No Saturday Morning Mass

[smndtupidisaftr]

Hi everyone,

The local parish near my parents’ home doesn’t have a Saturday morning Mass. In fact, it seems that they have nothing going on at the church on Saturday mornings. I had the idea of suggesting either a communal rosary, lauds, or some other devotion. I wanted to get some (name removed by moderator)ut as to what would seem to be the best prayer or devotion to suggest for a parish. I would automatically suggest benediction, but I think I would get the most success from suggesting something that requires nothing of the priest or deacons.

 

[Bergon]

Hi everyone,

The local parish near my parents’ home doesn’t have a Saturday morning Mass. In fact, it seems that they have nothing going on at the church on Saturday mornings. I had the idea of suggesting either a communal rosary, lauds, or some other devotion. I wanted to get some (name removed by moderator)ut as to what would seem to be the best prayer or devotion to suggest for a parish. I would automatically suggest benediction, but I think I would get the most success from suggesting something that requires nothing of the priest or deacons.

On a Saturday a Marian devotion would be most appropriate, e.g. Holy Rosary, Miraculous Medal.

 

[smndtupidisaftr]

Maybe then the Little Office?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Is this something you will be leading? Then one question might be what you like the best or are the most comfortable with. Lauds would be wonderful, for example, but if it’s not something you normally pray then you would need to learn it before you could lead it.

Have you talked with anyone else in the parish to get an idea of what they might come to? Are they interested in praying the rosary together? Or something else? Having a core group that would come regularly would be a good start.

 

[smndtupidisaftr]

Is this something you will be leading? Then one question might be what you like the best or are the most comfortable with. Lauds would be wonderful, for example, but if it’s not something you normally pray then you would need to learn it before you could lead it.

Have you talked with anyone else in the parish to get an idea of what they might come to? Are they interested in praying the rosary together? Or something else? Having a core group that would come regularly would be a good start.

I would probably be leading it. I usually pray Lauds on my own but I’ve never done it in a group setting (and I always use websites that pull everything together for me). I was thinking of contacting the deacon and talking about it, maybe I could get an announcement in the bulletin about it.

 

[Cat]

I think you need to find out why there is nothing scheduled in the church on Saturday mornings before you ask if you can schedule something.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

This isn’t exactly what you have in mind, but I thought I’d give my own experience with something similar.

I pray the Liturgy of the Hours and much prefer to pray with a group than alone. I got together with another Benedictine Oblate and we decided to pray Vespers together once a week after Mass. I talked with the pastor first to make sure he was OK with the idea.

We always invited people to join us but it took a while before anyone accepted the invitation. After a while one or two people would stay and pray with us. We had extra prayer books and would show people how to use them.

After a bit more time the pastor started to join us and ultimately more people came. We expanded from praying on Tuesday evenings to praying on Tuesday and Thursday. Then we added Wednesday. And ultimately Monday and Friday. The pastor bought a bunch of copies of Shorter Christian Prayer so everyone would literally be on the same page.

It took probably a year to go from two people praying together weekly to 15-20 people praying daily, But it did grow and introduced many people to a form of prayer they didn’t know about previously.

 

[LegoGE1947]

This isn’t exactly what you have in mind, but I thought I’d give my own experience with something similar.

I pray the Liturgy of the Hours and much prefer to pray with a group than alone. I got together with another Benedictine Oblate and we decided to pray Vespers together once a week after Mass. I talked with the pastor first to make sure he was OK with the idea.

We always invited people to join us but it took a while before anyone accepted the invitation. After a while one or two people would stay and pray with us. We had extra prayer books and would show people how to use them.

After a bit more time the pastor started to join us and ultimately more people came. We expanded from praying on Tuesday evenings to praying on Tuesday and Thursday. Then we added Wednesday. And ultimately Monday and Friday. The pastor bought a bunch of copies of Shorter Christian Prayer so everyone would literally be on the same page.

It took probably a year to go from two people praying together weekly to 15-20 people praying daily, But it did grow and introduced many people to a form of prayer they didn’t know about previously.

How bout Saturday morning cartoons?

 

[janeway529]

Hi everyone,

The local parish near my parents’ home doesn’t have a Saturday morning Mass. In fact, it seems that they have nothing going on at the church on Saturday mornings. I had the idea of suggesting either a communal rosary, lauds, or some other devotion. I wanted to get some (name removed by moderator)ut as to what would seem to be the best prayer or devotion to suggest for a parish. I would automatically suggest benediction, but I think I would get the most success from suggesting something that requires nothing of the priest or deacons.

Most parishes near me don’t usually have a Saturday morning Mass because they usually reserve that day for Baptisms and Weddings. My parish does hold the Our Lady of Perpetual Help devotion on Saturday mornings, though.

 

[dconklin]

I think you need to find out why there is nothing scheduled in the church on Saturday mornings before you ask if you can schedule something.

I am on staff at a parish. The staff and even the priests need a day off. Our parish has a volunteer in the office.

 

[tafan]

I am on staff at a parish. The staff and even the priests need a day off. Our parish has a volunteer in the office.

Sorry, this does not excuse for lack of a Saturday morning mass. A local parish around here has canceled Tuesday and Thursday daily masses for the entire summer to give their two priests time off. The attitude is absurd.

 

[dconklin]

The attitude is absurd.

Wow! I don’t think God (the judge) is happy with your judgement.

 

[tafan]

Wow! I don’t think God (the judge) is happy with your judgement.

