We did that in a few parishes to which I belonged. It all had to do with not consecrating too many hosts and preventing the accumulation of consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle. Ideally there should only be enough for the Communion of those who can’t attend and for viaticum. Some parishes might not need to reserve more than 10 at any given time.One other thing that now strikes me as strange was this thing we did with the hosts before Mass. There was a huge bowl of unconsecrated hosts, and a basket at every door. If you were going to receive Communion, you moved a host from the bowl to the basket. I can’t remember if there was some little tongs or if you just picked it up. The hosts were brought up with the gifts at the offertory. I’m sure they had some extra ones too, but all these years later, I’m a little grossed out at all those fingers touching the hosts. I’m sure they had a reason, but yuck.
This happened to me once at a neighboring parish. They had a Thursday evening Mass which meant I could go to Mass on Thursdays. One Thursday I was praying the Evening Prayer and thinking. “Wow. There are a lot of people here…” Then I noticed the white instead of purple. It was December 7. So I had thought about this earlier in the week. But then I had to read the evening I prayer for the Immaculate Conception instead of Thursday evening. It wasn’t a big crowd for a Holy Day but they had the Mass for the Solemnity. I still went to Mass the next day at my parish.But if the Holy Day of Obligation is on Wednesday and you attend Mass on Tuesday evening you have will fulfilled your obligation. It doesn’t matter which Mass is celebrated.
Thank you. Yes, I understand that. This current parish has 3 Masses a day during the week and on Holy Days will schedule 2 evening Masses as well.Sometimes it makes good sense.
Here are a few examples:
Let’s say a parish always has Tuesday evening Mass (so that whose who work have the opportunity for at least one daily Mass each week). If Wednesday is a Holy Day, it makes sense to keep the Tues evening Mass the way it is (since people have already arranged their schedules to keep that day open for Mass)
If the feast is a Saturday (like this year w/ the Assumption) it makes sense to have a Friday evening Mass so that people can atttend the Assumption Mass without the confusion of an Assumption Mass on Sat evening.
That’s not to say that a parish should not have Mass in the morning or noon or any other time on the actual feast day, it’s just to say that there could be circumstances when the “generous” thing to do would be to have that evening-before Mass.
That sounds familiar, but it was a long time ago. I can’t recall when it stopped, but that may be because I moved and they just didn’t do it in New York.We did that in a few parishes to which I belonged. It all had to do with not consecrating too many hosts and preventing the accumulation of consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle. Ideally there should only be enough for the Communion of those who can’t attend and for viaticum. Some parishes might not need to reserve more than 10 at any given time.
Priests normally only do two Masses a day; three if necessary, and more only in extremity. A parish with only one priest can still have one Saturday evening and two Sunday morning Masses on a regular basis. Otherwise, it is just too much, week after week.When I was a kid, there were a lot of people who needed to go to Mass. We had Mass at 6am, 7am, 8am, 10:30am (school children were expected to be at this Mass and we sat together with a nun), then at noon.
I was referring to my parish back in the 1950s and 60s. We always had 3 priests in residence and sometimes the teachers from DuBourg High School said Masses too. We had an early Mass on Saturday morning, and funerals and weddings were after 9am.Priests normally only do two Masses a day; three if necessary, and more only in extremity. A parish with only one priest can still have one Saturday evening and two Sunday morning Masses on a regular basis. Otherwise, it is just too much, week after week.
Very often, there isn’t a regularly-scheduled Saturday morning Mass, because of the high number of weddings and funerals that are done on Saturdays. On a weekend like the last one, however, with the Assumption falling on a Saturday, would be a natural time when a priest might do three Masses: the Feast day, then a wedding or funeral, then the Saturday Vigil would make three.