On a somewhat unrelated note, I would love to see more churches ring the church bells at the consecration...have you considered that at all the Sunday Masses?

Dr. Steven Ball has written several articles on the subject of bells in the Catholic tradition. I'll ask him to chime in on this discussion. (Pardon the pun.)

Noel - There is (or used to be) a similar practice in England, the ringing of the "Nine Taylors".

A bell is rung in three sets of three (for nine), alerting of the death. Then the age of the deceased is tolled slowly.

As for the discussion at hand:

The Monks of St. Meinrad Archabbey have specific norms for how the bells are to be rung, based on the day, class of feast, etc.

In speaking with Dr. Ball, his recommendation is to reserve the pealing of all of the bells available for only Solemnities and Sundays, as well observing the nature of the Season (taking into account those rubrics which forbid the ringing of bells).

For example, if your tower has three bells, and they can be rung individually (which we hope they can, as to this day liturgical law does not permit the automation of bells, or the use of recorded bells or devices designed to imitate the sound of real bells; law that has been roundly ignored for various, invalid reasons), then all three should only be rung on Solemnities or Sundays, for example, Christmas Day. Begin by ringing all three for 3 minutes, then the top two together for two minutes, then the bottom two together for two minutes, then all three again for three minutes. This should begin at least 15 minutes before Mass is to begin. Or, you could start with all three, then ring each individually, then back to all three.

The idea is to give the bells a voice in helping the Faithful grasp the importance and rhythm of the liturgical year. The major Solemnities of the Temporal Cycle likely should carry more weight than those of the Sanctoral Cycle. Likewise, not all Sundays in the Temporal Cycle carry exactly the same gravity. For instance, Sundays Tempus per annum do not carry the weight of the Sundays of Advent, Christmastide, Lent, or Eastertide. Unfortunately, with the abandonment of the class system of feasts, and the weakening of the interplay between Sanctoral and Temporal Cycles, these distinctions become more difficult to establish, and too much of it seems based on the caprice of the decision-maker, rather than established Catholic cultural and liturgical norms.