Shameless whine and rant

[DaveBj]

I missed Mass yesterday, Christmas day.

Let me explain. I work weekend nights, Fri-Sat-Sun, 14-hour shifts with a 10-hour turn-around. Sunday I come home, sleep for a couple hours, get up for 11 AM Mass, come home to sleep for maybe 3 more hours, and then get up for another 14-hour shift with 5 (maybe 6 if I’m really lucky) hours of sleep. Monday mornings I get off at 7, come home and collapse until noon, and then get up and drag thru the day until I can go to bed for a catchup round Monday night.

Our parrish normally schedules a 5:30 PM Mass on holy days of obligation. However, the only Mass yesterday was at 10 (and we didn’t find that out until Sunday morning). Okay, St. Bernard’s Abbey has their daily conventual Mass at 5 PM. So we went out there, and guess what–they had cancelled it and had only one Mass at 11:30. Sacred Heart Monastery and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament don’t have afternoon masses, ever.

rant on

You’d think with a large Catholic parrish and 3 monasteries within a 20-mile radius that SOMEONE would have an afternoon Mass on Christmas that shiftworkers could make.

rant off

There. That feels better. Oh, wait a minute, I wasn’t done:

rant back on

Sunday morning the 11 AM Mass featured the guitar players. Not one Advent or Christmas song was sung.

rant back off

Merry Christmas to everyone.

DaveBj

 

[netmilsmom]

I

Sunday morning the 11 AM Mass featured the guitar players. Not one Advent or Christmas song was sung.

rant back off

Merry Christmas to everyone.

DaveBj

What did they sing?

 

[Deo_Volente]

Grace & Peace!

Dave, while I certainly understand your consternation, coming as it does out of a desire to be with Our Lord in the Sacrament on the Feast of his birth(!), there’s very little precedent for an afternoon Mass anywhere (that I know of), unless it’s the vigil of a feast. And for Christmas itself, there are only three Masses that can be offered, and they capitalize on the association made between the Sun of Justice and our physical sun: Midnight (when the Sun of Justice appears in the midst of our darkness), Dawn (when the Sun of Justic rises in our hearts), Noon (when the Sun of Justice reaches it’s greatest strength). The readings are all different for each service, as well.

So it’s no wonder you couldn’t find a Mass to attend in the afternoon, even with a multitude of potential options available to you! My suggestion? Offer your frustration and love (of which your frustration is a sign) to God, and mention it in confession.

And have a Merry Christmas!

Under the Mercy,
Mark

Deo Gratias!

 

[DaveBj]

What did they sing?

I don’t remember all of them. One of them was “Sing a New Song Unto the Lord;” I do remember that. One of them was from the Marian section of the hymnal. They were all guitar Mass songs from the '60s and '70s.

Mark, that’s about all I can do, and yes, I will be discussing it at my next confession, which will be some time this week.

I am praying for a rationalization of my work schedule. Right now there are 3 of us guarding a construction site, but when the factory comes on line, there will be one guard 24/7, with one more guard days and evenings. At that time I am in line to become site supervisor for the security company. Also, because I lost the rock-scissors-paper game and got stuck on weekend nights again, I’ll have first dibs on the Mon-Fri daytime sked.

DaveBj

 

[netmilsmom]

Grace & Peace!

Dave, while I certainly understand your consternation, coming as it does out of a desire to be with Our Lord in the Sacrament on the Feast of his birth(!), there’s very little precedent for an afternoon Mass anywhere (that I know of), unless it’s the vigil of a feast.

We had a 7:00 pm Holy Mass yesterday and I feel that the Bishop of a Diocese should make sure that his flock has one Holy Mass in the evening.

Personally, I think Dave did not commit a sin at all because he tried.

 

[Deo_Volente]

Grace & Peace!

We had a 7:00 pm Holy Mass yesterday and I feel that the Bishop of a Diocese should make sure that his flock has one Holy Mass in the evening.

Personally, I think Dave did not commit a sin at all because he tried.

Understood, netmilsmon: a dispensation as you suggest would go a long way here!

Regarding whether or not Dave committed a sin, I’m inclined to agree with you. I didn’t suggest he confess it, I just suggested he mention it, with the idea that his priest could give him a word of comfort and would understand Dave’s position if he was concerned re: not seeing Dave at Mass. To be honest, I think Our Lord received Dave’s frustration as an unusual act of spiritual communion.

But other people, I’m sure, would feel differently. And perhaps Dave is one of them. And if he is (and his consternation seems to suggest that he’s upset about missing Mass), it’s definitely something to bring up in confession, regardless of whether or not you or I think it worthy of mention.

Dave, I hope your work schedule gets a little less crazy in the New Year!

Under the Mercy,
Mark

Deo Gratias!

 

[netmilsmom]

!

Regarding whether or not Dave committed a sin, I’m inclined to agree with you. I didn’t suggest he confess it, I just suggested he mention it, with the idea that his priest could give him a word of comfort and would understand Dave’s position if he was concerned re: not seeing Dave at Mass. To be honest, I think Our Lord received Dave’s frustration as an unusual act of spiritual communion.

Deo Gratias!

Agreed!

 

[LilyM]

I missed Mass yesterday, Christmas day.

Let me explain. I work weekend nights, Fri-Sat-Sun, 14-hour shifts with a 10-hour turn-around. Sunday I come home, sleep for a couple hours, get up for 11 AM Mass, come home to sleep for maybe 3 more hours, and then get up for another 14-hour shift with 5 (maybe 6 if I’m really lucky) hours of sleep. Monday mornings I get off at 7, come home and collapse until noon, and then get up and drag thru the day until I can go to bed for a catchup round Monday night.

Our parrish normally schedules a 5:30 PM Mass on holy days of obligation. However, the only Mass yesterday was at 10 (and we didn’t find that out until Sunday morning). Okay, St. Bernard’s Abbey has their daily conventual Mass at 5 PM. So we went out there, and guess what–they had cancelled it and had only one Mass at 11:30. Sacred Heart Monastery and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament don’t have afternoon masses, ever.

rant on

You’d think with a large Catholic parrish and 3 monasteries within a 20-mile radius that SOMEONE would have an afternoon Mass on Christmas that shiftworkers could make.

rant off

There. That feels better. Oh, wait a minute, I wasn’t done:

rant back on

Sunday morning the 11 AM Mass featured the guitar players. Not one Advent or Christmas song was sung.

rant back off

Merry Christmas to everyone.

DaveBj

I also sympathise hugely with your predicament. However, I live close to the very centre of a major city of almost 4.5 million people (namely Sydney). We had only one church in the area that had Mass after noon. I believe the Cathedral itself didn’t. Priests work a lot harder than usual at Christmas even without putting on afternoon masses as well.