Lay Presiders

[seagal]

My parish is instituting a Sunday Celebration of the Word led by a lay presider, the first one is next week. This makes me very sad, as the reason given is that the number of priests in our parish and throughout North America is on a steady decline. In our parish unit, we have 1 priest and 1 priest assistant for 3 churches with congregations of 1500 - 2000 each. Our pastor has told us that the Celebration of the Word would not be a replacement for the Eucharist, but will fulfill our Sunday obligation.

Has anyone else experienced this in your own parish and did you find a difference in the way the community worshipped, i.e. did people only come when the Eucharist is celebrated? Do you find the Celebration of the Word meaningful? I really feel like I’m being deserted, which probably isn’t logical.

 

[Michael038]

Not yet, but my Priest told me within the next 5-10 years this will be taking place quite a bit with Deacons presiding.

 

[aurora77]

I’ve never experienced this in my parish, but I was in rural Mississippi one year, and went to Mass on the only Sunday of the month there was a Mass at that church. One priest was serving so many parishes that they had Mass once a month, the other Sundays were Communion services.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

seagal:

My parish is instituting a Sunday Celebration of the Word led by a lay presider, the first one is next week. This makes me very sad, as the reason given is that the number of priests in our parish and throughout North America is on a steady decline. In our parish unit, we have 1 priest and 1 priest assistant for 3 churches with congregations of 1500 - 2000 each. Our pastor has told us that the Celebration of the Word would not be a replacement for the Eucharist, but will fulfill our Sunday obligation.

Has anyone else experienced this in your own parish and did you find a difference in the way the community worshipped, i.e. did people only come when the Eucharist is celebrated? Do you find the Celebration of the Word meaningful? I really feel like I’m being deserted, which probably isn’t logical.

This is incorect:

"Our pastor has told us that the Celebration of the Word would not be a replacement for the Eucharist, but will fulfill our Sunday obligation. "

You have no Sunday Obligation to fulfil is no mass is available within a reasonable distance or you do not have the ability to get there.

The Celebration of the Word should also provide for the distribution of Holy Communion from Consecrated hosts reserved in the Tabernacle for the last Mass celebrated there or brought back from a Mass celebrated at another parish the evening before.

No one is obligated to attend a “Communion Service” with the Liturgy of the Word. But it is good for the community to come together to pray, especially for vocations from the parish.

 

[puzzleannie]

in many areas where parishes are clustered under the service of one or two priests, or where one parish has several missions, the bishop has decided to enforce the rule that a priest may only celebrate one Mass each day, which means that in at least one location he is responsible for there cannot be a Mass every Sunday. In some localities the geographical distances are so great that the priest cannot get to each location in time either. Yes, this means that the Liturgy of the Word with a Communion Service, sometimes led by a lay presider, will become the norm in many localities for at least some Sundays of the year. that is why a specific rite and rules for such occassions have been written. we went through this in my last parish when we were without a priest during two lengthy periods. However, since neighboring parishes did have Masses, we were not released from our Sunday obligation.