On a cruise in June, no catholic church mass

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bigsonny

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going on a cruise from June 11–18, 2011. Will have second day of a Sunday. No Catholic Mass available. What would you do, to fulfill obligation?🤷
 
Hi,

I would defintely recommend making a spiritual communion. Set aside some time for that day to be alone and to read over the readings of the Mass and to commune with the Lord. Prayer is always nice and while you are at it, if I may ask that you pray for those who cannot attend Mass because of illness and whatnot. God bless and enjoy your cruise.

Little One0307
 
Tell your Pastor and ask for a dispensation. Granting this type of dispensation is one of his delegated powers as a Pastor.
 
Since I’ve never been on a cruise, I may be wrong, but I would logically think that internet connection is available.

Perhaps, you can try your luck with this source. St. Ann’s Media website provides streaming video of Catholic mass. Perhaps it may not be the exact solution to what you hope for, but it is still a relatively good alternative to not going to mass at all.

Similar internet sources for broadcasting of mass: The Daily Mass, Catholic.net
 
Ship’s have chapel’s, usually non denominational but it is a quiet place unless they are playing one of those protestant services. You an also stay in your room, but read and reflect on the readings for the day, pray and as someone else suggested Spiritual Communion. That is what I did.
 
trinichiqn said:
Ship’s have chapel’s, usually non denominational but it is a quiet place unless they are playing one of those protestant services. You an also stay in your room, but read and reflect on the readings for the day, pray and as someone else suggested Spiritual Communion. That is what I did.
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I know there were ship’s chapels on some transatlantic liners back in the day, but we’ve been on 4 cruises in the last several years, and have never encountered a chapel. That said - and for anyone’s future cruising plans - I believe Holland America is the one cruise line that always has a priest on board, and daily Mass is offered in a conference room. Holland America has a large Phillipino staff, and I believe part of their employment contract is access to a priest, and that same priest also serves the passengers.
 
As others have pointed out, you can obtain a dispensation from your Priest.

However, if you are at sea and there is no Priest on board, then I believe that is a valid reason to miss Mass…valid reasons include serious illness, care for an ill child, because no Mass is available where you are, etc. In my opinion, based on my understanding of the Sunday obligation, a dispensation is not strictly necessary. You might seek one anyway just to be on the safe side.

If you are in a port of call on Sunday, then you should try to find a Catholic Mass in the port if none is available on the ship. That will fulfill your obligation (and might be a fun cultural experience too, depending on where you are cruising).

God bless you! Have fun on the cruise (I love cruises myself).
 
Many years ago I attended a Mass in Nassau in the Bahamas. It was wonderful. I have been to Masses all around the world. Someone on the ship staff will be able to help you find a Mass. If it is on Monday instead of Sunday, God will still be happy to see you.
 
bigsonny said:
going on a cruise from June 11–18, 2011. Will have second day of a Sunday. No Catholic Mass available. What would you do, to fulfill obligation?🤷
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I’m going on a cruise in June too, but not at the same time as you. I wondered about that too, but I thought surely there must be a chapel on there.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
I know there were ship’s chapels on some transatlantic liners back in the day, but we’ve been on 4 cruises in the last several years, and have never encountered a chapel. That said - and for anyone’s future cruising plans - I believe Holland America is the one cruise line that always has a priest on board, and daily Mass is offered in a conference room. Holland America has a large Phillipino staff, and I believe part of their employment contract is access to a priest, and that same priest also serves the passengers.
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You’re right about Holland America. We were just on a Southern Caribbean cruise with them in March and there were two priests on board. I made sure to note how much we appreciated this on the survey they gave us before disembarkation.
 
bigsonny said:
going on a cruise from June 11–18, 2011. Will have second day of a Sunday. No Catholic Mass available. What would you do, to fulfill obligation?🤷
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If there is no Mass available there is no obligation. You can’t substitute any other action of the obligation. Check to see if there will be priests on board or if you will be in a port with a Catholic Church.

