Is daily Mass scheduled considering most parishoniers?

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Living in a large city, there are a number of Mass times due to so many parishes. Yet, it can still be difficult to attend weekday Masses with a regular work schedule. It might seem like unless one is retired or in Catholic school, the Mass times don’t seem to consider the average working Catholic. In a small city or town, I imagine it might be more difficult.
  1. Does anyone have to search for weekday Masses that are at times that do not conflict with “routine” work schedules for most adults? Is it necessary to travel to another parish or town that has a more “convenient” Mass schdule?
  2. Would more Catholics attend weekday Mass if the times did not conflict with usual work time obligations?
  3. Would more Catholics attend weekday Mass with their family if the times did not conflict with usual school and work obligations?
Interested in other’s experience.

God bless,

Michael
 
Living in a large city, there are a number of Mass times due to so many parishes. Yet, it can still be difficult to attend weekday Masses with a regular work schedule. It might seem like unless one is retired or in Catholic school, the Mass times don’t seem to consider the average working Catholic. In a small city or town, I imagine it might be more difficult.
  1. Does anyone have to search for weekday Masses that are at times that do not conflict with “routine” work schedules for most adults? Is it necessary to travel to another parish or town that has a more “convenient” Mass schdule?
  2. Would more Catholics attend weekday Mass if the times did not conflict with usual work time obligations?
  3. Would more Catholics attend weekday Mass with their family if the times did not conflict with usual school and work obligations?
Interested in other’s experience.

God bless,

Michael
 
It seems to be scheduled mostly for retired people. No, it doesn’t seem to be available for 9-5 workers most places.
 
In the city here there’s no shortage of convenient weekday Masses - you can choose 6.45, 7 or 8 if you want to go before work, 12, 12.30 or 1 if you want lunchtime, or 5.30 for after working hours.

Close to my home there’s 7.30 or 7.45, and also 12, 12.30 or 1.

Mind you, this city is 4.5 million strong, so there’s more demand.

And bear in mind that shortage of priests to say Mass may be a factor.

If there’s a noontime mass near you perhaps you can make an agreement with the boss to stay just a little later in return for a longer lunchbreak.
 
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Check your arch website for the list of churches in the area you are in and then, go to their websites and check their mass times. I had to go to an all polish speaking one near my last job. I had no other choice. It did not matter to me in the least. Its not like you dont know the routine by now anyway, so it could be in Greek, and Its the same really.
Edit to add: they also had food in the basement after the 12:00 Mass!
 
jrnami said:
It seems to be scheduled mostly for retired people. No, it doesn’t seem to be available for 9-5 workers most places.
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Same experience here, except I usually work 7-4:30. Our daily Masses are at 9 am, Wednesday, there’s an additional Mass at 7 am. I used to attend that one each week, but since my schedule’s changed, that’s not an option. I attend the only Catholic church in the county, so I have to go waaaaay out of my way to get to another Mass.
 
LilyM said:
In the city here there’s no shortage of convenient weekday Masses - you can choose 6.45, 7 or 8 if you want to go before work, 12, 12.30 or 1 if you want lunchtime, or 5.30 for after working hours.

Close to my home there’s 7.30 or 7.45, and also 12, 12.30 or 1.

Mind you, this city is 4.5 million strong, so there’s more demand.

And bear in mind that shortage of priests to say Mass may be a factor.

If there’s a noontime mass near you perhaps you can make an agreement with the boss to stay just a little later in return for a longer lunchbreak.
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We have many selections here as well, though it varies with were one is in the city. Two parishes with the most options are only about a mile apart, so those in other parts of the city have less options.

Also, for someone scheduled for work from 7am to 3:30, even the 6:45 would not be helpful, and the 5 or 5:30 might not be great times. Depending on how much time one has for lunch, and how long the commute to the Church is, the lunch time Masses might not always be helpful. The parish next to the archdiocese headquarters has lunch Masses that are well attened, and the parish in center city does as well, where the workers are just a block or two from the parish. That would seem ideal. 🙂

God bless,

Michael
 
My problem is that all the morning Masses around here start before my children are in school, which isn’t until 9. Most masses around here start at 7:30 or 8:30 a.m. There’s one that starts at 6:30, but my husband goes to work at 7:00 a.m., so that doesn’t work, either. So, I guess I have the opposite problem.

