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Priesthood is a vocation.Priesthood is a vocation. Not a job.
Just like my marriage is a vocation.
I do not cease being married once a week.
How could someone cease being a priest once a week?
Being a pastor is a job. And that comes with the usual expectations: hiring, firing, pay, benefits, and vacation.
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HeDa
Guest
One priest of (+50 years) said he had celebrated Mass everyday for 50 years minus the 2 days when he was in hospital and wasn’t allowed to eat or drink. Then he showed me the Mass kit he brings with him when travelling.
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tafan2
Guest
No, according to Canon law, a priest may not celebrate alone “unless he has a good and reasonable cause” for doing so.
A priest told me that a good cause is typically thought to be he cannot find anyone to attend and he wants to celebrate his daily mass. But he needs to try to get a Catholic to attend first. He said it is almost always possible, he had never celebrated a private mass since his ordination. My wife and I were the only attendees that day, and afterwards we got to talking about it.
A priest told me that a good cause is typically thought to be he cannot find anyone to attend and he wants to celebrate his daily mass. But he needs to try to get a Catholic to attend first. He said it is almost always possible, he had never celebrated a private mass since his ordination. My wife and I were the only attendees that day, and afterwards we got to talking about it.
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tafan2
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He is " earnestly invited" to say a daily mass, but not required, because the Church does not want to place an obligation on the priest which may be sinful: he may not be in a state of grace to receive communion. That is my understanding at least.
That makes sense.He is " earnestly invited" to say a daily mass, but not required, because the Church does not want to place an obligation on the priest which may be sinful: he may not be in a state of grace to receive communion. That is my understanding at least.
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Prodigal1984
Guest
What is intrinsically wrong with a priest saying mass by himself?
Like why does it matter if there are people there? Do the angels not count?
Idk if that’s just a post conciliar thing, because the EF mass I frequent the priest told me he says mass every day. In fact the priory he is at his it set up so multiple priests can say mass at the same time if they want in the church. I don’t see why this is bad at all.
Like why does it matter if there are people there? Do the angels not count?
Idk if that’s just a post conciliar thing, because the EF mass I frequent the priest told me he says mass every day. In fact the priory he is at his it set up so multiple priests can say mass at the same time if they want in the church. I don’t see why this is bad at all.
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tafan2
Guest
I didn’t say there was anything intrinsically wrong with it, neither does the Church. There is something wrong with it if a priest does not have a good and reasonable cause to do so. That scenario is wrong because it is disobedient to the Church’s law.
I personally do not think it is bad. But the Church does require a good cause.
Are you sure the EF priests do not have one person there, perhaps an altar server? I assume the EF priests have the same rule, as it is part of canon law, not part of the rubrics.
Yes, it is post conciliar, it only came into effect in the 1983 version of the law as far as I know.
I personally do not think it is bad. But the Church does require a good cause.
Are you sure the EF priests do not have one person there, perhaps an altar server? I assume the EF priests have the same rule, as it is part of canon law, not part of the rubrics.
Yes, it is post conciliar, it only came into effect in the 1983 version of the law as far as I know.
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edward_george1
Guest
The communion of the priest constitutes “a good and reasonable cause.” I am not obligated to say Mass on my day off, but I always do. There is almost never someone else there. I am not obligated to find someone to be there.
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Prodigal1984
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That’s what I thought.
I always thought any sacrifice of the mass for an intention is a noble thing and pleasing in the eyes of God.
I always thought any sacrifice of the mass for an intention is a noble thing and pleasing in the eyes of God.
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tafan2
Guest
Thanks Father, I suppose that is what my friend meant when he said that a priest simply wants to celebrate his daily mass is a good and reasonable cause.
ETA: BTW, I only brought this up because someone said that a bishop’s approval was necessary and I was correcting that.
ETA: BTW, I only brought this up because someone said that a bishop’s approval was necessary and I was correcting that.
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acanonlawyer
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I don’t think anyone could reasonably say that it is intrinsically wrong.What is intrinsically wrong with a priest saying mass by himself?
Like why does it matter if there are people there? Do the angels not count?
Idk if that’s just a post conciliar thing, …
Having someone (another human being…in the wayfaring state) there matters since it is at least fitting for the priest to be assisted at the appropriate times, both physically and verbally.
The old law (1917 Code) said that a priest should not celebrate Mass without a minister to assist him and make the responses (canon 813).
Dan
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poche
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The priesthood is a vocation, not a job. why would he want Sunday off?
