Bishop Barron on Silence and the Meaning of the Mass 

I'm a new convert and I LOVE the silence and quiet times in the Liturgy. Coming from a Baptist background, there was constant sound and noise throughout the service. I find that I can reflect and just LISTEN to God during those times of silence.

my Son Has Cancer pray for hem

You have help me a lot in my faith i live in México and i was born and rised as a catholic but i truly have found my faith in the last couple of years thank you for your words in many issues

Bishop Barron is a great teacher

Thanks, will share this vid with my local church. After decades of stale preaching and Mass, Sunday services won't feel like some religious jamboree.

As a catholic music director, I believe that the role of music at mass is to generate massive beautiful silences that leave the lifted souls of the congregation in a silent stillness with God. If the church is pin drop silent, and the congregation comfortable and praying in it, I have done my job. I believe musicians have been disrupting the Paul VI mass with rambunctious sound and focused on entertaining. From personal experience, I have reached a "Liturgical" space, if you will, at the Paul VI mass with the approach that my role as music director is to generate massive beautiful silences at mass.

Excellent Video. I wish you would do more like this explaining the different meanings in the Gospels, Psalms, letters etc. Anyhow thank you I watched it twice and it was better both times. Thank you for all you do God Bless

I was just asking for a book called: The Power of Silence. Thank you for this video!

this is soooooo goooood. when they fill every silence with music it takes away the theatre aspect. I watch the preparation and consecration as a spectator in awe and thats easiest when I can hear the words and watch the angels goung up and down upon it.

My favorite prayer of the entire mass is that one the priest says after the preparation and our response," May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands..." Thank you for bringing its significance to the forefront!

Thank God for you Bishop Barron. God bless and keep you. Am In my 90th year and long for the Church of my childhood. Thank you nh

How beautiful a presentation and an explaining!☆

Thank you. Well said. I was invited to a mass in Italy that was intented to bring in the "young" and had very loud, rock music. It wasn't a full mass. More nondenominational... It wasn't my path. Some said that lively way of giving praise to Christ brought them closer to him. Great! But I prefer the quiet, more personal prayers communing with Jesus.

Quite right. Far from involving us, we can get so caught up in following the "script" that we can lose sight of what it actually means.

Thank you for this video. I appreciate you sharing about liturgy. As a newly ordained priest, I deal with some of these issues of silence, sticking to the book, inclusive language and all of that. I don't understand why it is so difficult to simply just do what the book says.

Fully agree about silence in the Mass. If possible let the church return back to a quiet place for worshipping our God. No respect to the Holy Eucharist, talking loud in the churches as if they are sitting in their own living room, joking and shouting at the altar, playing vedio games are the daily events in our parishes. What I observe since Vatican II is the downfall of etiquette in the church around the world. Few weeks ago in a morning Mass, the priest said: "Don't say anything and keep your mouth shut if you have no material or just rubbish in what you say, only to let people know you're still alive on this earth by making noises." I love the Latin Mass. I'm brushing up my basic Latin prayers which I learnt in my childhood.

Excellent reflection/teaching. Thank you Bishop

The more I learn of Cardinal Sarah, the more I like him.

Bishop Barron, please create more videos for us!

Thank you for posting this. One of my favorite videos of yours that I've seen. This breakdown of the Mass helps us to take an active role, rather than making responses mindlessly.

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ 🙏 Mother Mary Pray For Us 🙏Abba Father Bless us and we Adore You 🙏

Thank you

Well explained Bishop....thanks so much for the detail

I RECENTLY WENT TO A Local Catholic Church and set in the back to worship and needing repentance. Never had been in one I was surprised at many things, suddenly people came in and the priest began the mass. Not wanting to be disrespectful I stayed in silence. I was deeply moved by the reverence and silent worship. I came to understand they worshipped just as we Protestant's worship with our bands and drums just with silent reverence for our Lord.

Nice, thoughtful explanation. Thanks for posting.

Tremendous insight, just like everything from Bishop Barron! He is probably the strongest teacher of my faith in my life at this time!

Thank you, Father.

Thank you so much Bishop Barron! I have long anguished over the lack of reverence and silence that seemed to spring up post Vatican II. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not an ice cream social! Cardinal Sarah's book is definitely on my "to read" list.

