THE PRIEST'S DAILY MASS

                                                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, St. 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 Saint 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 Saint 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.