I am preparing for some upcoming vacations, which is the perfect excuse to discuss CANON LAW!!
Can. 533 §2 Unless there is a grave reason to the contrary, the parish priest may each year be absent on holiday from his parish for a period not exceeding one month, continuous or otherwise. The days which the parish priest spends on the annual spiritual retreat are not reckoned in this period of vacation. For an absence from the parish of more than a week, however, the parish priest is bound to advise the local Ordinary.
I am given 30 days (a canonical month) of vacation each year, not counting my annual retreat or my days off.
Can. 276 §1 Clerics have a special obligation to seek holiness in their lives, […] §2 In order that they can pursue this perfection: […] 2° […] priests are therefore earnestly invited to offer the eucharistic Sacrifice daily […]
Notice that this canon says “offer,” not “attend.” Though I have simply attended Masses on my vacation, I try very hard to offer Mass each day, either as the celebrant or concelebrant.
Can. 932 §1 The eucharistic celebration is to be carried out in a sacred place, unless in a particular case necessity requires otherwise; in which case the celebration must be in a fitting place.
Canonically, a sacred place means a place consecrated for worship by a bishop. I have a small travel Mass kit and could celebrate my daily Mass in my hotel rooms (which I have done a few times in my priesthood), but I also try very hard to respect this canon and only celebrate Mass in a church when possible. It is rarely necessary to celebrate outside a church.
Can. 903 A priest is to be permitted to celebrate the Eucharist, even if he is not known to the rector of the church, provided either that he presents commendatory letters, not more than a year old, from his own Ordinary or Superior, or that it can be prudently judged that he is not debarred from celebrating.
Given everything above, the Church has an obligation to make churches available to priests when traveling, which is the purpose of this canon. For centuries, priests would have a card or a letter, called a “celebret”, issued annual by his bishop, which would fulfill this canon. A priest could show up at any church, show his celebret, and be offered an altar to celebrate at. These cards are still accepted in Europe, but after the sex abuse crisis the U.S. bishops decided these cards were too easy to forge, so in this country we have to have our diocesan offices communicate directly with the offices of the diocese we are traveling in, which means that I have to plan my vacation Masses weeks ahead of time. Between finding priests to cover our Masses, and finding places where I can celebrate Mass, preparing for a vacation takes a LOT of time for me. But it is worth it! Vacation refreshes me and gives me renewed perspective. Plus, I have used this canon to celebrate Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Holy Cross Cathedral in Barcelona, and Westminster Cathedral in London.
Fr. Moore 