Saturday morning Mass

Many of our local parishes used to have Saturday morning Mass (my old home parish didn't). As the number of priests decreased, parishes began to give up on the Masses.

Near me, there's only one parish within a reasonable drive (about 15 minutes in good weather) that has a Saturday morning Mass, so I go there. I've noticed a number of people from other parishes, and from the other Franciscan fraternity, there. (There were four Franciscans there this morning!) It's nice to have that contact.

I know daily Mass is not required of lay people, but it's a nice spiritual practice. During summers I try to get to daily Mass; during the school year, I can't get to weekday Masses, but I can make it on Saturdays. So this parish is an oasis for me year round. It's also where they have a Saturday morning (7 a.m.) men's group I attend; breakfast, prayer, discussion, followed by Mass. Nice.

Maybe some day there will be more priests and more Masses available on Saturday morning. For now, I'm content.

Pax et bonum