Daily Mass -- once a day, or twice a day?

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2 questions:

**1.) ** Can we gain further spiritual benefits or graces by going to daily Mass twice a day instead of only once a day?

I am wondering because in various lives of the Saints, some were known to go to Mass twice a day. Often, they would receive communion at one Mass, and only “assist” at the second, probably to obey the rule of their times for receiving communion no more than once a day.

**2.) **I know this will also open the door to the topic of how many times a day we are currently allowed to receive Communion, so I’ll post my question about that. From what I understand, it is currently okay to receive communion twice (or more) a day if your intent is a reverent one, and you are not just “Mass hopping” to get multiple communions. Is this correct?
 
Redwood said:
From what I understand, it is currently okay to receive communion twice (or more) a day if your intent is a reverent one, and you are not just “Mass hopping” to get multiple communions. Is this correct?
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A maximum of twice, assuming you assist at both Masses. (There’s a further exception for viaticum, but hopefully you’re not dying. ;))
 
i don’t know the answer to question 1, but if one person is willing to spend another 30-45 minutes for a second mass in a day, why not instead use that time to do some charity work? deliver some food to homeless shelters, volunteer at children’s hospitals, etc.
 
choy said:
i don’t know the answer to question 1, but if one person is willing to spend another 30-45 minutes for a second mass in a day, why not instead use that time to do some charity work? deliver some food to homeless shelters, volunteer at children’s hospitals, etc.
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Or just go to work, and donate the 300 denarii you earn to the poor, right? 😃
 
Just to clarify, you may go to Mass 5 times in a single day! You may only however receive Holy Eucharist twice in one day, and the second time must be within a Mass. The first time could be at a Communion Service.

Pax!
 
You might consider what constitutes a balanced spiritual life and whether attending Mass twice a day is part of that.

As someone mentioned above, doing charitable work is also part of the spiritual life. So is personal prayer…so is evangelization…and so on.

Are these other elements also part of your spiritual life? If not, perhaps you should give some attention to them.
 
MarkThompson said:
Or just go to work, and donate the 300 denarii you earn to the poor, right? 😃
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why not? 😉
i mean, i’m not trying to downgrade the importance of the Mass in people’s lives. but in these forums i’ve seen people place the Mass so high up that they neglect the other things that Jesus has commanded us to do.

in full honesty i haven’t done charity work in 5 years. i’ve made donations, but to actually do something, i haven’t. and i miss it. and doing what i did, i felt as close to Christ as i am during Mass.

[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 25:35-40[/BIBLEDRB]
 
DeepeningFaith said:
Just to clarify, you may go to Mass 5 times in a single day! You may only however receive Holy Eucharist twice in one day, and the second time must be within a Mass. The first time could be at a Communion Service.

Pax!
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Good clarification – you’re right, and I was wrong to imply that to receive twice it had to be at two Masses. Canon 917 explains, “A person who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day only within the eucharistic celebration in which the person participates, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 921, §2 [dealing with persons in danger of death].”
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
You might consider what constitutes a balanced spiritual life and whether attending Mass twice a day is part of that.

As someone mentioned above, doing charitable work is also part of the spiritual life. So is personal prayer…so is evangelization…and so on.

Are these other elements also part of your spiritual life? If not, perhaps you should give some attention to them.
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Thank you everyone for your feedback.

SuscipeMeDomine, I am interested for you to further mention other aspects of a balanced spiritual life. This is a topic that interests me and can serve helpful at this time. Also, anyone else is welcome to chime in about this, too!

Thank you! :blessyou: :signofcross:
 
my suggestion would be to do some charitable work. its the best.

spend one hour a day in an orphanage or a center for abused children, or something like that. its hard at first to see the state they’re in, but once you see you bring a smile to their faces, its just amazing

remember, our faith is a light meant to shine upon others.
 
Redwood said:
Thank you everyone for your feedback.

SuscipeMeDomine, I am interested for you to further mention other aspects of a balanced spiritual life. This is a topic that interests me and can serve helpful at this time. Also, anyone else is welcome to chime in about this, too!

Thank you! :blessyou: :signofcross:
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This is something I’ve been thinking about lately for myself. So I’m not sure I can articulate it completely, but here’s what I’ve been thinking about.

In the gospels, Jesus calls on us to do things and shows us many elements of being his followers. We can see many instances when he prayed, so clearly that’s important. He tells us that he’ll separate the sheep from the goats and the sheep are the ones who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. He tells us to go out and baptize the world. He calls on us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

So these things give us some ideas of what it means to be his disciple.

We need to pray – and I would say that includes both communal prayer like the Mass as well as personal prayer.

We need to take care of the least ones. That could mean donating money to charity and also going giving of our time and effort.

We need to spread the gospel to others. Perhaps we speak openly about our faith to neighbors and co-workers, perhaps we teach others more formally.

We need to influence the world – maybe through political action, voting, writing to legislators. Maybe by paying attention to what different companies do and making our purchasing decisions appropriately. Maybe by living a simple life that is easier on the environment.

There may be things like educating ourselves about the faith and spiritual reading to inspire us and show us how to live.

Other people can probably think of other elements that might be included in discipleship.

I think that some people will do more in one area and other do more in another, but we should probably do at least a little bit in the different areas. One area may be easier for some people and harder for others, or more fulfilling for some people and less fulfilling for others. But I think they all deserve at least a little attention. It may take some discipline to do the things that are harder for us to do (and to not make the excuse that we’re so busy we simply don’t have time for them).

This is a topic that came up with my spiritual director recently so I’m paying more attention to it of late. I’m looking at first of all, what I think is important to the spiritual life in general, and then looking at how the various parts of my life live up to that. Where am I strong and where am I weak? Where to I need to make some more effort?

What I’m finding interesting is that there was one area in particular that I thought was weak so I’ve been paying more attention to it. And I’m finding joy in stretching a little and doing a little more in that area.
 
The Mass is the perfect prayer. The Psalms tell us that God wants a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. There is no better way to do that than by going to Mass. I think it is great to want to spend your free time with God. Always be sure to offer both Masses you go to for a special intention.

Most of the charity work I do can be done at night, when Masses aren’t going on anyway. And lest other posters forget, we are called to do corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to pray for someone or offer the Mass for them.
 
turtle18 said:
Sometimes the best thing you can do is to pray for someone or offer the Mass for them.
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but prayers only go so far if we’re not willing accomplices to God’s will. for example, feeding the hungry won’t happen unless God decides to rain down mana again, or we can simply go to the grocery store, buy non-perishable food, and donate to our local food bank.

when the matter is spiritual, yes, only prayer can help. but if the matter is physical, only actions will help. feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, etc., all needs actions
 
choy said:
but prayers only go so far if we’re not willing accomplices to God’s will. for example, feeding the hungry won’t happen unless God decides to rain down mana again, or we can simply go to the grocery store, buy non-perishable food, and donate to our local food bank.

when the matter is spiritual, yes, only prayer can help. but if the matter is physical, only actions will help. feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, etc., all needs actions
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It is not a zero sum game. It’s not either a spiritual work of mercy or a corporal work of mercy. You are suppose to practice both.
 
To the people who are urging you not to go to Mass twice a day, I don’t know what to say. The Mass is the highest prayer anyone can make, even as a layman merely participating in his own way. Yes, there are other prayers; they, too, will be more readily heard when devoutly offered at Mass. I hate to say it, but I can’t see someone discouraging another from assisting at multiple Masses in a day [edited].
 
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