While we had a lovely Christmas dinner here at our farm I'm sad to report that our parish, lacking a local resident priest, had to endure this most holy and sacred season without mass.
Due to bad weather we were not able to celebrate the last Sunday of Advent. We had no Vigil of the Nativity and we had no Christmas mass on Christmas day. This was a great cross to bear, for to remain home without the ability to meet with the Chist Child in the Blessed Sacrament, to not be able to kneel in our pews and worship together on this most holy of nights and days...
We will have mass today and also tomorrow afternoon. But as for the rest of the holy Octave of Christmas, nothing. We are once again on our own without access to the sacraments, without mass during this most holy and sacred week. Our parish priest is stretched so thin that we only have mass twice a week here in our parish.
Before anyone gets defensive: I am not criticizing. I am merely stating fact. Our beloved parish priest is doing his very best ~ he's only one person amongst several parishes, with a large body of water standing between us and him. The man can only do so much ~ and he is doing far too much as it is. Please, ask God to bless us with a resident priest so that we will have mass, confession, a priest to comfort us in our dark hours ~ and for our parish priest to get a well deserved rest from his constant travels to these islands.
I am asking for prayers because this is indeed a sorrowful situation. This Christmas was very difficult. It is difficult not having a resident priest, holidays or not: what would happen if one of us was going to die? We would not have access to the sacraments in our last hour. What do we do as we struggle with our daily lives? With our own private and also communal tradgedies and challenges? How do we observe the Catholic holy days, the feast days, basically the majority of the Liturgical year without mass?? We are very much cut off.
Please, Catholic men, if you hear God calling you to the priesthood... have courage and answer:
We need you.
God bless you and thank you, in the name of the Christ Child, our newborn King.
A Bishop's Alb
-
From *Vive la Reine*:
*Lace worn by Madame Elisabeth, the sister of Louis XVI. It was given to
the Bishop Dupanloup in the 19th century by the only surviv...
1 hour ago
10 comments:
Could not one of the monks from Papa Stronsay been invited to say Mass for Christmas. I know it would have been the Tridentine Mass but so what?
Like any franchising business in the doldrums, it's time to broaden your base. High time that catholic women should be priests. Or can god not talk to women?
I don't understand the situation but there's some kind of political in-fighting in the Church that's keeping the Latin mass on the fringes like some kind of crime. And/or mental illness.
And so yes, there are priests on Papa Stronsay and yes, they can and would help us, but they say that big bad Latin mass that's oh-so-threatening to the rotation of the earth on her axis. Probably might warp the universe too, if we're not careful.
Therefore I suppose it's far better that the faithful go completely without mass or confession, devotions, the sacraments, etc etc and even the aid of a priest if we're facing death... rather then be exposed to those harmful Latin rays??
Yeah... priorities, I susppose.
"High time that catholic women should be priests. Or can god not talk to women?"
Funny... but those churches that are now mostly run by/served by women "priests" are not only facing an even more extreme vocations crisis, but they're losing parishoners at an alarming rate as well.
Doesn't seem like a very good solution if you ask me.
"...those churches that are now mostly run by/served by women "priests" are not only facing an even more extreme vocations crisis, but they're losing parishoners at an alarming rate as well."
Do you have any evidence to support this view? Why can't women get things running well in a church?
If women are so destructive to the clergy, what about married men becoming priests?
"Do you have any evidence to support this view? Why can't women get things running well in a church?"
I have many friends in the Church of Scotland and Episcopal Church and they all say that in churches that have women ministers the attendances have fallen. Christ only had men at the Last Supper which was not only the first Mass but the first ordination service too. There is no shortage of vocations among the orders who say the Tridentine Mass, in fact the Society of St. Pius X has grown from one seminary to seven.
"I have many friends in the Church of Scotland and Episcopal Church and they all say that in churches that have women ministers the attendances have fallen. "
Church attendances are falling accross all faiths & congregations in Scotland, it can't all be the women ministers fault surely?
Again, what do you actually think the problem with women leading a congregation is, apart from simply being female?
"Christ only had men at the Last Supper which was not only the first Mass but the first ordination service too."
Ok, that's lovely - but still begs the question, what are the gender qualities possesed by women that Jesus thought made them unsuitable to minister?
We endured a similar situation for many years and, in fact, brought our children up in the faith without an EF Mass available on a Sunday. It can be done but it's not pleasant or easy.
We used to do what they did in Reformation times and say a "dry" Mass amongst ourselves and that kept the spark alight.
Will remember your need in our prayers.
Thanks be to God, a missionary priest has volunteered to celebrate Holy Week with us.
And, though I stand ready to be corrected, my understanding is that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have faculties to hear confessions anywhere in the diocese of Aberdeen. And where there is the danger of death, any priest may hear a confession and administer the last rites. So we're not quite as cut off from grace as we might sometimes feel!
That said, it is a great shame that we have only two Masses a week in our parish church, and are unable to attend Mass on Christmas day, Ascension day, & other great feasts that happen to fall on inconvenient days! You would hope someone at diocesan HQ would be trying to sort this out ...
SO happy to hear about the good missionary priest that will come to us for Holy Week!!!!!
Post a Comment