The church “earnestly recommends” that priest celebrate daily mass, cancelling masses on every Tuesday and Thursday for almost three months seems absurd to me. And the daily mass a priest says should be a public mass.

Can. 904 Remembering always that in the mystery of the eucharistic sacrifice the work of redemption is exercised continually, priests are to celebrate frequently; indeed, daily celebration is recommended earnestly since, even if the faithful cannot be present, it is the act of Christ and the Church in which priests fulfill their principal function.

Can. 906 Except for a just and reasonable cause, a priest is not to celebrate the eucharistic sacrifice without the participation of at least some member of the faithful.

BTW, canon law specialist will tell you the reason it is not required (while LOTH are) so as not to require a priest to say mass when he is in a state of mortal sin.

Finally, we were told, by Jesus, to ask for “our daily bread”. One of the common interpretations of this is the eucharist (as seen below in the quote from the CCC), so it is not too much to ask for a daily mass in a parish when a priest is available.

2837 “Daily” (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of "this day,"128 to confirm us in trust “without reservation.” Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence.129 Taken literally (epi-ousios: “super-essential”), it refers directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” without which we have no life within us.130 Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: “this day” is the Day of the Lord, the day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist that is already the foretaste of the kingdom to come. For this reason it is fitting for the Eucharistic liturgy to be celebrated each day.

The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and made members of him, we may become what we receive. . . . This also is our daily bread: the readings you hear each day in church and the hymns you hear and sing. All these are necessities for our pilgrimage.131
The Father in heaven urges us, as children of heaven, to ask for the bread of heaven. [Christ] himself is the bread who, sown in the Virgin, raised up in the flesh, kneaded in the Passion, baked in the oven of the tomb, reserved in churches, brought to altars, furnishes the faithful each day with food from heaven.132

 

[tafan]

Wow! I don’t think God (the judge) is happy with your judgement.

I suppose your point is that we are not to judge actions of other people. I have no idea if God is happy or not with your judgment of my action.

 

[englishredrose]

Being Anglican I wouldn’t know but isn’t Benediction usually an evening service? Or eveni in some cases a nighttime service. So to put it on a (saturday) morning would be odd to the priest.

May be as suggested the priest reserves that day for weddings. Our own Church is quite busy with weddings and as he has two parishes he does however do a said Mass at 10.am. and Office Hours are next, (Eg where people go along and book weddings and baptisms etc). His day gets very busy on Saturdays even if the Church itself looks like nothing is happening. It a day when people are home and he is sincere on his home visits and will try to do them when the people are in to fit around them. May be that is what is happening at the parish church you go to.

By the way, last time I asked for Benediction I did get told, ‘he would do it but who would go’? which confused me because I was thinking anyone who went to Evensong because that is my experience of Benediction. It came straight after Evensong and I replied back to him, that he would get me. He was not convinced and later I learned that some Benedictions are done at 10pm at night and no wonder he looked unsure and just one isn’t enough anyway but if he was thinking 10pm then yeh, he wouldn’t necessarily get me though because I had said that I would more than try. But I had already told him the times what am used to per se. I don’t know if that an anglican thing that usually in the evening though.

Ask for some kind of service may be but where the priest isn’t essential if He is having atypically busy day and it his chance to make home visits etc.

 

[Bergon]

Being Anglican I wouldn’t know but isn’t Benediction usually an evening service?

Benediction isn’t confined to the evening. It isn’t unusual on Saturday mornings. When I was a student the local Catholic church had Benediction on weekdays at 12.50 pm

 

[Brendan]

I am on staff at a parish. The staff and even the priests need a day off. Our parish has a volunteer in the office.

I too would disagree. There is no need to open the parish office on a Sat just because Mass is being said, so yes the staff can have their day off.

As far as the priests, should married couples get a day off from telling their spouse that they love them? How about parents getting a day or two off each week were the can just not take care of the kids?

 

[curlycool89]

I think you need to find out why there is nothing scheduled in the church on Saturday mornings before you ask if you can schedule something.

:yup:

Saturday at any parish church is inevitably Wedding Day (the Cathedral here often has 3 on Saturday during the summer).

Sorry, this does not excuse for lack of a Saturday morning mass.

Saturday’s (especially in the Summertime) often have Weddings scheduled. If it’s a smaller parish with only 1 priest who also has a Saturday evening (Sunday anticipated) Mass, that could already be 2 Masses that day for him. At the very least, he’s going to need the Bishop’s permission to celebrate another Mass, not to mention that could involve a third homily to write.

 

[MSSheBear]

Sorry, this does not excuse for lack of a Saturday morning mass. A local parish around here has canceled Tuesday and Thursday daily masses for the entire summer to give their two priests time off. The attitude is absurd.

Our parish has one priest who does Daily Mass four times a week and one Saturday Evening Mass and three Sunday mornings Masses. Isn’t he entitled to one or two mornings off each week? He does have other things to do too.

 

[SMHW]

Sorry, this does not excuse for lack of a Saturday morning mass. A local parish around here has canceled Tuesday and Thursday daily masses for the entire summer to give their two priests time off. The attitude is absurd./quote
Two priests? Lucky parish.

I suspect most parishes that don’t have Saturday morning Masses have the issue that the priest is busy with other activities on some Saturday mornings, has weddings or funerals on other Saturdays (not necessarily at his own parish), and the known duty of saying the anticipated Mass on Saturday evening.