Mass schedules… then and now

Not all parishes need to have a schedule like this, which is near to Penn Station in Manhattan.

But it does tell you something about the state of the Faith then and now.

One thing that catches my is is the schedule for devotions.

I’ve been arguing for the return of these old-fashioned devotions for a long time. They are very important for those who, for one reason or another, can’t receive Holy Communion. They are important for people with heavy petitions. They are just IMPORTANT.

 

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13 Comments

  1. acardnal says:

    The parish probably had several parochial vicars aka assistant pastors to help. Unlike today.

  2. TRW says:

    “Confessions: Every day of the year from 6:45 a.m to 9:30.”
    That’s beautiful. What a loss.
    And somehow we’re supposed to believe that now we are doing it the right way? Granted, it was in a bustling and populous city. I’m always amazed to see parishes in my city that offer only 45 minutes per WEEK for confessions.

  3. NOCatholic says:

    It appeared that the parish was staffed by the OFM Franciscans, who supplied enough priests to cover all those Masses and devotions.

    Even today, a parish staffed by a religious order tends to have more priests and more Masses than a parish with one or maybe two diocesan priests. I’m familiar with a Dominican parish i my city that even during the pandemic, has 2 weekday Masses, 5 weekend Masses (all reverent NO Masses with altar rail) and confessions every day of the week.

    The devotions would be a nice addition.

  4. Bthompson says:

    That would require a LOT of priests, even if they binated routinely.

  5. dahveed says:

    Found them online. Given that they are in NYC, in Covid crazines, their current schedule is still impressive:
    THE MASS SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:
    (Confession schedule is below)

    Sunday Masses:

    Saturday (Vigil): 4pm
    Sunday Masses at:
    8:00 AM,
    9:30AM (Korean),
    11:00 AM, and
    5:00 PM.

    Sunday Mass will continue to be streamed live each Sunday at 11:00 AM

    Daily Masses:

    Monday through Friday at:
    7:30 am
    12:00 noon, and
    5:00 pm
    Saturday at 11:00 AM

    Confessions:

    The Confession schedule is as follows:
    Monday – Friday:
    8:00 to 9:00 AM
    11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
    4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
    Saturday: 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
    Confessions will be heard in designated spots in the upper church.

    The Church is open for private prayer:

    The upper church at St. Francis of Assisi is open for private prayer
    8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
    Monday thru Friday
    except during Mass times.

  6. Matheus Oliveira says:

    We are not the most traditional Diocese in the world, but I’m pretty sure that most of our priests are pretty reverent and we also have the TLM in a few places and good NO Masses in the others.
    In most parishes, there are two diocesan priests, which allows for about 5-6 Masses in the weekends, daily weekday Masses and abundant Confession/spiritual direction schedules.
    With emphasis on Eucharistic Adoration, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Holy Rosary and Marian devotions all over the place, the people do whatever is possible to receive the Sacraments frequently, even amidst the pandemic (as restrictions are getting lower near the summer).
    The result of having all this thing going on for the last years is that now our Seminary has a good number of young men striving to live a holy life, imitating our Lord and standing still against all sorts of the weird stuff we come across in the University.
    Even though there is no formal TLM instruction, unlike neighboring places, we have Latin classes and the Priests in charge of our formation are deeply spiritual and a living testimony of what a priest’s life should be like.
    Seeing the things I happen to read here from you and our honored host, I am often touched to see how painful it is for so many people to have access to the Church’s Spiritual Treasure.
    As we pray for Fr. Z and the readership, please pray for us seminarians, so that we can persevere on the Lord’s calling and do whatever He asks us to, in order to help Him renew His Church!

  7. Fr. Kelly says:

    The OFMs have placed a priority on staffing one intercity parish with a full sacramental schedule.
    St Peter’s in Chicago always had Masses all day long on the half hour (Masses would alternate between the upper and lower chapels) with Confessions being heard throughout.
    In my growing up years when we would make the trip into Chicago, Mom saw to it that we always made time for Mass and confession there.

  8. Charivari Rob says:

    Note that they omitted the “AM” from that Mass schedule – that Sunday Mass schedule began at 2:30 AM. Gotta love printers’ Masses!
    I know NYC used to be an eight- or ten-newspaper town, but I have no idea which paper was over that direction. Herald Square not too far away, of course, but I think the Herald was long gone at that point and folded into the Herald Tribune somewhere up in the west 40s.
    I’ll have to ask my mother – back in the 50s & 60s, she and her sister would go to the printers’ Mass at Saint Agnes on East 42nd near the Daily News after the Saturday night dance and social scene (before taking the subway home to The Bronx by themselves – God be with the day!!!).
    The Franciscans remained her go-to spot for the Penn Station area for decades. She might be able to suggest which newspaper (or which other industry) supported that Mass schedule. Maybe with the hotels (and therefore restaurants & ballrooms, and bars, and nightclubs) there was enough post-closing traffic for it.

  9. This was the parish of Fr. Mychal Judge, OFM, who was the first named casualty of 9/11. It was from here that he set out toward the horror never to return.

  10. Gaetano says:

    I’ve attended that church off & on for thirty years when I commuted to NYC.

    They used to have all-day confessions. It’s very sad to see they don’t do that anymore.

  11. Philmont237 says:

    I was looking for Confession recently, and a nearby parish offers it from 3:30-3:45 every Saturday.

    That’s the worst I’ve seen beside “by appointment only.”

  12. Joe in Canada says:

    Holy Rosary Parish in Guelph Ont, Christmas. “Mass times are as follows. Five Masses will be celebrated on Christmas Eve beginning at 4 PM, 6 PM, 8 PM, 10 PM, & 12AM (Midnight Mass) Three Masses will be celebrated Christmas Day beginning at 7 AM, 9 AM , & 11 AM. ” He does not have an assistant but can try to call on his brother Jesuits.

    Philmont237 – a parish near me doesn’t do individual confessions at all, only “general absolution” – which the ordinary has not permitted.

  13. Kenneth Wolfe says:

    With all those Masses and devotions, when did the parish have time for the homosexual club it runs today? https://stfrancisnyc.org/lgbt-ministry/

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