Daily Mass

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BlyssfulDreamer

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I have often wondered about why a church with 2 priests cannot hold more than one Mass daily. Daily Mass is at 7AM and now that it is still dark at that time, I hesitate going because it is hard for me to see to drive in the dark. Is there some reason I don’t know as to why another Mass might not be offered say…at Noon? TIA
 
I’m sorry, I don’t have a particularly helpful answer…but you could always ask the priest(s) and express your thoughts on the matter.

I would imagine that the only thing holding them back from offering two daily Masses would be the concrete commitment required to have two scheduled Masses per day. If they advertise two Masses being said per day, perhaps they would feel too bound by that. Which I don’t necessarily agree with, but it is a possibility. In olden times, as far as I am aware, every priest would say their own daily Mass as there was no concelebration. Have you talked with any other parishioners who share your concerns about getting to a 7AM Mass? Perhaps if enough people presented these types of concerns such as yours, the two priests would be more open to the possibility of advertising more than one Mass per day. I think that would be a good thing for you to undertake, provided you have the support of at least a handful of other parishioners. If the priests have a good reason for not offering more than one Mass per day, if confronted by a number of parishioners, I am sure they will not be shy in telling you so.

Just my opinion/thoughts on the matter.
 
I am happy to say why it has happened in places where I have been in just such a situation.

Normally a diocesan priest has one day off each week. If there are two priests, that means there are two weekdays when the parish has only one priest. Depending upon the situation of the parish, one has to account also for funeral Masses. If it is a large parish or a predominantly older parish (or, worst case, both!) one can easily have more than one funeral per week and that has to be put into the equation…as do weddings, which sometimes happen on days other than Saturday, especially if again it is an active parish.

Also, the priests may be assigned to your parish but if they have some additional assignments, that has to be taken into account. One or both may have sacramental obligations elsewhere. If one, say, were a hospital chaplain, he may be needed to say Mass at the hospital. Or, at least, his schedule has to be taken into account in making the liturgical assignments.

Finally, we would coordinate with the deanery and the Vicar Forane so that nearby parishes were working in tandem. Parish X would have Mass in the morning, Parish Y at Noon and Parish Z in the evening and our parishioners would have more options rather than all of us having Mass at the same time.

It can seem straightforward…but it really is a problem when you have committed to have two Masses per day and one of the priests is sick or away and you end up with a funeral that can only be scheduled for that day – and the remaining priest has to cover three Masses, which requires a call to the chancery.

I would suggest you ask about the possibility of adding a Mass during the week on a day/evening which is neither of their days off and they can gauge the interest.
 
BlyssfulDreamer said:
I have often wondered about why a church with 2 priests cannot hold more than one Mass daily. Daily Mass is at 7AM and now that it is still dark at that time, I hesitate going because it is hard for me to see to drive in the dark. Is there some reason I don’t know as to why another Mass might not be offered say…at Noon? TIA
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All of the reasons mentioned by others are valid, but also consider the location of your parish.

When I lived in the suburbs there was a church next to the commuter rail station that offered Mass that was timed to end when the train arrived. Another parish had it midmorning, primarily for retirees and moms. Most of the noon Masses occurred in places that were in business districts or near work locations.

During Lent, the town I lived in coordinated so that some churches had Masses in the morning and some had them around 5:00 PM or 5:30 PM. And the churches agreed to publish each others’ Mass schedules in their respective bulletins.

I don’t understand if they could do it during Lent, why can’t they at least try it all year? If there is no response, at least they can say they tried.
 
At the church I attained we have two Mass,but if the priest of the parish get,s sent away too take care off thing,s than the church will only hold one Mass daily during the week because they have too find priest .too fill in for him tell he comes back.
We have two daily Masses one at one at 6;45 AM and one at 8;30 AM, it depends on the parish and how the Pastor of that Parish arranges his Masses.
 
I am lucky enough to live within a mile or so of 3 parishes. One has daily Mass at 7, one at Noon, one at 5:15pm.
 
Even if there are two priests in a parish, they would be very busy. There are phone calls, meetings, arranging for maintenance/repair, visiting sick parishioners, meeting with parishioners for counseling or various other things, preparing the homily, making decisions on purchases and many other things. Plus there may not be enough parishioners interested in a second daily Mass.
 
Thank you all so much for your responses and perspectives. This is a small TLM oratory with maybe less than 100 families. There used to be a Noon Mass years ago and was well attended.

I guess for the mean time I will have to go to a NO Noon Mass till next spring.

Once again thank you all and God Bless you.🙂
 
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