On Mass and Homilies / Sermons

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Pancakes

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Hi all :).

Just a quick question. It would appear that some of the local parishes have more than just 1 Mass on Sundays, and that this is somewhat common (which I figure must mean the churches themselves are a bit bigger). By this, I don’t mean multiple morning ones to cater to as many people as possible, but rather, like, Sunday morning and evening, Monday morning and evening, etc.

The question becomes, if the priest is able to give a Homily / Sermon on the Sunday morning services, what about on the other ones? Obviously there would likely be more than just 1 priest at a larger parish, so it means less stress for the priest in coming up with so many homilies along with their other duties, but can you expect to hear one on, say, a Tuesday evening?

Thanks :).
 
It depends on the priest. Some priests preach at every Mass where there are faithful present; others stick to Sundays and high feast days; still others preach occasionally at weekday Masses, but not all the time. How much they are at liberty in this regard, and to what degree they are bound by universal or particular laws, I do not know.
 
When we are in Portland, Oregon we like to attend one of two churches;
1- Holy Rosary, is a Dominican church with several priests. They celebrate 5 Masses each Sunday plus Saturday igil plus at least two masses each day of the week. Once a month on Saturday morning they do the Dominican low mass. On special feast days they’ll do a Dominican Missa Cantata with the world famous Cantores in Ecclesia.

2 - St Birgitta. They do two Masses each Sunday; one TLM and one OF. They only have one priest, Fr. Luan Tran.
 
If possible Mass is celebrated daily. Only Sunday Mass has two readings and a Gospel reading. The other six days there is one reading and a Gospel reading. Most of the Masses I’ve been to during the week has a homily, but usually not as long as a Sunday homily. Priests study for years to be ordained and they have little to no probably coming up with a homily for each day. All the priest has to do is follow the theme of the reading(s) and Gospel for that day.
 
I go to daily Mass. We only have one priest but there is a homily every day, and there was one also for our previous two priests. If I can’t attend my parish, I go elsewhere…and there is always a homily.
 
Incomplete said:
I go to daily Mass. We only have one priest but there is a homily every day, and there was one also for our previous two priests. If I can’t attend my parish, I go elsewhere…and there is always a homily.
Click to expand...
Same for me…once in awhile at my other parish…there will be a priest that doesn’t give one during the weekday but that is rare.
 
We’ve had 5+ Masses on Sunday…yes, working on a larger building- yes, lots of overflow of people.

I’ve heard the same (very similar, as ours don’t usually use notes) homily given, and even jokes/antecdotes at different Masses, or “that story” which is told on St. Francis feast day, etc. I think ours write one homily, and basically use that one for the masses they are assigned that day.

We usually have short homilies given on weekdays, by our priests or visiting- usually simple reflections, whereas the Sunday homily will be a bit longer, often including some scripture history as well as reflection, etc.
 
Thank you so much for the answers, and that’s pretty cool, being able to attend services daily. One more thing, though (well, two).

1: Does attending, say, a midweek Mass of whatever sort fulfill one’s “obligation” (not entirely sure what the obligation entails, sadly)?

2: If there is a morning and night Mass daily at a certain parish, what about other services, for example Vespers and Matins for the Eastern Catholics?
 
As I understand it the homily is an integral part of the Ordinary Form Mass and is not to be omitted at any Mass… In the Extraordinary Form I don’t think it is required but is reccomended. I know that often at daily Extraordinary Form Masses it is omitted even today.
 
Pancakes,
Your "obligation " is to attend Mass on the Lord’s Day, which is Sunday. So a mid-week Mass does not make this fulfillment. The weekday Mass or daily Mass is like a bonus for your spiritual growth and salvation.

A morning Mass and a later Mass are of equal value. Special devotions such as Vespers and the other Hours are official prayers of the church but they do not substitute for the Mass.

The beauty of the Catholic church is that it is filled with devotions that can assist you to work out your salvation. Some of my favorites are the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary.
 
I was reading the Order of the Mass on my phone (‘Laudate’ Android app), here’s what it says (emphasis = mine):
Then follows the Homily, which is to be preached by a Priest or Deacon on all Sundays and Holydays of Obligation; on other days, it is recommended
Click to expand...
 
Thank you all for the answers: they’ve been extremely helpful :).

I’d like to ask one more question (didn’t want to make another thread given the topic is so similar.

Is the justification for a daily Mass listed in the Lord’s Prayer? ("…Give us this day our daily bread…"?
 
My parish offers daily Mass 3 times a day. There is never a homily at our 6am Mass (:eek:) because our priests realize that people have a limited amount of time before they must drive into work.

A homily is not *required *at daily Mass. When I was able to regularly attend noon Mass there was almost always a homily. When their wasn’t I imagine it had more to do with the priest’s or parish schedule than with the fact that the priest couldn’t think of anything to say.
 
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