Why don’t they drive back to say Masses for us?Ī.
Religious priests, such as those from Pro Ecclesia Sancta (the sisters who live at our convent are part of this community), are invited but not required to go. Once every two years, all the diocesan priests go to the Presbyteral Assembly, or Priest Convocation, which has three purposes: A chance for the priests to learn from the Archbishop to experience community and relaxation and to discuss important topics in the Archdiocese. Where are all the priests going this week?Ī. Come join us in praying together the Liturgy of the Hours at Mass times this week!ĭirector of Evangelization and Faith Formation Based on the psalms and containing boatloads of Scripture, the Liturgy of the Hours is designed to be a prayer of the community, and while it is required of priests and religious sisters, Vatican II asked that lay people learn and pray it as often as they can. On Tuesday we will pray Evening Prayer, and the rest of the week we will pray Morning Prayer. Since not only our priests but also our deacons will be gone this week, we decided it would be an excellent opportunity to dive into one of Vatican II’s recommendations: To pray the Liturgy of the Hours as a community. Also, there is a deep connection between the Eucharist and bishops, priests, and deacons, so when no priest is around, it’s most fitting for the deacon to lead Communion Services.
What we discovered was that communion outside of Mass is most common for the sick, the homebound, countries with hardly any priests, and emergencies. However, sometimes the Eucharist is distributed outside of Mass. First, why are we not doing Communion Services? Since the Eucharist is consecrated at Mass, the Mass is the best place to receive communion-which we all realize quite naturally. I’ve asked myself that question as well, and the answer was more interesting and more satisfying than I expected. This year, we will instead be celebrating the Liturgy of the Hours. In previous years (and on some other occasions), perhaps we would have gone to a Communion Service. This year, during the Priest Convocation, this means that we can’t receive Jesus every day, as we’re used to. However, for many of us, we don’t have the flexibility to traverse the Twin Cities in search of Mass. Since her calling as a sister makes it essential for her to go to Mass every day, I’m sure she will find some place that still has Mass this week (perhaps using our handy list!). Religious sisters devote themselves so totally to God that their relationship with Jesus is as unique for them as that between husband and wife. She is a religious sister, and actually went to grade school here at Nativity of Mary! Her family still lives in Minnesota, and this very week she is making her triannual visit to see her parents and relatives in the area.Īs you have likely felt yourselves, the absence of the priests right now means that it will be a challenge for her to receive the Eucharist. This is the phrase that my godmother uses to begin all her letters.