Communion Service on Sunday: question

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Jam in mass? Sorry. I would not attend a retreat where mass was thought of as jammed in.
Yes I know you have a certain format but the mass is the source and summit of our faith.
 
Having mass will “mess up the thrust” of your retreat? Mass will have to be “jammed in”? The retreat leader will be “grumpy” if the schedule has to be changed to accommodate mass? Having mass at 9am will “disrupt the beauty and flow” of the retreat?

🤨
 
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Ugh, I think my point is being lost. We have been working for six months on prepping this retreat. We JUST found out (less than a week before the retreat) that we have no 7am Mass. No one WANTED this. No one is HAPPY about it. But the leader (who is swamped with other details) seems relieved to have “permission” to do a CS and be able to just keep the other details as-already-planned. It would take a LOT to rework everything because the retreat agenda is PACKED - this is not a silent retreat ata slow pace! It isPACKED with speakers and activities. There are literally10 people we would need to coordinate with to change the schedule at this point. Of course the leader would be grumpy. Wouldn’t you?

I just want to know if anyone CAN approve a CS for our retreat. It’s sounding like even if the associate pastor (standing in for our pastor who is overseas now) says it’s okay… it actually isn’t. Am I understanding this properly?? Or can I in-conscious help to host a retreat where I know many ladies will probably be too exhausted afterwards to attend an evening Mass (and not catechized well enough to know they should)??
 
Please explain to this clueless Anglican what a “communion service?” Is it less than Holy Mass? What is it?
 
No consecration takes place. There is the Liturgy of the Word (same readings as would normally take place at Mass), and there is reception of Holy Communion, using Hosts that were consecrated by a priest at a previous Mass. The service is built around the fact that the leader is not a priest. Ideally a deacon should lead, but in the absence of a deacon a trained layperson can lead it, including women.
 
To add onto what OraLabora said, it is indeed “less than Holy Mass”. It is intended to be an alternative to be used to allow the faithful to pray, hear Scripture, and receive Holy Communion on days/ in situations where there is no priest available.

The two places I’ve mostly seen it were at my Catholic high school, where there was no priest assigned and Mass only took place occasionally with a visiting priest but they would have a Communion service maybe 1-2 times a week, and also at a couple parishes it was used in some emergency situations in place of daily Mass (NOT Sunday obligation or holyday obligation Mass, just optional daily Mass) when the priest had to suddenly go on leave of absence to be treated for illness or accident and they couldn’t get another priest to fill in. If they could get another priest, they would have the Mass. They would always manage to get another priest for at least one Sunday Mass.
 
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Jen7, why are you not taking this entire question to your pastor instead of asking here?
He is the one with the best and fullest knowledge of this whole situation. He is the one with responsibility for this church.
He is the one who “the buck stops with” here.

We are not in the chain of command for your diocese and cannot tell you “if anyone CAN approve a CS for your retreat” in your particular circumstances. We’ve given our thoughts several times and you don’t seem to like them because we’re not telling you what you want to hear.

Please call your pastor. If you still have concerns after talking to him, then call the diocese.
 
As an Anglican I would consider that akin to a Bible Study. I think you would need a priest for there to be a valid Mass, and to fulfill the obligation of attending Mass. But that’s just me.
 
So there is a Mass going on on site and it’d be inconvenient to drop what you’re doing, because what YOU’RE doing is so much more important than what Christ is doing in the sacrifice of the Mass, walk over to Mass and come back? And you couldn’t make up the retreat activities thus missed at the time you set aside for this communion service?
This is a Catholic retreat?
Sorry, I’d go with inconvenience and have a grumpy leader.
 
How about you all adjust your perspective a bit? The Holy Spirit put a little speed bump in your way that gives you the opportunity to reflect on why you are doing what you are doing and make the necessary adjustments… all for the greater glory of God. 🙂
 
I go on a retreat every year. We have mass every day said by a different retired priest each time. I know churches use retired .priests t o fill in all the time. I guess it is a shame they are all busy near where you are
 
Jen7 said:
It would take a LOT to rework everything because the retreat agenda is PACKED - this is not a silent retreat ata slow pace! It isPACKED with speakers and activities. There are literally10 people we would need to coordinate with to change the schedule at this point.
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Doesn’t sound like much of a retreat, actually. A retreat is supposed to be for spiritual renewal, and you folks don’t seem to have time to breathe.
 
