Just One Half Hour?

For many American Catholics, morning Mass is typical, with Mass offered in many parishes only in the morning on weekdays; consequently, this poses a problem for a lot of the faithful’s schedules.

Well I made it again to Adoration today. It was just a few minutes with 3 of my children after work, but it was time well spent with Our Lord and each other. It is a great blessing that our parish has Adoration from after the 7AM Mass, until 9PM. It allows many to attend  at a time that works with their schedules. Now as I said in my last post, I shouldn't make excuses for why I don't go often, but I am fortunate to have a nearby chapel that's open when I'm free. 

I also like to attend daily Mass when I can, but the reality of Mass times versus my work/home/other times usually doesn't work out. I leave the house for my hour-long commute around 6-6:30 AM and hope to get home before 5. By the time my wife and I get the children (and grandparents) settled after dinner, it's time for prayer and we get them to bed. This is usually around 7,  not counting if if I have a rehearsal or my wife needs to run errands. 

Most parishes around here have daily Mass between 7-9 AM on weekdays. With the exception of Saturday, getting to Mass is impossible. Yes, God is first in my life but I need to attend to the temporal welfare of my family, i.e. get to work on time to pay the bills.

Is a 5:15 during the week too much to ask???

I know our priests are stretched but maybe some variety in parish schedule would be helpful. If not, daily Mass will remain limited to mostly retirees. In an article for The National Catholic Register, writer John Grondelsk explains just that. He also mentions how Confession should be offered more than just prior to 4PM Mass on Saturday. I couldn't have expressed this better myself. If we really want to bet serious about evangelizing and bringing in those on the periphery, we need to schedule Sacraments when people are available, even if it falls outside of "normal business hours." 

I am thankful that a new pastor local to me has done some of this with his confession schedule. Let's hope this trend continues. 

Have a blessed week....