Cancelled Masses...help me be charitable

  • Thread starter Thread starter acadian
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

acadian

Guest
Let me be clear. I love our pastor. He is sincere and holy. His homilies are awesome. His Masses are reverent. He is a wonderful confessor. He is the only priest at our parish and says three Masses each weekend and four during the week at our parish. Confessions before weekday Masses and Saturdays…he’s there. He offers Bible Studies a couple of times a year in the evenings for weeks at a time. He’s there. He also has duties with the diocese. He’s chancellor of one of our Catholic schools. And that’s just what I know. Weddings. Funerals. Baptisms.

So why when I open up the bulletin and see that there will be no daily Mass on President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day, or the week of Thanksgiving (except for Thanksgiving Day), or the week after Christmas, do I struggle so with charitable thoughts? There are other parishes where I can (and do) attend most of these days.

Help me be charitable here. When I see this I don’t want my first repsonse to be, “Seriously? No Mass again?” (Which is what it is right now.)
 
Look at it as an opportunity to go to another parish which will help prevent “staleness”.

Look at it as an opportunity for you to contribute to the priest’s health and well-being, helping to prevent burn-out.
 
the alternative is a situation that can have dire effects for the priest and the parish (or in case of some priests, multiple parishes) and that is a priest who refuses to take vacations or days off, refuses to take time to rest and recharge physically, psychological and spiritual. That is a priest headed for burnout and that is no good.
 
Pray for vocations to the Priesthood. This would allow more Pastors to be available for more masses as well as ensuring that your Priest is allowed time ensure he spends time himself in devotion. So he can stay as reverent and sincere.
 
sounds like this priest is putting is a whole bunch of time and deserves a break. we call that vacation in the secular world. they have to get some rest or they will end up with serious health issues.

we had a substitute today at vigil and it was refreshing to get another perspective. he is also the vocation director so he had some very sad statistics to pass on. other than that he said a beautiful mass.

so continue to be charitable as you are. God Bless
 
Just read the list you just wrote and I bet you can come up with more like marriage counciling, confirmation, and more.

Then pray for the man that he does not burn out.

Also priests do have family they would like to visit. Like my priest did not have Christmas with Masses at 3 parishes. He took a few days off after the New Years “Mary Mother of God” Mass. Then he was able to see his aging mother and siblings. Would we give up Christmas?

Pray for compassion. Pray for vocations. Pray for your priest and all the priests of the world for the wisdom, knowledge and strength they need.
 
acadian said:
Let me be clear. I love our pastor. He is sincere and holy. His homilies are awesome. His Masses are reverent. He is a wonderful confessor. He is the only priest at our parish and says three Masses each weekend and four during the week at our parish. Confessions before weekday Masses and Saturdays…he’s there. He offers Bible Studies a couple of times a year in the evenings for weeks at a time. He’s there. He also has duties with the diocese. He’s chancellor of one of our Catholic schools. And that’s just what I know. Weddings. Funerals. Baptisms.

So why when I open up the bulletin and see that there will be no daily Mass on President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day, or the week of Thanksgiving (except for Thanksgiving Day), or the week after Christmas, do I struggle so with charitable thoughts? There are other parishes where I can (and do) attend most of these days.

Help me be charitable here. When I see this I don’t want my first repsonse to be, “Seriously? No Mass again?” (Which is what it is right now.)
Click to expand...
We currently have one priest for our whole parish. He had to cancel 1 Spanish Mass so he canceled an English Mass as well, so as not to look as if he is singling out the Spanish-speaking parishioners. One man can only do so much. Go to the nearby parish and pray for him and for vocations.
 
A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
By the late John J Cardinal Carberry

Keep them; I pray Thee, dearest Lord. Keep them, for they are Thine
The priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart.
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure, shelter them in Thy heart.
Keep them and comfort them in hours Of loneliness and pain,
When all their life of sacrifice for souls seems but in vain.
Keep them and remember, Lord, they have no one but Thee.
Yet, they have only human hearts, with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;
Their every thought and word and deed, deign, dearest Lord, to bless.
 