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edward_george1
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Walk a mile in my shoes…
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally my vacation goes across a weekend. It doesn’t happen often because it’s hard to get someone to cover Sunday Mass (I usually have to find coverage for 2-3 Masses), but given how packed and hectic our weekends are, it’s nice to have one here and there where I can actually rest. It’s kind of ironic that we preach Sunday as a day of rest, and yet rarely is it one for the priest, if it ever is.
I’m honestly a little sick of hearing this false dichotomy between “vacation” and “vocation.” I can have a perfectly healthy sense of my vocation as a priest while still taking time off once in a while. I never take time off from my vocation. I do need rest from the work that my vocation entails, and this is true for anyone. So please, anyone inclined to do so, stop implying that it’s somehow a conflict or that we’re somehow being unfaithful to our calling if we take a vacation. The last vacation I went on proved to be a very restful and healing experience, and helped me to recover from a lot of the difficulties I’d experienced in the last year. I’m a much happier person and much more at peace because I had that time to rest.
-Fr ACEGC
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally my vacation goes across a weekend. It doesn’t happen often because it’s hard to get someone to cover Sunday Mass (I usually have to find coverage for 2-3 Masses), but given how packed and hectic our weekends are, it’s nice to have one here and there where I can actually rest. It’s kind of ironic that we preach Sunday as a day of rest, and yet rarely is it one for the priest, if it ever is.
I’m honestly a little sick of hearing this false dichotomy between “vacation” and “vocation.” I can have a perfectly healthy sense of my vocation as a priest while still taking time off once in a while. I never take time off from my vocation. I do need rest from the work that my vocation entails, and this is true for anyone. So please, anyone inclined to do so, stop implying that it’s somehow a conflict or that we’re somehow being unfaithful to our calling if we take a vacation. The last vacation I went on proved to be a very restful and healing experience, and helped me to recover from a lot of the difficulties I’d experienced in the last year. I’m a much happier person and much more at peace because I had that time to rest.
-Fr ACEGC
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Being a priest is a vocation. Being a pastor is a job.The priesthood is a vocation, not a job. why would he want Sunday off?
You get vacations from jobs.
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tafan2
Guest
I will add another thought, which is indirectly related to this. I do not think people realize how (mentally) exhausting saying a Sunday mass can be for a priest. Most priests around here have to do 3 masses on a given Sunday (sometimes 4 counting Saturday night). A friend of mine who was the pastor at our parish talked about this with me once. He said he could handle two masses pretty easily, three is a little tiring, the times when he had to do four is very exhausting. We think its only an an hour or so of “work”, but aa priest has to try to stay mentally focused during that entire hour. On top of that there is the time before hand making sure everything is ready, vesting, dealing with EMHC and altar servers and lectors. Afterwards there is time greeting people, giving blessings to people who walk up and request it, etc, etc. We think, “oh, I can just catch Fr. after mass and talk to him about XYZ”, well there are 20 other people thinking the same thing.
I have no problem with a priest taking a Sunday “off”, typically that means he would be saying at least one mass somewhere at any rate.
I have no problem with a priest taking a Sunday “off”, typically that means he would be saying at least one mass somewhere at any rate.
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maryjk
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I work at a parish and I am there almost every Sunday morning.Afterwards there is time greeting people, giving blessings to people who walk up and request it, etc, etc. We think, “oh, I can just catch Fr. after mass and talk to him about XYZ”, well there are 20 other people thinking the same thing.
I am amazed how many people will try to “grab Father after Mass.” And that is after he has greeted everyone after Mass. Our first Mass ends just before 9 and our second starts at 10:30. There have been weekends where Father is just taking a minute with so many people that he barely has time to grab a drink from the water fountain. And that is with him booking some of the people for later in the week.
Now that doesn’t happen every Sunday, but I’ve seen it on back to back Sundays. And counting Saturday evening Mass, during the school year, we have 5 masses every weekend. For a long while we had one priest. Now, every couple of years our pastor has a brand new priest, just ordained, join him. He stays until the diocese exchanges our newish priest with another brand new one.
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poche
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I was thinking more along the lines of a husband saying to his wife, “Honey I would like to take a vacation from this marriage.”
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edward_george1
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Not everything has to go to such extremes. I can take a vacation without it threatening my vocation. And this is true of pretty much everyone in my line of work. It’s uncharitable to assume otherwise.
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LawyersGunsAndMoney
Guest
A priest doesn’t temporarily stop being a priest if he has a weekend off, just like a married guy on a weeklong business trip doesn’t suddenly become single just because he’s out of town and physically separated from his wife. Human beings need time to relax and recharge occasionally. Expecting that priests never take time to relax is a good way to ensure that they burn out.I was thinking more along the lines of a husband saying to his wife, “Honey I would like to take a vacation from this marriage.”
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