Otherwise , bring the liturgy of the hours with you and have a prayer/meditation hour for your spiritual edification.
 
achmafooma said:
As others have pointed out, you can obtain a dispensation from your Priest.
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Not “your Priest” but your Pastor. Only your pastor may dispense from the Sunday Obligation.
However, if you are at sea and there is no Priest on board, then I believe that is a valid reason to miss Mass…valid reasons include serious illness, care for an ill child, because no Mass is available where you are, etc. In my opinion, based on my understanding of the Sunday obligation, a dispensation is not strictly necessary. You might seek one anyway just to be on the safe side.
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This is debatable. I would argue that planning a vacation without taking into consideration God, that is your Sunday Obligation, does not negate that Obligation. No one makes a person book a vacation where they can not go to Mass. So doing so does not make it okay to miss, one still needs a dispensation otherwise it is a mortal sin to miss.
 
Holland America and Cunard still have Mass. Celebrity discontinued offering Mass in 2010. It was a great disappointment. When we did a transatlantic cruise with Cunard, one of my greatest pleasures was attending daily Mass.

As a travel agent, I wish people would bring that up as part of their criteria for sailing. I would not like to think that I had a customer with such a dilema, when perhaps I could have advised them differently, Perhaps they could choose for instance, a Sunday sailing, a sailing in which they would be in port on Sunday, a different cruise ship, a different cruise line, etc.

So, in short, for those of you considering a cruise, make sure you give your travel agent as much information as possible so they can help you make the best choice.
 
ByzCath said:
Not “your Priest” but your Pastor. Only your pastor may dispense from the Sunday Obligation.
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Thank you very much for the clarification. I wasn’t aware that it had to the the Pastor (I have never had the need to seek one, since I’m still a relatively new Catholic :)).
ByzCath said:
This is debatable. I would argue that planning a vacation without taking into consideration God, that is your Sunday Obligation, does not negate that Obligation. No one makes a person book a vacation where they can not go to Mass. So doing so does not make it okay to miss, one still needs a dispensation otherwise it is a mortal sin to miss.
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I knew somebody would point this out, which is why I specified that it was my *opinion *that no dispensation was necessary. I am not aware of any definitive decision by the Church on this point (if there were one, I would, of course, obey it).

You are correct that nobody makes you book a cruise or other vacation that interferes with the Obligation…but I think we run the risk of taking that line of thinking too far as well…e.g., “nobody made you become a police officer” or “nobody made you join the Navy.” Obviously these are not really comparable examples, but my point is that where the line really falls between valid and invalid reasons can be quite unclear.

The safest bet is always to discuss it with your Pastor and follow his guidance.
cruiseladytexas said:
Holland America and Cunard still have Mass.
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For what it’s worth, my wife and I have been on two Holland America cruises (both before we crossed the Tiber; we were Methodists at the time). On the first one, there was a Priest on board who offered the Mass. He also did a Sunday non-denominational service, which is where we met him. I believe it was basically just the Liturgy of the Word and the homily, but that was six years ago now so I don’t really remember ;).

On the second one, however, there were no religious services at all and, as far as I know, no Priest on board. I don’t know if this was just a fluke – scheduling problem, maybe? – but I would still recommend contacting the line and confirming whether there will be a Priest on board offering the Mass, even on Holland America.

God bless!
 
achmafooma said:
Thank you very much for the clarification. I wasn’t aware that it had to the the Pastor (I have never had the need to seek one, since I’m still a relatively new Catholic :)).
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No problem. It is only the pastor of a parish who is granted the power to dispense from some things.
I knew somebody would point this out, which is why I specified that it was my *opinion *that no dispensation was necessary. I am not aware of any definitive decision by the Church on this point (if there were one, I would, of course, obey it).
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Yes, it is your opinion, and if I was unclear what I said is my opinion.
You are correct that nobody makes you book a cruise or other vacation that interferes with the Odligation…but I think we run the risk of taking that line of thinking too far as well…e.g., “nobody made you become a police officer” or “nobody made you join the Navy.” Obviously these are not really comparable examples, but my point is that where the line really falls between valid and invalid reasons can be quite unclear.
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I do not see where you are going with this but I will say that I disagree with you. We must all pay the consequences or our choices.
The safest bet is always to discuss it with your Pastor and follow his guidance.
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This is the best advice that could be given. When in doubt speak with your pastor.
 
Well, it looks like I’m going to miss mass this week.

I’m going on cruise and our only day on land will be Saturday 8 AM - 5PM. So no vigil mass there and I’m pretty sure there won’t be any mass on the ship either.

I guess I will pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
 
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