No priest showed up for Mass

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We are in a cluster of 4 parishes. Our pastor is away; we have one associate pastor, and several priests who help on weekends.

We went to 5pm Mass on Saturday evening and no priest showed up. We had enough time to get to another church in the cluster for a later Mass. (the lector who announced that the priest was not going to make it said that our obligation was fulfilled since we came to church expecting to attend Mass and were not able to through no fault of our own)

I imagine I’ll eventually hear what happened . . . did the scheduled priest forget? get stuck in traffic? etc…

Still, if we had more priests, this may not have happened. Pray for vocations!!
 
I attend a church with four priests in residence and this happened once for Stations. Everyone was ready to start and there was no priest. The secretary in the office had to go bang on their door and twenty minutes later, we had Stations. I guess some sort of miscommunication went on.
 
Allegra said:
I attend a church with four priests in residence and this happened once for Stations. Everyone was ready to start and there was no priest. The secretary in the office had to go bang on their door and twenty minutes later, we had Stations. I guess some sort of miscommunication went on.
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Do you really need a priest to lead Stations?
 
Priests are over worked and can mischedule like everyone else. It is true, if you show up for mass, your obligations was fullfilled. The Lector and Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers can do a communion service. If the tabernacle does not have enough hosts, they can be broken in several pieces if needed. The Lector can just choose to do the readings and the profession of faith with no communion. There is not a need for anyone to have to find another mass.

This has happened in my church for daily masses.

Once my priest was running late because he hit a dear and totaled his pick up. The Lector stared the readings, a man in the parish went to get the priest and they got back and the priest finished the mass.
 
KCT said:
We are in a cluster of 4 parishes. Our pastor is away; we have one associate pastor, and several priests who help on weekends.

We went to 5pm Mass on Saturday evening and no priest showed up. We had enough time to get to another church in the cluster for a later Mass. (the lector who announced that the priest was not going to make it said that our obligation was fulfilled since we came to church expecting to attend Mass and were not able to through no fault of our own)

I imagine I’ll eventually hear what happened . . . did the scheduled priest forget? get stuck in traffic? etc…

Still, if we had more priests, this may not have happened. Pray for vocations!!
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Yes, we all need to be praying for vocations! That men heed the call, that families don’t create impediements out of misguided love, that seminaries develop strong formation programs, and that Bishops are fully inspired by the Holy Spirit.
 
There can be other reasons too - perhaps illness or an emergency call for last rites - and depending on the circumstances the message might not have gotten through in time foe there to be any announcement of the priest’s unavailability.

Ordinarily, given enough notice, a Communion Service would be held, led by someone other than the priest, since some parishioners might not be able to male a Mass at another time.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
Yes, we all need to be praying for vocations! That men heed the call, that families don’t create impediments out of misguided love, that seminaries develop strong formation programs, and that Bishops are fully inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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Exactly. In fact, at the Mass we attended, the priest gave an excellent homily on vocations. (not knowing some of us had raced over from the other church because no priest had showed up)
 
ByzCath said:
Do you really need a priest to lead Stations?
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I can’t think of any reason why a priest is needed for Stations, however, we were expecting someone to come and lead it. I don’t really feel equiped to do it, though I have lead the chanting when there wasn’t a cantor.
 
beth40n2 said:
Priests are over worked and can mischedule like everyone else. It is true, if you show up for mass, your obligations was fullfilled. The Lector and Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers can do a communion service. If the tabernacle does not have enough hosts, they can be broken in several pieces if needed. The Lector can just choose to do the readings and the profession of faith with no communion. There is not a need for anyone to have to find another mass.
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This is false. If you can still make it to Mass/Divine Liturgy on Sunday, you are still obligated to attend Mass/Divine Liturgy. If you really cannot make it to another Mass/Divine Liturgy, then your obligation to attend Mass/Divine Liturgy on Sunday is suspended.
 
KCT said:
We are in a cluster of 4 parishes. Our pastor is away; we have one associate pastor, and several priests who help on weekends.

We went to 5pm Mass on Saturday evening and no priest showed up. We had enough time to get to another church in the cluster for a later Mass. (the lector who announced that the priest was not going to make it said that our obligation was fulfilled since we came to church expecting to attend Mass and were not able to through no fault of our own)

I imagine I’ll eventually hear what happened . . . did the scheduled priest forget? get stuck in traffic? etc…

Still, if we had more priests, this may not have happened. Pray for vocations!!
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I’m sorry your priest was a no-show. 😦

Pray that he’s safe and healthy and his absence was caused by a communication breakdown somewhere.

Luna
 
Luna_Lovecraft said:
I’m sorry your priest was a no-show. 😦

Pray that he’s safe and healthy and his absence was caused by a communication breakdown somewhere.

Luna
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Yes, I recall some decades ago where a priest failed to show up for morning Mass at a parish. Someone went to check on him at the rectory and he had died in his sleep.
 
