Ever wonder in parishes where there is more than one priest what the other priest is doing during the weekend Masses? Between Masses is pretty easy. We are greeting people coming or leaving, setting up for Mass, performing baptisms, going to donut Sunday, visiting PSR, and things like that. But what about the hour during Mass?
I hate to disappoint but little heroic or outstanding is happening. 
On any given Sunday there are usually two Masses that I sit out. Almost always at one I make a cup of coffee and listen to the parochial vicar preach while catching up on the newspapers.
When I first came to St. Sebastian and opened one of the cabinets and saw a speaker I thought it was to a built in stereo system and wasted a bit of time looking for it. Turns out it is a speaker from the church (which of course makes much more sense) and while the kids are marching over to the rectory for Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Sebastian and I hide in the kitchen making coffee and gathering the papers and then going to sit in one of the wing back chairs and listen to the wisdom of the youth (in priestly years.)
After the kiddies march back to Church I might say hello to the counters and get my Liturgy of the Hours in. If there is an event going on that day I might go check it out to see how it is coming. It is also the day to water the plants and wind the clocks. Fr. P occasionally has an away Mass to help out others, or he hears PSR confessions. During the one o’clock Mass Sebastian gets his quick walk. Sometimes there are other things to do. This week I had to head to the funeral home during the Mass. If we have to go to the hospital this is a great time to go. There is invariably some little projects that need taking care involving paper – usually the writing of a check or signing a certificate or some such thing.
Assuming there are no parish activities the day will wind up around 3 o’clock with the locking of the church doors. Generally a nap is in order about then.
2 comments:
I did always wonder about that! Also, a couple of weeks ago, at daily mass, Fr. Pfeiffer mentioned in the homily that when one of the priests is not scheduled to have daily mass, that you have your own chapel in the rectory where you can celebrate mass...I thought that was pretty cool! ...The perks of being a priest.
--Baby Catholic
Thank you, Father, for this post! It is so great to have a reminder of "what priests do," since I know many people are under a false assumption that "all" they have to do is say Mass!
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