentive. If I remember correctly from my many visits to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, they ring the bells at the following points:

Sanctus (this I take as a signal to kneel as everyone kneels at this point)
Epiclesis, the calling of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine before the consecration (this is a signal to "look up")
After the Consecration of the Bread ("My Lord and my God")
After the Consecration of the Wine ("Be mindful, Lord, of Your servant whom you have redeemed with Your Precious Blood")
Before the priest's communion

Post-Vatican II, which I see in many ways, as finishing some of the work started in the 16th Century, the Canon is said aloud, so everyone can hear the Words of Institution, so the bells aren't necessary.

They are an ancient tradition, though, and I do enjoy hearing them during the Mass. I also understand that they have absolutely no effect on the Sacrament.

 

[Needing_Grace]

The sanctus bells are rung in most Catholic Churches to show that Jesus is now present. For a few years my liberal parish tried to do without them

You know that the bells have absolutely no effect on the Sacrament, right? If you're paying attention, you know when the Words are being applied to the bread and wine, transforming them into Christ's True Body and Blood.

(tried to do without the priest's chalice too--choosing a stemmed K-mart water glass instead) but they're both back. I for one, am glad.

Glass shouldn't be used. I'm glad we Catholics never went with those stupid little plastic cups we used to use when I was evangelical, then Lutheran.

Sent from my iPhone using CF

 

[AMDG]

Post-Vatican II, which I see in many ways, as finishing some of the work started in the 16th Century, the Canon is said aloud, so everyone can hear the Words of Institution, so the bells aren't necessary.

Yes they still are. They tell the congregation to "wake up from their slumber"--Communion time is coming!"

 

[MKJ]

Yes they still are. They tell the congregation to "wake up from their slumber"--Communion time is coming!"

Do you know what "necessary" means?

Most of the liturgy is not, in the strictest sense, necessary to the institution.

And the bells are not necessary even in a less strict sense.

They might be a good thing, but not necessary.

 

[Needing_Grace]

Yes they still are. They tell the congregation to "wake up from their slumber"--Communion time is coming!"

What slumber? People are supposed to be paying attention to what's going on during the mass. That means that you're listening to the Word being spoken to you during the whole liturgy, including the prayers and especially the Words of Institution of our Lord's Sacrament.

The bells are a fine hold-over from the days of the silent canon to alert people to something they wouldn't otherwise be aware of but the fact that the Eucharistic Prayer and Words of Institution are now said aloud for the people to hear (which I support wholeheartedly being a former Lutheran) means that the attentive Catholic will know when the Consecration has taken place and when communion time is coming. Then again, the Amen, the standing up, the Lord's Prayer, the Peace, the Agnus Dei, the priest holding up the Host and Chalice saying, "Behold the Lamb..." and the people lining up in the aisle are bigger signs to me that the Distribution is coming than a bell.

I see the Mass as God giving His good gifts to His people, so I want to be attentive to receive everything God has for me, but that's just me.