Private Mass

I say morning, mid-day, and evening prayer every day. It is the minimum requirement for Priests in the Ordinariate. Almost every time I say these Daily Office prayers it is by myself. It is a joy to "say my prayers". Yes, sometimes I have to go quickly when I have a busy schedule but I try never to rush them or go through them too quickly so that I can fully benefit from the grace God provides in them.

I also say the Mass every day except Monday (my one day off each week), and sometimes when I say a weekday Mass it is without any of the faithful present. Notice that I did not say "alone" as I am never alone when I say the Mass. As I mentioned in my homily for All Saints Day, in the Mass there are millions upon millions of living beings present: Saints, angels, seraphim, cherubim, and, of course, the Holy Trinity.

Yet, yesterday I said a "private Mass". That is a Mass that is technically not open to anyone on Earth except the Priest himself. This is often the case when I cannot get to Church because of bad weather or something of that sort. Yesterday it was because I am doing the All Souls Novena of Masses and I lift up the All Souls Mass intentions every day for nine days. I do not normally say Mass on Mondays, so I said Mass at my home altar privately. When Mass is intentionally private it is completely different from a Mass where none of the faithful happen to show up: because someone can always come walking in the door even after Mass begins at a public Mass.

There is something about being the celebrant for Mass that cannot be put into words. I have sat in the pew (when I was a Catholic layman), and I have also said Mass as a Priest. It is the same celebration, mostly because it is the same eternal sacrifice of Christ that we are experiencing. Yet, it is two completely different experiences.

Yesterday, Mass was even more different. It is hard enough to explain what it is like to say Mass, but when there is no one else going to assist at Mass, and the Priest knows it, it is focused on self. It is not in a selfish way, or in a prideful "all about me" way. No, it is more a matter of: "I am here alone with Jesus" and I can receive His grace in a more immediate manner.

The Sacrifice of the Mass is always for the people I am ministering to and praying for, but when it is a "private Mass" I receive the grace God gives me in a different way that cannot be put into words. Although not everyone can experience Mass in this way, we can all experience the special and immediate grace of God in our lives if we watch for it. We can all open ourselves up to having God minister directly to us in our situation in life so that we can receive the special grace that He wants us to have in that moment. What special grace of God are you going to experience today?