Great video on the Mass, Bishop Barron! I hope you guys make a video series of the Divine Liturgies/Qurbono of the other Rites in the Church. I think it would amazing to showcase the way each Liturgy expresses the same Truth in different ways. On a somewhat related note, I hope Word on Fire will make a series on the other Rites in the Church so as to present Catholics and non-Catholics alike the catholicity of the Church.

Bishop, I pray daily for my parish to develop a sense of reverence and an awareness of the sacred. Your words, "a religiously-themed jamboree" perfectly describe the atmosphere there. Between sacristans hawking literature right before the Mass, parishioners TAKING CELL PHONE CALLS, loudly whispered conversations during the consecration and meditation, the laity assuming the orans posture, etc., etc., etc., I find it close to impossible to connect to the sacred in our Masses. Sadly, it has caused me to leave this parish and worship elsewhere. My heart breaks for the lack of catechesis and for future generations of Catholics that were not taught any better :-(.

ABBA Focused Fully I participate more kneeling/responding behind everyone at Holy Mass Adoring Our Eternal Father ...and pretty much ecstatic is the Union as HIS Child ... Verily Happy ... GOD's Peace Eternal

As a person who is seriously thinking about converting to Catholicism, I find the “new practices” of Catholic churches discerning. If I come to the house of the Lord, I want to worship Him. I don’t want to just clap my hands and solely express my joy. I might just start with going to traditional Latin Mass.

I would love some silence during the Mass after receiving communion.

From Fr William Most: "Catechists often like to use a memory word ACTS to express the dispositions: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication. This is not wrong, but it leaves out the essential disposition, obedience to the Father (Cf. Romans 5:19 and LG #3)." Silence is necessary to hear the word, so that we may obey His Word. If there is no silence, there is no hearing, no listening, no obedience. In my reading of liturgical articles and writings from both sides, this is often forgotten. The sacrifice of Christ is not the pain of Christ, the sufferance but it is that He was obedient all the way up to the Cross. Again, to quote Fr William Most (from memory): "Obedience is the substance of the Sacrifice". Hence, when we disobey in big things (mortal sins) or in the smallest of things (disobeying the rubrics of the mass as an example) we really show we don't understand the meaning of the Mass.

Gracias Padre Barron.

Hi father it's been a long time. it's good to see you.

Love Cardinal Sarah! Anyway, a jumble of thoughts prompted by Bishop Baron's video. . .Personally, I don't like to shake it up at Mass. I do that when I go out dancing. I don't have to do that at church. I recently went to a Mass celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal, and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I know that love of God certainly calls forth that kind of praise, and really it's fine, and it's definitely different than when I go dancing. But still, when I see it at Mass, I can't help but feel that I'm at a Protestant tent revival. I also feel that there is some sort of competition at these things---who's the most caught up in "the Spirit," who's got the most "gifts"...it's distracting. It pulls me away from my own experience at Mass. Plus the music's awful. What can be more distracting than that?! And what can be more elevating than music that comes from a REAL composer versus these ditties that someone wrote on the back of a napkin at the diner? I can't say that they're all bad, but the bulk of them are. So my point here is that a lot of these innovations at Mass, these attempts to engage the laity, contribute to the culture of distraction that we now have in full bloom. Which brings me to the Latin Mass, which I do get a lot from on occasion, though I prefer a regular NO Mass, with traditional elements...Being fully present and applying yourself to the Mass--any Mass-- is vitally important. But I've been to several Masses in the Extraordinary Form, and it occurred to me that they have something in common with Luther's "sola gratia." In the Extraordinary Form, the laity do very little. God does all the heavy lifting. By God's grace alone does the Mass transpire! Of course, it's the same at any Mass, but this sense of God doing it all, making all things possible, is very physically enacted at a more still Mass. Anyway, I'm all over the place here, but for me, it's the quietude that brings me closer to God...the stillness. I hope all of this made some sense. Great video, Excellency! Thank you very much!

That was great! Thank you so much!

Hi Bishop Barron, I am a young traditionalist Catholic who is a fairly recent re-convert from many years of athiesm. What advice could you give for young Catholics in trying to live our lives according to the Church in the modern world? Thank you and God bless you!

Thanks excellency! Cardinal Sarah's writing needs a lot more exposure in the States.

I was asked similar question too by other religion. Why quick answer that time was, during mass I am focused on having communion with Christ.

I do get and appreciate the importance and the need for silence in the Eucharist but what I would still be aware of is the difference between silence and passivity. Many people may be quiet and still but instead of worship, inside them could be a distracted mind with competing thoughts ranging from home and family matters or from office meetings to Netflix.