In many parts of the world having Mass four days a week would be a real luxury and a blessing.

It might be helpful to see the glass half full …

Any community that has not recently contributed young men to the holy priesthood has no right to complain. Any man who has not given himself over to holy orders has no right to complain.

Any mother who has not given a son to the service of the church has no right to complain.

Most people seem to train their children to have the ambition for careers as doctors and lawyers. Certainly that is something to be proud of …

But most of us pray for someone else’s son to be our priest. To look after us when we fail, to comfort us, to bury us.

We should be grateful for what we have, as undeserving as we are.
 
acadian said:
Let me be clear. I love our pastor. He is sincere and holy. His homilies are awesome. His Masses are reverent. He is a wonderful confessor. He is the only priest at our parish and says three Masses each weekend and four during the week at our parish. Confessions before weekday Masses and Saturdays…he’s there. He offers Bible Studies a couple of times a year in the evenings for weeks at a time. He’s there. He also has duties with the diocese. He’s chancellor of one of our Catholic schools. And that’s just what I know. Weddings. Funerals. Baptisms.

So why when I open up the bulletin and see that there will be no daily Mass on President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day, or the week of Thanksgiving (except for Thanksgiving Day), or the week after Christmas, do I struggle so with charitable thoughts? There are other parishes where I can (and do) attend most of these days.

Help me be charitable here. When I see this I don’t want my first repsonse to be, “Seriously? No Mass again?” (Which is what it is right now.)
Click to expand...
How about taking the initiative and help Father out? Approach the Deacon about having Adoration or the Liturgy of the Hours on the days that Father is resting. (In fact, have the Adoration for vocations so that the parish is reminded in the priest’s absence about how much we have to pray for vocations.) How about starting up Daily Vespers in addition to Daily Mass. That way when Father takes a breather, it doesn’t totally disrupt the prayer life of the parish.
 
Thank you all so much. Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective.

Hesychios, I have two sons…teens…altar servers. That God may be calling them to the priesthood is something we mention from time to time. If God wants them, I surely won’t stand in the way.

Paco, we don’t have a deacon. I think if we had adoration that would just be one thing on father’s plate. I did mention it once, but didn’t really get an answer. There is a perpetual adoration chapel within about five miles. The rosary used to be said prior to daily Mass, but Father put a stop to that. He said they were welcome to pray it … Just not out loud. I appreciate the blessed silence we now have. I do help out with a few things in the parish, but I’m not sure there would be much demand for LOH. When there is no Mass, I think most of our daily mass crowd simply go elsewhere (and don’t complain like I do).

Praying for vocations…I need to do that more!
 
acadian said:
Let me be clear. I love our pastor. He is sincere and holy. His homilies are awesome. His Masses are reverent. He is a wonderful confessor. He is the only priest at our parish and says three Masses each weekend and four during the week at our parish. Confessions before weekday Masses and Saturdays…he’s there. He offers Bible Studies a couple of times a year in the evenings for weeks at a time. He’s there. He also has duties with the diocese. He’s chancellor of one of our Catholic schools. And that’s just what I know. Weddings. Funerals. Baptisms.

So why when I open up the bulletin and see that there will be no daily Mass on President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day, or the week of Thanksgiving (except for Thanksgiving Day), or the week after Christmas, do I struggle so with charitable thoughts? There are other parishes where I can (and do) attend most of these days.

Help me be charitable here. When I see this I don’t want my first repsonse to be, “Seriously? No Mass again?” (Which is what it is right now.)
Click to expand...
Have you considered that priests need vacation too? Maybe he just couldn’t find a substitute priest to come in and say Mass. Here in our area there is always an available priest who can come in should a priest be away on vacation. Maybe thats not the case in your area.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top