Well, if I ever had any doubts about why Canon Law restricts the number of Masses a priest may celebrate in a day, those doubts have been resolved! Between the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas I presided at 10 liturgies (including sung Evening Prayer on Sunday night) and preached at 9 of them in 67 hours.
Let me say at the top here, I'm neither bragging nor complaining about this liturgical marathon - nor do I imagine that I hold some sort of record. I'm sure many other pastors had an even more demanding schedule - and keep in mind that all my liturgies were in one town in one church!
I'm writing about this because it is increasingly the experience of most pastors. Many share my experience of regularly celebrating four Masses (one anticipated) on a regular weekend. But when Advent IV snuggles up close to Christmas Eve, that's a workout.
I'm 60 years old and still up to the challenge, but I know the time will come before I retire when such a schedule will be beyond my reach. And if support from other priests is not available, something or someone is going to have to give. Now is the time for dioceses and parishes to begin to plan for that time.
The demands of such a schedule are both draining and rewarding. By the time I got to the 10:30 Mass this morning, I had just about enough gas left in my tank to keep me going. But the church was just about full and the folks who had assembled were ready to celebrate Christmas!
What keeps me going through such a schedule is a liturgical praxis in the parish which I know provides a substantial and beautiful music ministry, a competent proclamation of the scriptures, solid preaching and a core assembly of believers who respond robustly in prayer, song and rite. The many who "come home" for Christmas or who are visiting in our parish will experience a strong celebration of praise and thanks to God. That's rewarding!
You might wonder, "Couldn't ConcordPastor find any priest to help? Well, recently a priest on our seminary staff began to preside at one Mass a weekend, a couple of times a month. He was not, however, available either on Advent IV or for Christmas. I'm grateful for what he can offer especially because I know that he presides prayerfully and reverently, that he understands the liturgy and that he is a strong preacher. These are sine quae non for anyone who wants to vest in our sacristy for Sunday worship.
Another consideration is the role of the pastor (and a parochial vicar, should there be one) for celebrations like Christmas. It's not a bad thing at all that faithful parishioners should want to celebrate Christmas with a priest who leads their prayer in ordinary times. And certainly there's a value in play when those parishioners who have "come home" for Christmas are led in worship by the priest who is assigned by the diocesan church to care for their spiritual lives.
On the one hand I was a bit relieved to have our deacon preach at the last Christmas liturgy this morning. On the other hand, I was jealous of his opportunity to break open the Word for a church full of people, many of whom are not often with us.
A number of competing "goods" are at work here and the issues are complex.
I'd be interested in hearing from readers who went to Mass in their own parish and were led in prayer by a visiting priest. Does this make a difference to you? Is it sometimes helpful? What do you see in the future? Do you have any questions about a pastor's experience of this phenomenon?
(Note: please don't identify your parish because that information is not necessary here.)
P.S. ConcordPastor is on Cape Cod for a few days relaxing!
I went to the Prelude Concert and Midnight Mass. Absolutely beautiful! Every aspect of the service - music, homily, your Christmas letter, etc., was so inspirational. Thank you, Concord Pastor. I have sent an e-mail to Jim expressing my gratitude to him and all of the musicians. Personally, I think it just wouldn't be the same without you as the celebrant. I know you must be worn out after the marathon and hope you are enjoying a respite on the Cape. One thing about you, you put your heart and soul in to everything you do for us. I for one am most grateful. Joyful, peaceful, hopeful Christmas to you.
ReplyDeleteYou had 10 liturgies and the deacon only preached once? Sounds like some of your overload was self-inflicted.
ReplyDeleteFrMichael
A reminder: Please refrain from identifying your parish, even if it's Holy Family :-)
ReplyDeleteFrMichael: I feel tired, not afflicted. (As I noted in my post,
ReplyDeleteit was neither a brag nor a complaint.) On a regular weekend I preach at 3 or all 4 of the Masses. I consider this one of the most important ministries I have as a pastor and it is one of the greatest joys of my life. Truth be told, I find preaching invigorating and I might have felt less tired after the 10th liturgy had I preached it. Real relief would have been the availability of a solid presiding, preaching presbyter for one of the Christmas morning Masses.
I wrote the post aware that for the past nearly 30 years I have been in assignments where pretty much only the assigned/resident priests preached at Sunday Masses (I've been assigned alone for 18 of those years while for the other 12 years the assignments included two priests). I'm aware that in many parishes, especially in my part of the vineyard, it's not unusual to regularly have visiting priests preach on weekends.
I know that my experience has shaped both my practice and my expectations but I believe that's been in a positive direction.
Over the past several years I've had occasional weekend support from young priests who are PhD students in the local area. I've been pleased to provide them with a place to begin their preaching ministry and a little mentoring.
Most of all, I'm pleased for the people of my parish to hear another "voice" breaking open the scriptures. I hope that the priest from the seminary staff who just began assisting me will be able to do so for a long time for just that reason.
Concord Pastor,
ReplyDeleteI am seldom as satisfied with homilies when there is a visiting priest although I find it interesting to hear their approach and watch their development. I also fully appreciate that they are doing all of us a service: to you for some liturgical relief and to us because in having the load reduced for you, we all gain. I think that having a regular ordained priest help out is a positive thing.
... and for some of us for whom Concord is too far away and have no church to call our "home" , we celebrated Christ's birth with a service in our home with our extended family... and it was incredibly powerful for all of us who gathered in His Name...
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous 12:07pm-
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your "home service" idea. I too am remote from Concord and without a positive, local, Catholic parish with which to identify. I will now consider sharing/creating this type of service with friends.