Of course, some would say that I could take my children to Mass with me. However, that isn’t a possibility. My youngest has autism, and can’t sit through the Mass, so I spend most of my time holding onto him and trying to keep him from escaping. 😦

So, I guess I’d rather have Mass later. 9:15 would be ideal

Scout :tiphat:
 
You have a bee in your bonnet, be careful it doesn’t turn around and sting you!

Priests have to do as they can not as they would like and your needs are not another’s and another’s are not your needs. The Priest loves Jesus greatly and would prefer to constantly be with Him in union upon the Altar but this is not what God asks of Him; God asks other duties of him.

If you cannot make Holy Mass then make Spiritual Communion with Jesus upon all the Altars of the world and attend Mass on Sunday as is required of you.

In the Living Prayer of my life.
 
blessedstar said:
You have a bee in your bonnet, be careful it doesn’t turn around and sting you!

Priests have to do as they can not as they would like and your needs are not another’s and another’s are not your needs. The Priest loves Jesus greatly and would prefer to constantly be with Him in union upon the Altar but this is not what God asks of Him; God asks other duties of him.

If you cannot make Holy Mass then make Spiritual Communion with Jesus upon all the Altars of the world and attend Mass on Sunday as is required of you.

In the Living Prayer of my life.
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No worries here, it is a reasonable question with regard for all Catholics of a parish, not just those retired or with flexible schedules. Beesides, as wikopedia states “although the stinger is in fact barbed so that it lodges in the victim’s skin, tearing loose from the bee’s abdomen and leading to its death in minutes, this only happens if the victim is a mammal (or bird).” Bye bye bee 🙂
Beesides, why would a fellow Catholic brother in Christ turn around and sting me? Did Jesus turn around and “sting” anyone?

“Priests have to do as they can not as they would like…”
Exactly, so if the Mass schedule is more out of convenience for them, instead of reasonably considering the whole of those they serve in Christ, then perhaps Mass times may end up being adjusted according to the spiritual needs of the whole community.

“and your needs are not another’s and another’s are not your needs.”
Actually, my schedule is flexible enough that in general this is not a concern for me. However, others do not have the same flexibility, so should they not bee given consideration?

“God asks other duties of him.”
Very true, and no intention of detracting from that, just discussing if the Mass times consider all those in the parish, not just a few. Adjusting the times of the Masses doesn’t necessarily mean taking more time for celebrating Mass with the faithful, and may allow more to participate in the worship at Mass. Is that not a good thing?

“If you cannot make Holy Mass then make Spiritual Communion with Jesus upon all the Altars of the world and attend Mass on Sunday as is required of you.”
I’m not looking for the minimum to worship God, and why should the average working Catholic, or Catholic mother with children be limited to Spiritual Communion, when changing Mass times slightly in parishes might be of spiritual benefit to many Catholics? Is the current schedule now more out of convenience for the priest, or for the flock he serves?

God bless,

Michael
 
  1. Does anyone have to search for weekday Masses that are at times that do not conflict with “routine” work schedules for most adults? Is it necessary to travel to another parish or town that has a more “convenient” Mass schdule?
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Yes. The 8 am is not so good for me, so I switched to another parish with a 6:30 am mass. At the other end of the day I cannot make a 5pm mass. I wish it was a 6 pm.

I suppose when I’m retired I’ll be happy for the noon mass. Right now I’ll rarely if ever attend that one.
  1. Would more Catholics attend weekday Mass if the times did not conflict with usual work time obligations?
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I would. Some days I just can’t get out of bed for the 6:30 am, and I wish there was a 6 pm option.
 
I recently joined the “Old people who attend daily early morning Mass” club. It’s at 7. Perfect for me. I sandwich it in between my morning walks.
Kathy
 
I am not sure how busy other priests are, but at our parish, there are 2 priests who are dealing with more than 3 thousand families ( = 15 thousand parishioners). This gives us an idea how many hours they have to work during a week.

As we all know, when you want to get, says 1 hour rest, we surely want to get all that 60 minutes resting without interruption.