Great video, Bishop Barron!

I have often lamented about the speed of the Mass, So many who have not been raised in CCD and memorized the responses are completely lost, and there is not enough time to follow along from any of the worship books. I feel this is a strong deterrent to people joining our church. I also think many, both clergy and laity are uncomfortable with silence. Example call to mind our sins.

I am not a Roman Catholic, I come from a contemporary orientated worship styled denomination. However, Bishop Barron, as someone who has a vocational call to ministry in my church, I am admittedly envious of the Catholic Mass.

I used to attend the Latin Mass and still sometimes do in my town. Though I do like the reverence in the mass and I do think it is interesting to see how Mass was celebrated but I do find a lack of charity and interaction with God found in that church. I do think there should be more reverence in Mass that I do attend now but that's the only problem I can find today's Mass but I do see more improvement (atleast from some of the masses I attend) because I do see a lot of more people addressing the problem and being more open about the importance of the Mass.

Hi Bishop Barron, Thank you so much for all of your videos, I'm such a big fan. Could you please do a video explaining all the contradictions in the bible (especially those in the New Testament regarding the life of Jesus). I'm a Catholic however this is something I am struggling with rationalising and is something with which I need guidance.

Dearest Bishop. Thank you for explaining the prayers of the mass and what it means. I find myself nodding vigorously in agreement with your comments regarding silence. What is your advice on how I could bring up the need for more silence and reverence at the mass with my priest? As a pastor wouldn't it offend you if a parishioner come up and start talking about the liturgy?

Amen! Amen! Amen!

wow,I had no idea

Amen let us be reverent and have holy silence at Mass. The excitement is being in the presence of the body of Christ.

Hello Bishop,I am wondering if you could start a series or post some videos about how to defend the Catholic faith. I am a student at a Christian college and sometimes my friends ask me questions that I can't answer. Thanks and God Bless.

Does anyone knows which church is this in 5:12? It's so beautiful!!!

Hello Bishop Barron! Thank you so much for your videos, they are such a blessing. I was wondering if you've by chance heard of Jordan Peterson. Right now he's doing a very interesting lecture series on the Bible and the enormous moral impact it's had on the world. I highly recommend checking him out if you haven't. Thanks again and God bless!

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Your Excellency, I was recently witness to a First Holy Communion Mass at my local church in southwest Germany. Not only was there no silence, it was in fact deafening. And not just for the normal reasons of babies crying or there being an unusually large number of congregants and children in the church. The kids were actually told to sort of punctuate the short readings they did by clapping twice and then stamping once. As loudly as they could. Isn't that the sort of We Will Rock You cheer that people do at sports events? I realise that it is a sort of triumph for a child to reach the age of reason and be able to receive this Sacrament. However, the sheer lack of reverence was astonishing.

How are we suppose to understand our role in maintaining expected silence at times other than mass, Bishop? When you mention full, and active participation, I find myself doubting if there is room for that. Most of the time what is expected is silent cooperation and obedience. If we ask for anything or speak up about something, we often get corrected. How can we be ourselves, be positive, loving, but silent enough? That silent “boundary” is different for everyone. It is difficult to understand, and not get crushed by different teaching styles.

silence in the extraordinary form is organic and part of it silence in the ordinary form is artificially placed,in my humble opinion

We should have "moments of silence and reflection" however, one of the main reasons we are loosing followers to Christian movements, is that they "feel better" at these other venues where there is passionate preaching, singing and clapping. By thinking so stoically, we are actually contradicting. God's will by consciously driving people away.

I also have a question regarding the appropriate movements/posture the laity should adopt through the mass. Should the laity use the orans posture or is it only reserved for the celebrant? I've attended Catholic mass outside of the country and I've noticed that the laity kneels at a slightly different times, for instance in that country they also kneel during the Lamb of God. Additionally, everyone receives the communion in the mouth as opposed to the hands. What is correct? This may be simple but I feel like sometimes people set trends and others follow without knowing if it's correct to do so. Thank you.

Hi, Father Barron, Thank you for all the videos. After several months of watching and reading, I decide to visit the local Catholic church for the first time. Anything I need to know before I go. Also will it be rude if I don't kneel when others do. Surely, I will find a spot at the very corner. It is hard to explain the kneeling issue. Let's say at least for now it is an issue. By the way, no religious background. Neither families nor friends are of any type of religions. So I will be there all by myself. Comments or suggestions from others here are also truly appreciated. Kind regards. A stranger

As an orthodox i can't agree more. The Divine Liturgy truly is divine, but it lacks silence. When there is a prolonged period of silence, you can feel the tension in everyone. Does the priest or deacon know where we are? Isn't the choir lost? And usually it is one of those situations. We aren't used to letting God speak.

