One of the most controversial things a pastor can do in a parish is change Mass times. Even a change of just half an hour is enough to cause consternation and ire among Mass-goers. It also causes confusion, which may lead to some people missing Mass on a particular Sunday.
For example, at the beginning of last year, we switched a Sunday afternoon Mass to the morning, and while all parishioners are now familiar with this schedule, we get visitors once in a while who come at the old Mass time, just because they remember that used to be our schedule.
Yet there are times when the pastor has no choice but to change the parish Mass schedule. For example, if a parish is used to having two priests but suddenly goes to one, the number of Masses that can be celebrated there will have to change, and therefore, so will the Mass times. That is because church law sets the maximum number of Masses that a priest can celebrate.
Canon 905 §1 states, “A priest is not permitted to celebrate the Eucharist more than once a day except in cases where the law permits him to celebrate or concelebrate more than once on the same day.”
As a general rule, as we can see, a priest should not celebrate or concelebrate more than one Mass on any given day, although there are exceptions. One such exception is November 2, or All Souls Day, as the church has granted the privilege to all priests to celebrate three Masses under very specific conditions.
Paragraph 2 of the same canon expands on the possible exceptions: “If there is a shortage of priests, the local ordinary can allow priests to celebrate twice a day for a just cause, or if pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays and holy days of obligation.” Here, we see three conditions for a priest to be able to offer up to two Masses, either as the main celebrant or concelebrant. The first condition is that there is a shortage of priests, the second is that there is a just cause, and the third is that the ordinary, which is the bishop or vicar general, allows it. On Sundays and holy days of obligation, a priest may celebrate even three Masses, as long as the same three conditions are met and if there is pastoral necessity.
Something that is not spelled out, but that is easy to deduce from the above-mentioned canon, is that while we normally see Saturdays as akin to Sunday because it’s part of the weekend, the restrictions in terms of Masses are the same as for weekdays; that is, a priest can only celebrate one Mass, and when all three conditions are met, he can celebrate or concelebrate a second Mass.
In the Diocese of Sioux City, Bishop Nickless has enacted particular law that dictates how many public Masses can be scheduled in a parish on any given day. This policy for parishes is intended to assist pastors in adhering to Canon 905 as stated above.
In this diocese, a parish can schedule one Mass per priest assigned Monday through Saturday, and up to two on Sunday. So, a parish that has two priests assigned can have a regular schedule with up to two Masses Monday through Friday, and up to four on Sunday. A parish with one priest can only schedule up to one Mass Monday through Saturday, and up to two on Sunday.
A caveat here is that priests are entitled to a day of rest, and there should be no scheduled Mass on that day. So, a parish with one priest will have a weekday with no Mass, and a parish with two priests may have a day with no Masses, if both priests take the day off, or two days with one Mass only if the priests take different days off.
While the law strongly recommends that each priest celebrates Mass each day, he is not required to, and even if he does, this policy allows him to celebrate his Mass whenever he is able, and not be constrained to a schedule.
At this point, I can already hear some of you asking, but aren’t we experiencing a shortage of priests in the diocese? Why wouldn’t Bishop Nickless allow priests to have two Masses on weekdays? And the answer is that yes, there is a shortage of priests in our diocese, and yes, Bishop Nickless has allowed all priests to celebrate up to two Masses, the limit allowed by law, for all priests.
While our particular law establishes that the parish can only schedule one Mass per priest assigned there on most days, the intention is that the priest is available to take another Mass, which could be a funeral, a school Mass, a wedding, a nursing home Mass, or a special Mass for a particular reason. If a parish scheduled two Masses per priest on any given day, then Father would be unable to celebrate funerals, school or nursing home Masses, or even weddings on Saturday.
The same thing applies to Sunday. Considering the maximum number of Masses is three, and that parishes in the diocese are only allowed to schedule two Masses per priest, this frees the priest to celebrate a third Mass on particular occasions when the need arises, for example to offer coverage for a brother priest, or for a special patronal feast.
If your pastor tells you that he cannot celebrate a second wedding or funeral on the same day, please understand it is not out of laziness, but out of obedience. At our ordination, we promise to be obedient to our bishop, and to adhere to church law, even if unpopular or misunderstood at times.