The Church teaches that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. I have also often written and preached that the principal ministry of a priest is the celebration of the sacraments, and in a particular way the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. With that in mind, some of you may be wondering: Why, then, have I canceled Masses?

Before explaining the reasons, I want to make sure everyone is aware of the changes to our Mass schedule. We have discontinued the noon Mass on Mondays and Saturdays, as well as Friday evening confessions and the 5:30 p.m. Mass. I also informed parishioners this Sunday that the final 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Joseph will be celebrated on November 22, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

In short, these decisions are an attempt to follow both universal Church law and the policies of our diocese while making responsible use of the priests available to us.

Canon 905 of the Code of Canon Law establishes the general rule that a priest is not to celebrate Mass more than once a day. When there is a shortage of priests, however, the local ordinary may permit a priest, for a just cause, to celebrate twice in one day and, when pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

Our diocesan policies are intended to apply those provisions responsibly to parish life. Ordinarily, parishes may schedule one Mass on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, for each priest assigned to the parish, while also respecting each priest’s day off, and up to two Sunday Masses per priest. Permission may be given for additional Masses when genuine pastoral necessity requires them.

Bishop Keehner has generously given priests the faculty to celebrate two Masses on weekdays when necessary. But those additional Masses are not intended simply to allow every available slot to be filled with regularly scheduled parish Masses. Priests also need to be available to celebrate funerals, school Masses, nursing home Masses, weddings, and other Masses that arise from the pastoral needs of the people entrusted to their care.

In our case, for example, we provide for the liturgical needs of two schools: Bishop Heelan Catholic High School and Cathedral Dual Language Academy. Each school normally has a Mass every week. We also need to leave room in the schedule for funerals and other pastoral needs that cannot always be predicted in advance.

For example, Fr. Galles’ day off is Monday and mine is Friday. If we simply decided that on those days the other priest would always celebrate both of the previously regularly scheduled parish Masses, we would effectively make every Monday and Friday unavailable for funerals or other Masses that might need to be celebrated. With limited resources, saying yes to one thing often means having to say no to something else.

The same reality applies on Sundays. The bishop considers parish attendance and other pastoral circumstances when deciding whether there is sufficient need for a priest to celebrate a third Mass. In our case, we will need to request permission for one of us to celebrate a third Sunday Mass because we absolutely need our four Spanish-language Masses. Combined, those Masses are already operating above 100 percent of available seating capacity. By contrast, we need only two English-language Masses, where there is still room available.

Is this ideal? No. But the fact that we were able to maintain a particular schedule when three priests were assigned here does not mean that the same schedule can reasonably be maintained with only two.

The question of how many Masses a priest should celebrate in one day is certainly not new. In the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas addressed it in the Summa Theologiae. Citing earlier Church legislation, he wrote that ordinarily one Mass a day was sufficient for a priest, noting that Christ offered Himself once for the redemption of the world. He also repeated a strong warning against priests multiplying Masses for financial gain or simply to win the approval of others.

There is also a very practical consideration that can easily be overlooked. When Mass is celebrated carefully, prayerfully, and worthily, it is demanding. Preparing for Mass, often hearing confessions beforehand, preaching, presiding, praying attentively, and then doing the same thing again at another Mass takes both physical and mental energy. When priests regularly celebrate more than two Sunday Masses, it takes a toll.

We want our Masses to be celebrated well. We should also want our priests to remain healthy and able to serve the Church for many years. Reducing the number of Masses does not mean that we value the Eucharist less. On the contrary, part of valuing the Eucharist is ensuring that the Masses we do celebrate are celebrated with the care and reverence they deserve, while also making it possible for priests to fulfill the other sacramental and pastoral responsibilities entrusted to them.

As we continue National Vocation Awareness Week, please continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood. Pray that young men from our own parish will generously answer the Lord’s call. And please also pray for those of us who have already been ordained, that we may serve you faithfully, generously, and for many years to come.

• Next meal: Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6th.
  
• Next Meeting: November 17, starting with the Holy Rosary at 7pm.
  

Knights and Action: The Knights will be distributing a limited number of children's coats on Sunday, November 8, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass in the Cathedral Hall. If your child is in need of a coat, please stop by. Coats will be available while supplies last.