Weekday Communion Service Without A Priest

[The Bus Station]

I unknowingly walked into one of these this morning, thinking I was going to Mass.  Later found out that it was held because our diocesan priests are on retreat this week.  The whole service was done very reverently, but I didn't quite know what to make of it.  Is it better to have a weekday communion service or to just hold out until Sunday when a priest can say Mass?

Edited October 8, 2014 by The Bus Station

[puellapaschalis]

As a personal opinion, communion services should be avoided unless it's a) a Sunday and b) the distance to the nearest Mass is prohibitive. And even then I'd set that distance pretty high.

[Basilisa Marie]

Communion services are just fine, because they act as a stop-gap for realities like priests having other obligations that prevent them from being able to say mass at their parish, without sacrificing a community's opportunity to come together in prayer and receive communion. As long as they aren't seen as a "replacement" for a mass or done in an irreverent way, I see no problem. It's a reality that comes with a priest shortage, and whether or not they're a good thing really depends on how and why they're being done. 

 

Some people don't like them, and would rather wait until they can attend mass on Sunday, and that's perfectly fine too.

[blazeingstar]

It's a reverent way to distribute communion when Mass is unavailable.  Don't make more of it than it is.  I know at a local church we have communion service (ironically also on Wednesdays, during the normal Daily Mass time) in order to allow the priest to say Mass at a nursing home dementia wing (not open to the public).

[Amppax]

Communion services are just fine, because they act as a stop-gap for realities like priests having other obligations that prevent them from being able to say mass at their parish, without sacrificing a community's opportunity to come together in prayer and receive communion. As long as they aren't seen as a "replacement" for a mass or done in an irreverent way, I see no problem. It's a reality that comes with a priest shortage, and whether or not they're a good thing really depends on how and why they're being done. 

 

Some people don't like them, and would rather wait until they can attend mass on Sunday, and that's perfectly fine too.

 

This largely is the same as what the bishops said. Yay! 

 

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/weekday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest.cfm

[puellapaschalis]

This largely is the same as what the bishops said. Yay! 

 

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/weekday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest.cfm

 

...as what the US bishops said.

 

FTFY.
 

[Basilisa Marie]

This largely is the same as what the bishops said. Yay! 

 

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/weekday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest.cfm

 

:bananarap:

 

*drops mic* 

[Gabriela]

I unknowingly walked into one of these this morning, thinking I was going to Mass.  Later found out that it was held because our diocesan priests are on retreat this week.  The whole service was done very reverently, but I didn't quite know what to make of it.  Is it better to have a weekday communion service or to just hold out until Sunday when a priest can say Mass?

 

Are you in Indiana? Cuz where I live, it's the same thing this week.

 

:-/

[LouisvilleFan]

I unknowingly walked into one of these this morning, thinking I was going to Mass.  Later found out that it was held because our diocesan priests are on retreat this week.  The whole service was done very reverently, but I didn't quite know what to make of it.  Is it better to have a weekday communion service or to just hold out until Sunday when a priest can say Mass?

 

Sunday Mass is an obligation, so I don't see how it compares to an optional weekday Communion Service. You would receive the same grace from Holy Communion regardless. 

[truthfinder]

Sunday Mass is an obligation, so I don't see how it compares to an optional weekday Communion Service. You would receive the same grace from Holy Communion regardless. 

There are still additional graces from the Mass itself. If you couldn't receive Communion, where does that leave you?

[Amppax]

...as what the US bishops said.

 

FTFY.
 

 

Meh, on a forum based in the US, talking to someone from the US, I don't feel the need to be specific. Thanks though. 

[The Bus Station]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. :)

 

 

Are you in Indiana? Cuz where I live, it's the same thing this week.

 

No, curiousing, I am not in Indiana -- funny coincidence! ... or conspiracy :ninja:

Edited October 13, 2014 by The Bus Station