KCT said:
We are in a cluster of 4 parishes. Our pastor is away; we have one associate pastor, and several priests who help on weekends.

We went to 5pm Mass on Saturday evening and no priest showed up. We had enough time to get to another church in the cluster for a later Mass. (the lector who announced that the priest was not going to make it said that our obligation was fulfilled since we came to church expecting to attend Mass and were not able to through no fault of our own)

I imagine I’ll eventually hear what happened . . . did the scheduled priest forget? get stuck in traffic? etc…

Still, if we had more priests, this may not have happened. Pray for vocations!!
Click to expand...
With a shortage of priest it will and does happen to the point the there is a specific liturgy that can be used by a deacon, to be able to celebrate a Sunday mass without a preist. I have one for my parish but haven’t had to use use it.

Some misinformation by the Lector. Since this was a Sat vigil mass, there were other masses that one could attend and even at another parish, so if those attending did not go to another mass they did not meet their Sunday obligation, since there were other oportunities to do so. It would be the case though if this was the mass available.
 
FAB said:
With a shortage of priest it will and does happen to the point the there is a specific liturgy that can be used by a deacon, to be able to celebrate a Sunday mass without a preist. I have one for my parish but haven’t had to use use it.

.
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Are you sure you meant to say a specific liturgy…to celebrate a Sunday Mass without a priest’? No priest, no Mass.
 
paperwight66 said:
Are you sure you meant to say a specific liturgy…to celebrate a Sunday Mass without a priest’? No priest, no Mass.
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EXACTLY! What makes Mass the Mass is the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Only an ordained priest can do that.
 
Several posters have said that by simply turning up to a Mass that didn’t get celebrated the obligation was met. This is not the case. If other Masses were available then people should attend them to fulfil the obligation. However, if there is no Mass at all then the obligation does not exist. If there’s no priest available another liturgy could be celebrated, e.g. Divine Office, Liturgy of the Word. Such alternative liturgies are not mandatory. These other liturgies do not fill the obligation as there isn’t one.

No Mass available = no obligation. There is no obligation for an alternative to Mass and if another liturgy is celebrated - there is no obligation to go and it cannot and does not fulfil a non-existent obligation.
 
KCT said:
(T)he lector who announced that the priest was not going to make it said that our obligation was fulfilled since we came to church expecting to attend Mass and were not able to through no fault of our own
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I’m a Lector/Reader and have no more authority to make such a proclaimation to absolve you from your Mass obligation than the parish janitor does. :confused:
 
Matthew_Holford said:
Several posters have said that by simply turning up to a Mass that didn’t get celebrated the obligation was met. This is not the case. If other Masses were available then people should attend them to fulfil the obligation. However, if there is no Mass at all then the obligation does not exist. If there’s no priest available another liturgy could be celebrated, e.g. Divine Office, Liturgy of the Word. Such alternative liturgies are not mandatory. These other liturgies do not fill the obligation as there isn’t one.

No Mass available = no obligation. There is no obligation for an alternative to Mass and if another liturgy is celebrated - there is no obligation to go and it cannot and does not fulfil a non-existent obligation.
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That is correct! And to reference the Canon Law:

Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.
§2. If participation in the eucharistic celebration becomes impossible because of the absence of a sacred minister or for another grave cause, it is stronglyrecommended that the faithfultakepart in a liturgy of the word if such a liturgy is celebrated in a parishchurch or other sacredplace according to the prescripts of the diocesanbishop or that they devote themselves to prayer for a suitabletime alone, as a family, or, as the occasionpermits, in groups of families.

Here I highlight two things:
  1. the dispensation from Sunday obligation comes about as a result of “participatioin in the Eucharistic celebration becoming impossible.” That means if there is another mass, then you are still required to go. (such as in the OP, the priest missed a Saturday vigil mass, which means that the faithful would be obliged to attend at another parish or to attempt the next morning if at all possible.
  2. While the faithful are not REQUIRED to celebrate any alternate liturgy if there is no mass available, the Canon DOES “strongly recommend” that the faithful take part in a liturgy of the word, or at least spend adequate time in personal prayer…
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
EXACTLY! What makes Mass the Mass is the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Only an ordained priest can do that.
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I would think the good Deacon Fab knows and fully understands this, as all of us do. With that said, I’m sure Deacon Fab meant to say communion service which consists of the Liturgy of the word and the communion rite as is done in the mass using the reserved hosts from the tabernacle. Take out the liturgy of the Eucharist and there is the communion service which the deacon can conduct.

However, if there is reasonable access to mass at another location such as a neighboring parish, the communion service does not suffice as meeting the Sunday Obligation.

I have conducted a communion service as a Sunday celebration once; the associate pastor fainted during the morning Sunday mass, and the pastor got sick before the last Sunday mass of the day, so at the order of my pastor I conducted a CS. In this case the obligation is dispensed because of the situation.
 
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