Isn't the catholic Church a bit responsible for the perception that young people have of the mass? More and more priest are turning to pop-rock songs to lure them in...I get it. Young people are easily bored nowadays and it may be better than losing them all but a bit of the sacred is lost.

Bishop, I know that you are an admirer of St. Thomas Aquinas. Putting yourself in the role of St. Thomas, how would you respond to those Roman Catholics who oppose the documents/reforms of Vatican Council II? I'm thinking of the St. Pius X Society or the St. Peter Society.

I can't get over the irony of wathing this video on my phone about a book that talks about the power of silence... a book I 100% want.

Bishop Barron's audio is super quiet compared with the open and close music... you need to fix that...

What a great segment. I strongly recommend every Catholic read this book. I also strongly recommend Bp Barron do a series on the Mass! You reading this, Bishop Barron?

wow are those chalices glass chalicez?

Dear team, can negative attitudes in a priest, towards the Church, or any other sins, make a priest unworthy and unable to stand in persona Christi? Can he be giving his parishioners unconsecrated communion?

As the Cardinal has said, the answer is: Ad Orientem

I tried reading this book but every third word is "silence." Very dense read but I'll keep trying.

It's one of the biggest ironies that the encouragement of active participation of the laity to prevent us from becoming mere spectators has in some extreme cases, turned the laity into spectators viewing a theatrical performance resembling Catholic Liturgy. The Novus Ordo that resulted from Vatican II, properly observed, does encourage proper participation, and I'm ever thankful for having belonged (and belonging) to Parishes where the Priest understands this.

Bishop, Have you ever Read Pope Francis' book....... " Encyclicals, bulls and Apostolic exhortations " ??

Not sure exactly why, but I suspect it is the supernatural act of the Eucharist in the mass, when I go in to mass I am thinking of me and my worries but when I come out, my worries seem distant, and I am thinking about everybody. I dont mean just the congregation more the whole mistical body. And I suspect this connection via the Mass to every living soul is what influences alot of catholic charity. Look out for this the next time your leaving mass.

turning together to the father? ad orientem? thank you.

Hi Bishop Barron. Could you possibly do a review of Douglas Murray's new book "The Strange Death of Europe"? I look forward to your insights. Thank you

I don't know if this was addressed before but in 6:54 there's a picture of your Excellency elevating the Body of Christ and I noticed that the "chalices" are made of glass... This is forbidden! GIRM 328 says "Sacred vessels are to be made from precious metal" and 329 says "In the dioceses of the United States of America, sacred vessels may also be made from other solid materials that, according to the common estimation in each region, are precious, for example, ebony or other hard woods, provided that such materials are suited to sacred use and do not easily break or deteriorate." ; plus Redemptionis Sacramentum says "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." Even if it were true that glass is widely used, the fact that glass, while not specifically mentioned, does not fulfill the conditions for proper materials according to liturgical law by either the new or old GIRM, would prevent its consideration as a legitimate custom as specified in Canons 23-29 of the code.If this were true then, logically, many widespread abuses could be considered "valid traditions" in spite of their being repeatedly reproved by legitimate authority"...

Influence by our protestant brethren? The really attentiveness manifested by silence handed over to us by the church is simply drown by the culture of noise.

my mom and dad died two mouths ago they died about a week apart father I am coming apart and now my Son is getting more sick I ask my God why

Thanks, Bishop Barron. Sounded like a good argument for Ad Orientem to me. Wish you would have stated that more clearly.

But if the re-presenting of Christ' sacrifice in the mass is bloodless, how is such a sacrifice in the mass a real sacrifice in any way that isn't merely symbolic? What am I misunderstanding here?