Imagining that these priests have to work all day long, come home to get some rest - half way, they will need to get back to the Church for the mass. Sooner or later, they will get burned out. Having mass within their working schedule is very important. I don’t think they work 8 hours per day like most of us, but more than that.

If one really wants to attend daily mass, sooner or later, he/she can find a mass to attend. Pray about it.
 
water said:
I am not sure how busy other priests are, but at our parish, there are 2 priests who are dealing with more than 3 thousand families ( = 15 thousand parishioners). This gives us an idea how many hours they have to work during a week.

As we all know, when you want to get, says 1 hour rest, we surely want to get all that 60 minutes resting without interruption.

Imagining that these priests have to work all day long, come home to get some rest - half way, they will need to get back to the Church for the mass. Sooner or later, they will get burned out. Having mass within their working schedule is very important. I don’t think they work 8 hours per day like most of us, but more than that.

If one really wants to attend daily mass, sooner or later, he/she can find a mass to attend. Pray about it.
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On thinking about this a little more, if the Mass schedule was changed to make it easier for more Catholics to attend during the week, then things might even get easier for the priest.

They might have more involved parishoneers, so perhaps more help being offered as appropriate.

It might cut down on some of the visits they make, as the parishoniers might be more involved in the parish, and better able to meet with the priest after Mass, instead of making a separate trip or visit. Just some thoughts…

God bless,

Michael
 
Other than when I’m unemployed, from the daily masstime hrs. available that’ll need to be something I can do when I retire.😦
 
Mt_28_19_20 said:
On thinking about this a little more, if the Mass schedule was changed to make it easier for more Catholics to attend during the week, then things might even get easier for the priest.

They might have more involved parishoneers, so perhaps more help being offered as appropriate.

It might cut down on some of the visits they make, as the parishoniers might be more involved in the parish, and better able to meet with the priest after Mass, instead of making a separate trip or visit. Just some thoughts…

God bless,

Michael
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I’ve been to my parish for 1 year. I might not know everything, but I think it won’t hurt me if I am going to ask some people why we have daily masses at the current time.

Last time I was told we had about 500 volunteers participating all ministries - the number might be higher now.

With all this help, the priests still have to work late way after 7 or 8 or 9 PM. I don’t know if it helps if we have late mass. My parish is super busy and we are praying to have a 3rd priest for the parish.

See: saintwilliams.org
 
water said:
I’ve been to my parish for 1 year. I might not know everything, but I think it won’t hurt me if I am going to ask some people why we have daily masses at the current time.

Last time I was told we had about 500 volunteers participating all ministries - the number might be higher now.

See: saintwilliams.org
Click to expand...
I’m impressed, you have a confession at 5-6pm and Mass at 6pm Monday thru Thursday. That might work better for those working 9-5 than would a 5 or 5:15 Mass, and might be more convenient for more families to attend.

Do you know if it looks like more families attend the 6 pm Mass compared to the 12:15?

God bless,

Michael
 
jrnami said:
It seems to be scheduled mostly for retired people. No, it doesn’t seem to be available for 9-5 workers most places.
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I notice very few young or middle aged adults at my parish’s weekday Mass.

God bless,

Michael
 
Mt_28_19_20 said:
I’m impressed, you have a confession at 5-6pm and Mass at 6pm Monday thru Thursday. That might work better for those working 9-5 than would a 5 or 5:15 Mass, and might be more convenient for more families to attend.

Do you know if it looks like more families attend the 6 pm Mass compared to the 12:15?

God bless,

Michael
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Even if we have daily confession, some of us might have to go back 3 times in order to get to his/her turn. It’s always crowded.

For daily mass, I don’t have chance to attend at my parish - I go to mass during lunch hour at work, but I think there are more families in the evening mass than the Noon one; however, there are not many families - mostly older couples and those above 40’s.

Finding young people going to daily mass or participating in other activities is always difficult in my parishes.
 
Mt_28_19_20 said:
I notice very few young or middle aged adults at my parish’s weekday Mass.

God bless,

Michael
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That’s why they call it “The OLD people who go to daily morning Mass” Club. I recently joined myself.
Kathy
 
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