Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: November 20, 2016
As you know from my mentioning it often here and also from our informal discussions of it at the end of Mass a few weeks ago, I have been seriously considering making some changes in our weekend Mass schedule. This is due primarily for two reasons. The first is my concern for quality worship. The second is that a reduction in Mass schedules across the diocese has been asked by a special Pastoral Planning Task Force set up by Bishop Muench in 2014.
The Task Force seeks not to overburden our dwindling number of priests, none of whom is getting younger. To this end, the Task Force indicated that every parish was to make an annual review of each schedule, and eliminate unnecessary Masses.
What’s an unnecessary weekend Mass, you ask? The first rule-of-thumb in the diocese is one in which the church building is less than half full. That of course applies to all of our Masses! The other criterion is an insistence upon a good celebration of the Eucharist: if a parish cannot supply the necessary numbers of auxiliary ministers like readers, servers, musicians, ushers, sacristans and communion-distributors for its schedule, it has too many Masses. As is readily observable, this is a problem here: we often have only 1 minister serving and assisting with communion, for example, at least twice each weekend.
(There’s another thing that is sometimes applicable, but usually not here: the law of the Church. Canon law actually forbids a priest from offering more than 3 Sunday Masses – and just 2 on weekdays. While that’s not a problem here, it is in some of our rural areas.)
I have found this to be a vexing problem. There is no possible Mass schedule which is ideal for everyone. As a “destination parish,” St. Joseph Cathedral cannot rely on parishioners who live nearby. Almost all of our regular worshippers have gotten used to coming to church at a time which works for them. Few people expressed an interest in focusing on “the big picture,” and instead prefer “no change” over any attempts at improvement. Yet we must not slowly grow to accept an unacceptable situation, namely, of Mass often celebrated without proper participation and attendance, and so of decreasing quality.
So what to do? To make convenience the determining factor seems wrong. So, too, would be pure democracy: if left to a mere vote of participants only the 10 am and 12 noon Sunday Masses would continue. But that doesn’t seem right. The Saturday evening Mass attendance fluctuates the most, depending mostly upon football schedules. Younger families tend to prefer earlier Mass on Sunday morning. Many people love the 10 am Mass due to our wonderful choir, but many others avoid that Mass because it’s usually the lengthiest. My own preference would be to keep the vigil Mass and have 2 Sunday Masses at 8:30 and 10:30 am, but that likely would be most unpopular with the large but often latecoming 12 noon congregation. Having Mass at 9 and 11 am on Sunday would duplicate neighboring Sacred Heart Parish’s schedule exactly. From a diocesan perspective eliminating only the Saturday vigil Mass would be best, since many other alternatives are open to those who prefer that time, but then a time for regular weekend confessions would need adjustment. There’s just no good solution.
Well, the wisdom of the diocesan Task Force was that this should be something that is considered annually, not just “once for all” now. In considering all of the various possibilities, it’s clear that the present moment is not the time for mandating anything. For the next year or two there likely won’t be a NEED to cut back the Mass schedule: my health is pretty good and it’s not likely that St. Joseph Parish will start sharing its pastor with its neighbors within that time. (When that day comes and you have less than one full-time priest, either way, change will happen immediately, of course!)
So I have made the decision that most people think is good news: I have decided that our weekend Mass schedule will not change this year. If directed to revisit this question before next fall I will, of course, but that probably won’t happen.
What we can do in the meantime is make every effort to boost our attendance. If every parishioner would bring a friend to Mass, if every family would invite another one, our beautiful Cathedral would still not be very full at our first three Masses each weekend, but it would make a big difference! We also need more persons to “step up to the plate” and offer to help out as altar servers and communion-ministers, especially at our 4 pm and 8 am Masses. Frankly, I’m going to trust that our good parishioners and friends will let their gratitude prompt renewed interest in “growing our Parish!” Surely your reasons for coming to St. Joseph Cathedral are “worth it” for you: please share our spiritual value with others, for it will be “worth it” for them as well!
Most devotedly yours in the Lord,
Father Paul
