7th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mass & Worship Schedules

Greetings in the name of the Lord:

As we journey through the Beacons of Light process, each family of parishes is to develop a realistic Mass schedule based on the availability of the pastor and parochial vicars. Everything begins with the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist according to the Beacons of Light Pastoral Planning Pathway.

Regarding Sunday worship, we find the following: “The Sunday Eucharist is the essential gathering of the parish community each week.” The key word in this statement is “essential.” The Sunday celebration is essential to the parish community each week.

Each priest is permitted to celebrate 2 Masses on a Sunday. The parameters of Beacons of Light state that the Mass schedule is to be realistic based on the pastor and the number of parochial vicars, and not rely on retired priests. Furthermore, Masses in which a church is less than 50% full should be combined with another Mass so that the church is at least 50% full. This leads to a higher quality celebration and sense of community. As we move forward toward July 1, 2025 and the appointment of the next pastor of our family of parishes, which I hope is me, we should expect consultation, planning, and changes for the Sunday Mass schedule. We are not guaranteed to always have 2 parochial vicars.

We also have to be realistic with the weekday Mass schedule, which is not essential like the Sunday Mass schedule. On weekdays, a priest is permitted to celebrate one Mass and, when needed, an additional Mass such as a funeral Mass, a wedding Mass, or a Vigil Mass of a Holy Day. Again, the regular Mass schedule is to be covered by the pastor and the parochial vicars and not rely on retired priests.

There has been a custom of adding a Noon Mass on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during Lent and Easter at St. Vivian Church. This year, I have decided that we will not have the Noon Mass for Lent and Easter due to the parameters set by Beacons of Light. I know this is disappointing for the people that come to the Noon Mass. The good news is that there are options in the area, especially a Noon Mass every Wednesday in our family of parishes at our St. Bernard campus.

In addition, another schedule change coming to our family of parishes is in regard to the 6:15 am weekday Communion Service at St. Bartholomew Church. In Early 2013, Archbishop Schnurr gave directives that Communion Services are only to be held when a parish or pastoral region does not offer a Mass on a given weekday. This directive continues today with Beacons of Light, and Communion Services in our Archdiocese are now intended for Sundays when there is no availability of a priest.

An important reality when it comes to the Holy Eucharist is that during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at the Consecration and Words of Institution, we are fully participating in the sacrifice on Calvary. In other words, the Mass makes present the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. A Communion Service does not have this central dimension of our faith. Furthermore, when it comes to the Eucharist and the parameters of Beacons of Light, a Communion Service is not essential, since we have regular access to the Holy Eucharist throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. From the geographic center of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes, you can find 56 Catholic parishes within a 20-minute drive.

Since there is the opportunity for Mass in our family of parishes on weekdays Monday through Saturday, the final 6:15 am Communion Service will be Friday, February 28, 2025. We would like to thank Mrs. Mary Hoffman for her faithful dedication to leading the Communion Service. It is important for us to remember that our Mass schedule for Sundays and weekdays are not for an individual parish, but for the entire family of parishes. We are one family with 5 campuses.

Finally, at the St. Vivian campus for the season of Lent, we are going to have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from Noon to 1:00 pm with the opportunity for Confessions. On Wednesday evenings, we will continue our soup suppers and faith formation talks for adults. More details to come on the location and time of these suppers.

Yours in Christ:
—Fr. Haft