The
Priest’s Daily Mass
Canon 904 of the New Code of Canon Law (1983) states,
“Remembering always that in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice the work
of redemption is continually being carried out, priests are to celebrate
frequently. Indeed, 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
principle role.” Thus the urging of daily celebration is clearly stated as
against the provision of the old Canon Law (Canon 805) of 1917. According to
this, a priest was obliged to say Mass only “several times a year”, although
Bishops were to see to it that their priests celebrated every Sunday and
holyday of obligation.
The present canon does not lay down a minimum; it
champions a daily celebration, thereby making the action as universally
pastoral as the action of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. According to
Vatican II, the priest, by celebrating Mass, fulfils his principal priestly
rationale. “In the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, in which priests
fulfil their principal function, the work of our redemption is continually
carried out. For this reason, the daily celebration of it is earnestly
recommended. This celebration is an act of Christ and the Church, even if it is
impossible for the faithful to be present” (Decree on the Life and Ministry of
Priests, art. 13). This recommendation is continuous with the inspiration of
that great and pastoral pope, Paul VI, who stated in his encyclical, “Mysterium
Fidei”, 3 September 1965, “The Mass, even though it is celebrated privately is
still not private, but is the act of Christ and the Church. For every Mass that
is celebrated is offered not merely for the salvation of some souls but for
that of the whole world. Therefore, we recommend with paternal insistence to
priests, who are our special joy and our crown in the Lord, that they celebrate
Mass worthily and devoutly every day.”
Indeed, so weighty is this recommendation of the late
Pope Paul VI and of the present Canon Law, that, in order to follow it, a
priest is allowed to override the rule of Canon 906 that requires the
participation of at least one of the faithful at Mass. No priest who
appreciates the tremendous value of the Mass as the Christ action of restoring
the whole of material and rational creation to the Father will hesitate to
offer the daily Eucharist or feel alone in doing so, the more so that he
believes he does not belong to himself but to Christ, the Church, and humanity;
he in fact acts “in persona Christi.”
In his encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.
29, the late Pope John Paul II reminds the priest that “in persona” does
not mean “in the name of” or “in the place of” Christ, but means a specific
sacramental identification with the Eternal High Priest who is the author and
principal subject of his one and eternal self-offering. This is more than a
perception of the liturgy, which is deep enough, but is a profound truth of the
very assumption of the priest in his existent self to the very personal and
eternal action of the Son of God turned towards the Father. And even though the far-from-impeccable
priest is conscious of his moral and spiritual frailty, he is swept up into
this Son’s powerful movement as a representative of the Christian community and
of humanity, indeed, of the whole of creation in their adoration and praise of
the Eternal Father. He, therefore, need not deny himself this privilege beyond
all telling but ride on it daily for the good of his people and his own.
If it is to be truly effective, the
renewal of the invitation to every priest to celebrate daily Mass (cf. Redemptionis
Sacramentum, n. 110) – an invitation of the Second Vatican Council that the
late Pope John Paul II made his very own (cf. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n.
31) – will require of parish priests and rectors sincere and generous
availability to ensure that every brother priest truly has an opportunity to
celebrate the holy mysteries fittingly everyday, loyally complying with the
liturgical norms.
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