Thanks, Bishop, for one of your best commentaries of late. I really wish our Church would take these sentiments to heart with respect to the Liturgy. I'm so tired of the sing-along jamboree that we have to endure every week. It's so intrusive. During the early half of the Mass, we can't seem to go 30 seconds without the singing contingent breaking out into some kind of noise. And how did the Gloria become such a pedestrian, limp, clap-along folk song that inspires not awe but annoyance? I'm sorry. I know I should be more charitable, and I know we're there for one reason only (right praise and reception of the Eucharist), and thank God for that reason, but it's frustrating week in and week out to put up with this banners and balloons nonsense. I'm not there to be affirmed and entertained. We can get that anywhere outside those church walls. We have a beautiful faith and liturgical tradition that ought to pitch the mind, the spirt, and the body outside of itself, beyond everything it is out in the world, and orient all things to God.

The Latin mass isn't the ultimate solution. You can still have a lot of 'noise' in your mind during the silences. The ultimate solution is proper catechism, prayer and the sacraments to enable us to improve spiritually. In other words the ultimate solution is to improve your spiritual fitness. The more spiritually fit you are, the better you can focus on the mass, novus ordo or TLM, regardless what's going on around you.

Maybe you shouldn't use the pic at 2:25 to illustrate a "friendship". The guy on the right looks really pissed off lol

OREMUS SEMPER PRO ECCLESIA. OREMUS PRO CARDINALE ROBERTO SARAH ET PRO CARDINALE LEO BURKE!

Cardinal Burke's teachings on this subject seem to be very accurate, btw. At least the ones that I saw of Cardinal Burke's. He should teach the rest of the Church the correct doctrine.

just go to the Latin Mass (at least in the Western Church)...you need nothing more and nothing less.

Maybe you should learn to celebrate the Latin mass, as the TLM doesn't have noise problems.

I suspect that this ‘jamboree’ element that young people expect comes from the American Protestant happy clappy influence. You know, guitars instead of organs, that sort of thing. These kids are confused.

Wouldn;t it have been hilarious if 'The Power of Silence' had just been blank?

Do we - Protestants - get a 'thank you' for getting the Catholic laity involved in worship?

Jesus never was on an Altar. Catholic response? Silence

What's going on with those glass chalices? Not cool.

There is a time for silence but then there is also a time for spiritual instruction and during mass priests need to be more convicting in their sermons. 75% of the times I’m not even following what the press is trying to say it’s all just so subjective and theological there is no direct instruction. I’m sorry to say but it’s completely boring and mindnumbing.

In the Mass, let's just try: 10% Less Singing 10% Less Sermon ["KISS" is a great public speaking idea] 10% More Silent reflection 10,000000000% Better Mass, with...Shock..."Horror".....more attending! Chances of this happening..... 0% likely.......and sadly!

Jesus died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins only once and before He died He said it's finished, paid in full. He will never be sacrificed again. Our sins are paid for and no more payment is required. Read Hebrews 10. The mass is not relevant.

Lutherans figured this out 500 years ago (in reference to the first two minutes)

The Mass is disgusting. The Torah and the New Testament both attest to the necessity and requirement of blood to cover sins. A sacrifice is not a real sacrifice without blood. Blood is incredibly vital. Sacrifices cannot be unbloody. That’s why the cross is so awesome. ONE time sacrifice for eternity. Hebrews 9:11-18 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; [12] and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption. [13] For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [15] For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the violations that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. [16] For where there is a covenant, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. [17] For a covenant is valid only when people are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. [18] Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without BLOOD. Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:25 nor was it that He(Christ) would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year by year with blood that is not his own. Hebrews 9:26 Otherwise, He (Christ) would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Christ cannot sacrifice himself or be sacrificed again. The single cross sacrifice event takes care of everything. However he will appear a second time without blood and not for the forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. The Mass is a crippling condemning event that does not offer forgiveness of sins. If you need a ritual to be forgiven of sin you've missed the point completely. The only way to truly fulfill a Mass accurately is to sacrifice and KILL someone or something to attain that type of LIMITED forgiveness. The mass ignores Christ's ONE TIME sacrifice on the cross and its meaning, scope and infinite covering of your sins through his imputed righteousness. Meaning you cannot sin your way to hell if you truly belong to Christ in Belief and Faith. Your sins are paid for past, present, future.

The mass is blasphemy. The rcc eucharest is idolitry as well as blasphamy. & the priest thinks he is either equal 2 or grater than God since he can take an inanimate object & turn into God. The priest n the mass says pray that the Father accept this sacrifice. The Father will not. Read Hebrews 10th chapter. Jesus paid the price one time 4 all time 4 all sin never 2 b sacrificed again, ever. Jesus said it was paid n full.

Religious-themed jamber-what? Do you have something or someone in mind? I hate it when you discretely bash other denominations like that.