St. Joan of Arc
May 30th was the memorial of St. Joan of Arc (though she is not featured on the U.S. liturgical calendar). Not only is she an incredible saint, truly unique in our tradition, but Joan is a family name for me, so I have a special devotion. You can read a fascinating summary of her life at the Pillar. I also highly recommend Mark Twain’s (yes, that Mark Twain) book on her.
Daily Mass Cancelations
I have to cancel 6 daily Masses this month, so I thought I would provide a little reflection on some related things.
The importance of daily Mass is that it is another connection to God in the course of the week. Many people, myself included, love the contrast between the solemnity and pomp of the Sunday Mass and the simplicity and silence of the daily Mass. Having both in my life, even before I became a priest, provided a particular richness. If you have never tried out a daily Mass, I strongly recommend it!
I find many of our daily Mass goers deeply value this mid-week sacrifice, and I have been particularly inspired and impressed by the people who come to the 7:15 a.m. Mass before heading off to work. I know that for many, starting the day with Mass changes the entire tenor of the day, which is why I am so hesitant to cancel any of our daily Masses, even when I am out of town or when I have to celebrate an additional Mass that day (like a funeral). I am also keenly aware that daily-Mass-going and all of our Catholic devotions are habits, and to break that habit even once can sometimes cause a long period of not returning to it. I see this over and over again as I hear the confessions of people finally returning after COVID: once they got out of the habit of Sunday Mass, it was really hard to get back into it.
To date, we have had to cancel very few daily Masses, even when I am on vacation, because of the generosity of Fr. Albie Grasher. But he is the only extra priest in the entire county, meaning he is trying to cover four pastor’s vacations and times away from the parish. The nearest fill-in priest after him is either in the Vancouver Archdiocese or 35 – 60 minutes away in Sedro-Wooley or Oak Harbor. If Fr. Grasher were not here, we would see a ton of canceled daily Masses at every parish in the county (and a much more chaotic scramble for Sunday Masses). And that is what is happening this month: I am gone for two weeks in a row for my personal retreat and then Priest Days, and Fr. Grasher is not available on any of those days (though I suspect for Priest Days it is because a neighboring parish asked him first). None of the other priests (rightly) are willing to drive a 60+ minute round-trip for a 25-minute Mass, so we have to cancel our daily Masses for those weeks.
One of the hopes for Partners in the Gospel is that this will be less of a problem. If each new combined parish has two priests, then the vicar can cover the pastor’s Masses when he is away, and vice-versa. But since our parishes do not coordinate right now, our Masses conflict and that is not possible.
Fr. Moore 