Is it rude to only go to one priest's Masses?

[CatholicZ09]

Ever since I got a new parochial vicar at my church I have been going to Mass wherever he is because I get more out of his homilies and he’s truly inspiring to me. My pastor is kind of rude and there have been accounts from others of where he was rude to people. He called the spiritual director of my church and he just seems ignorant, and I don’t know if I like that.

My parochial vicar is humble, nice, inspiring, and just a great person to listen to. I learn a lot from him. So, our parish is divided into two churches, one the church I regularly go to and another that is a part of our parish. Whatever church he is at that week, I go to. Is this rude, not wanting to listen to my pastor? I just don’t know if I like him because he’s rude to people. He is not very welcome in our church, and people are really disgusted with what he’s done.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

You’re free to go to any Catholic Mass you wish and for just about any legitimate reason. But you should be wary of attending a Mass simply because you like the priest who is celebrating it. To do so is to count the personality of the priest as more important than the Mass itself, and makes you easy prey for the dynamic known as the cult of personality.

It is also troublesome that you avoid Masses celebrated by the priest you don’t like. While it is understandable that people don’t always get along with other people (including priests), it is important that you not allow your personal dislike of a priest to influence whether or not you’ll attend a Mass he celebrates. St. Francis of Assisi was once asked what he would do if he was at a Mass celebrated by a priest guilty of gross immorality. He said, “When it came time for holy Communion, I would go to receive the sacred body of my Lord from the priest’s anointed hands.” Likewise, we should understand that the sacraments do not depend on the personal holiness (or likeability) of the priest but upon the action of Christ working through his ordained servant.

Recommended reading:

A Crisis of Saints by Fr. Roger Landry