Note Concerning Mass Changes at the Cathedral

February 23, 2018
 
 
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
 
I begin this pastoral letter, with great joy and thanksgiving to God our Father for having brought me, through his grace and providence, to serve this wonderful Cathedral parish of St. Mary’s. At my Installation Mass, Bishop Zurek reminded us all of the importance of the Cathedral parish, to serve as a model to the whole diocese in the areas of charity, art, teaching, hospitality, and liturgy.
 
I want to thank the ministers and the lay faithful in the pew who make our current liturgies so rich and beautiful. Another way to enhance the quality of our weekend liturgies, as envisioned by Church teaching, Canon Law, and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, is to be careful not to have too many Masses on a weekend, especially on Sunday.
 
After much consultation, study, prayer, and discernment, and in accord with the results of the Mass times survey, the desire of the parish council, and that of Bishop Zurek, I hereby announce the discontinuation of the Sunday 5:00pm Mass, effective the last Sunday of this Lenten Season. To be clear, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 18, 2018, will be the last Sunday 5:00p.m. Mass. Beginning Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Sunday, March 25, 2018, the contemporary music group will move from Sunday’s at 5:00p.m. to each Sunday at 12:00p.m.
 
As a Canon Lawyer, I love to expose people to the hidden beauty of the Law. A good and timely example of this is Canon 905.1&2. Behind it’s legal language lies a pastoral sensitivity for the spirituality of the priest, and the opportunity for enhancing good liturgy in the parish. Canon 905.1&2 states:

 

1. A priest is not permitted to celebrate the Eucharist more than once a day except in cases where the law permits him to celebrate or concelebrate more than once on the same day.
2. If there is a shortage of priests, the local ordinary can allow priests to celebrate twice a day for a just cause, or if pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

 
This law serves to ensure that the manner of celebrating by priests does not become too hurried or routine due to the pressures of multiple Masses. Through his teaching and homilies, Bishop Zurek has reinforced what is envisioned in the law and the importance of care-taking a priest’s own spirituality and health. By natural extension, we must also caretake the spirituality and health of our deacons, music ministers, liturgical ministers, and all those involved in Sacred Liturgy.
 
This law also serves to enhance our experience at Mass. An additional Mass should only be offered when the church is unable to accommodate all the faithful who wish to attend. The commentary also states that the mere convenience of the faithful would not be adequate reason for a priest to celebrate multiple Masses unless a sufficient number of them could not otherwise attend.
 
The Apostolic See discourages the multiplication of Masses when a church is large enough to accommodate the faithful at a smaller number of Masses. According to Eucharisticum Mysterium 26, the pastoral effort is weakened by multiple Masses because the participation of the people in a scattered congregation is diminished and the effectiveness of overworked priests is reduced. Multiple Masses leading to a half full church on the Lord’s Day tend to detract from the value of the Eucharist as a sign and source of ecclesial unity.
 
All of this serves as a valuable backdrop to our own local reality here at St. Mary’s Cathedral. After my arrival here, I immediately began to review the results of the Mass times survey and the final report the survey committee presented to the parish council. I want to thank all those involved in the survey, it has provided valuable statistical data that certainly has helped the survey team to present their findings to the parish council, and has helped me in the decision I have made. 
 
I would like to remind you of a few points/facts that were taken into consideration in making this decision.
 

1. Although, currently blessed with a fine parochial vicar, there is no guarantee, because of so many sick priests, and the general dearth of priests in our diocese, we will be able to maintain two priests in this parish. We must look to the day (sadly sooner than later) when St. Mary’s, like almost every other parish in our diocese, will be considered a one priest parish. Fr. Grant and Fr. Nicholas of St. Laurence Parish are already being sent out as needed to assist in other parishes throughout the diocese.

 

2. The priest’s spirituality and health must be protected by avoiding a multiplication of Masses that are not full. Please remember on any given weekend, in addition to the regularly scheduled Masses, a priest will often be called upon to celebrate a funeral, a marriage, a baptism outside of Mass, and/or a quinceañera celebration.

 

3. The best opportunity for good liturgy is a full community coming together in Word and Sacrament, rather than spread out in several smaller, less attended Masses. Having fewer Masses will aid us, through full Masses, in building the ecclesial unity as envisioned by the Church.

 

4. Great consideration has been given to the needs, desires, and availability of our musical ministers in discerning the reconfiguration of Mass times.  We want to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure our musical ministers will continue in their ministry that is absolutely integral to good liturgy. Efforts to find additional musical ministers to assist have not been successful.

 
Discontinuing a well established Sunday Mass is never an easy thing to do or accept. I pray all those effected will prayerfully consider all of the pastoral and liturgical reasons as to why this decision has been made. Let us pray for our priests, let us pray for an increase in vocations in our diocese, let us pray for all of our liturgical ministers, and let us pray for and support all of the wonderful members of St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish. May the decision made today lead us to the ecclesial unity and communion envisioned by Mother Church. May St. Mary’s Cathedral always be a model of good liturgy and most importantly, ecclesial unity for the whole diocese.
 
Sincerely Yours in the Peace and Unity of Christ,

Msgr. Michael Colwell
Rector