Not too long ago, a Manhattan Pastor felt obliged once again to remind those who were serving at Mass in the extraordinary form that the Sacristy should be a place of recollection. The 2002 General Instruction to the Roman Missal endorses this view (par. 45):
It is commendable that silence 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 action in a devout and fitting manner.
This should be especially true for those of us who are in the Sacristy to serve Mass, Vespers and/or Benediction in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite (the TLM). Many older sacristies will still have a sign encouraging silence:
For the last several years, as part of our Lenten devotions, many of the the servers of the TLM at our Parish have made a special commitment to improve our conduct in the Sacristy during Lent consistent with its special status as a place of recollection. In particular, we have made a resolution during Lent to strictly curtail all unnecessary speech in the Sacristy at all times, especially before, during and after the TLM: speaking only when spoken to or, otherwise, only when absolutely necessary.
In the past, this resolution has not always been successful during the whole of Lent.
It might be helpful to send this message to all the servers and also to all those who have reason to be in the Sacristy and who can help the servers with this resolution: the celebrants and the singers of the TLM.
On behalf of all the servers of the TLM, first, we ask all singers who have a reason to be in the Sacristy to join the servers in this Lenten resolve to eliminate all unnecessary talking at all times while in the Sacristy; and second, we ask all the celebrants of the TLM to help the servers (and singers) do their best in keeping this resolve.
May we all have a blessed and fruitful Lent.