Must a Priest say Mass Every Day?

by Michael Shackleton · March 24, 2015

Is a priest obliged to celebrate Mass every day of the week? I believe there is a limit to the number of Masses a priest may celebrate on Sundays. If so, what is it? N Pietersen

Priests celebrate Mass at St. Charbel convent in Annaya, Lebanon. (CNS photo/John Kozar, courtesy CNEWA)

Let�s first refer to the importance of the Mass. Expressed very simply: Christ paid the price of all sin by sacrificing his life to the Father in order to save humanity from everlasting ruin.

In the Mass, the same sacrifice is liturgically commemorated when Christ, together with his Church, exercises his priestly office in the celebration of the Eucharist.

�The whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself �through him, with him, in him�, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to God the Father� (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1553).

When a priest offers Mass, it is never his own private prayer. He acts in the name of Christ and at the same time in the name of all the members of the Church. His priesthood is not for his own spiritual advancement but for service of others.

Aware of this great duty and privilege, priests offer the Mass daily. But they are not obliged to do so.

Canon 904 of the Code of Canon Law, noting that the mystery of the eucharistic sacrifice is continually being carried out, urges priests to celebrate �frequently� but also says that �daily celebration is earnestly recommended, because, even if it should not be possible to have the faithful present, it is an action of Christ and of the Church in the carrying out of which priests fulfil their principal role�.

Canon 905 makes the general rule that a priest should not celebrate more than once a day. Of course, in busy parishes a priest may find that he has to offer the regular daily Mass and maybe a funeral or nuptial Mass as well.

The same canon, citing pastoral necessity, allows priests to celebrate two or even three Masses on a Sunday. Due to the scarcity of priests, many of them occasionally cannot avoid exceeding this limit.

Celebrating more than one Mass on a Sunday can be heavy for priests, particularly the elderly and infirm. Aside from also having to preach, the celebrant may hear confessions and attend parish gatherings. Bishops will take note of the health of their clergy and endeavour to lighten the load whenever possible.

If a priest does find it difficult to cope with too many Sunday Masses he can always consider the possibility of reducing their number. He should carefully make a distinction between Masses that are for the convenience of churchgoers and those that he is physically able to handle.