Jen7 said:
I just want to know if anyone CAN approve a CS for our retreat.
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There are two questions you’re asking here:
  • Is it appropriate to have a Liturgy of the Word with distribution of Eucharist on a Sunday
  • who, if anyone, can dispense with the obligation to attend Sunday Mass
As @1ke mentions, the first question comes down to whether there is a priest present who can celebrate Mass. There is, and he is able. (The issue you’re facing, then, isn’t availability but convenience.) Given that there is a priest and he’s celebrating Masses on Sunday, it would be inappropriate to hold a communion service as a ‘substitute’ for Mass.

To your second question, a pastor can dispense the obligation to attend Sunday Mass individually and to his own parishioners. Is this retreat being attended only by folks from your parish? Did the pastor give the dispensation?
It’s sounding like even if the associate pastor (standing in for our pastor who is overseas now) says it’s okay… it actually isn’t. Am I understanding this properly??
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Strictly speaking… no, it isn’t ok. But, if the PV thinks he’s correct, just try telling him (or your retreat leader) that. He thinks he’s being pastoral… but I would assert that his attempt – while well-meaning – isn’t helping his congregation understand the centrality of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in our faith.
 
Canterbury said:
As an Anglican I would consider that akin to a Bible Study. I think you would need a priest for there to be a valid Mass, and to fulfill the obligation of attending Mass. But that’s just me.
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It’s really meant to be used by parishes on Sunday when a priest is not available to celebrate Mass to give the congregation an opportunity to gather and worship as explained here in the Vatican document “Redemptionis Sacramentum”:
[164.] “If participation at the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible on account of the absence of a sacred minister or for some other grave cause, then it is the Christian people’s right that the diocesan Bishop should provide as far as he is able for some celebration to be held on Sundays for that community under his authority and according to the Church’s norms. Sunday celebrations of this specific kind, however, are to be considered altogether extraordinary. All Deacons or lay members of Christ’s faithful who are assigned a part in such celebrations by the diocesan Bishop should strive “to keep alive in the community a genuine ‘hunger’ for the Eucharist, so that no opportunity for the celebration of Mass will ever be missed, also taking advantage of the occasional presence of a Priest who is not impeded by Church law from celebrating Mass.”
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In my diocese there are a few parishes that have no other choice for months at a time because no priest is available for them and it’s not possible for the parishioners to travel because of their isolated location.

It has occasionally happened in my parish when a replacement couldn’t be found for Fr. while he’s on retreat or when he’s gone to the isolated community and then been prevented by weather from flying back in time to celebrate Mass on Sunday.
 
If I had the opportunity to attend a retreat and was told that the schedule was just too full to allow me to fit Mass in…I’m afraid I would find that my schedule was just too full to fit in the retreat.

The options I see are:
  1. Change your schedule around and put a priority on attending Mass that day.
  2. Find another priest who can accommodate your schedule.
  3. Ask your bishop for permission to have a communion service. (I think that having the communion service on a Sunday would have to be approved by the bishop.)
 
Canterbury said:
As an Anglican I would consider that akin to a Bible Study. I think you would need a priest for there to be a valid Mass, and to fulfill the obligation of attending Mass. But that’s just me.
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It’s more than a Bible study, it is in fact a valid liturgical rite of the Church, probably on the same level as the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours), and it involves the reception of communion for those disposed to receive. It doesn’t fulfill the obligation but is ordinarily used when no priest is available. It makes it possible for those who are unable to travel from their parish to find a valid Mass elsewhere, to participate to some extent in the liturgy, to be nourished by the Word, and to receive the graces of Holy Communion.

It is not a valid Mass, but it is a valid liturgy. It can be presided by a deacon, if one is available, and in that case he may prepare and deliver a homily after the readings as well. If there is no deacon, it is possible for a priest to prepare a homily and have it read by the leader.

It’s an imperfect solution for an imperfect world.
 
I’m sorry. The more I ponder this the sadder I get. Really, there have been few posts on this forum that have made me sadder.
A miracle will be happening next door but we’ll just stick to our more important man-made agenda.
There are valid reasons to miss Mass. We are under no obligation to attend Mass if it’s not possible to attend but that’s not the case here.
I expect this I’m the world but not from professing, committed Catholics. Sorry. Don’t mean to sound harsh but it’s just so sad .
 
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