Not even a golf clap?

As Di over at CWN says, it is okay to break into applause while reading The Recovery of the Sacred, as it is likely you aren't reading it at Mass.

Observing the norms of the Liturgy helps to create a profound sense of the sacred in each of us at Mass. Celebrating Mass and observing liturgical norms also makes us visibly one with the entire Church to which we belong. “Priests who faithfully celebrate Mass according to the liturgical norms, and communities which conform to those norms, quietly but eloquently demonstrate their love for the Church” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 52).

Today it has become commonplace at the end of the Liturgy to recite a litany of gratitude for all those who, in some way or another, have made the celebration beautiful. No doubt there is a way to express gratitude at the end of Mass. But is it possible that each time applause breaks out in the Liturgy at the end of the Mass for someone’s contribution, we lapse into seeing the Mass as a human achievement? Sometimes even during the Mass after someone has sung a beautiful hymn, there is spontaneous applause. At such a moment, does not the real meaning of Liturgy lapse into some kind human entertainment?

Sadly, clapping is commonplace in our local church. Often invited, sometimes just spontaneously reacting to the "solo" instrumental. It grates on me, not as much as it used to because I try to stay more positive about Mass now. But how goofy to drag down our worship of God by pretending we are the givers instead of the receivers of the gift.