Why is finding out whether Mass is going ahead so hard?

I have a major pet peeve and I know I'm not the only one. It really annoys me how most Catholic churches that I am aware of seem to care nothing about communicating information to parishioners. I live in Newfoundland and we get a great deal of poor weather during the winter. Yet, most churches will make no effort to inform people as to whether or not they are open. This is very frustrating. Most of the time, you have to show up in person to find out personally. They have to do better.

This article stems from the fact that I sought out confession today. I checked websites, phone numbers, etc. but nothing was mentioned about whether or not confession would go ahead. I drove all the way there and tried to enter as it was scheduled to commence at 3:00pm. I tried all the doors but everything was locked. Then at almost exactly 3pm I get an email from the church informing me they would be closed for Mass at 5pm. There was never any mention of confession. How would anyone have known if it was going ahead or not?

The fact that they even have an email makes them very unique and on the cutting edge of technology when it comes to informing parishioners of whether or not they are open. Yet they failed to employ it when it came to confession.

At my main church, on a stormy day, I go to their fancy, modern website which has a section for "announcements". To say it's outdated is an understatement. The latest "update" is from 1.5 years ago. This is not atypical. It's so weird to me that a church would go out of its way to develop an ultra-modern and possibly expensive website only to never use it to convey any actual information.

You would think that they would have at least mastered the telephone, but you'd be wrong. Here's a question: why would someone call a Catholic church phone number? There could be several reasons, however it seems logical to me that the vast majority of calls would be to find out Mass times and whether or not Mass is going ahead (plus confession). Yet you will rarely if ever find such information. They don't even say when Mass times are. This is particularly annoying in smaller communities where they have complicated schedules. For example, some weeks Mass doesn't even take place in a particular church. When you go online to get information, you're lucky if it's less than 5 years old, if there's anything to begin with. Normally the recorded message will simply say "Sorry we're unavailable, our office hours are ---". Thanks for your office hours, but again, 90% of calls are to find out Mass and confession times, not the office hours.

Literally if there was a new Catholic or someone from away, and they were absolutely desperate to go to Mass, they would find it difficult or impossible to find any information.

I believe this behavior conveys the idea that they don't care. They don't care if 90% of Catholics attend Mass or if 9% do. To them it seems like it's all the same. Why would anyone bother going to a church which doesn't seem to take itself seriously? This is even more true of sacraments like confession. To not even bother contacting people via email or other means about the cancelation of confession gives the impression they don't care whether or not people go. It gives an impression of how they feel about confession.

The solution is quite simple. If you have a website, update it to indicate if the church is open or closed when there is inclement weather. If there's no website, at least use Facebook or some other well-known social media. If you have none of those, at least update the telephone recording with the up-to-date information. This is not difficult at all. It would take mere minutes.

I'm not saying Catholic churches have to operate like businesses selling products, putting out television commercials, etc. but at least do the minimum to keep people informed with regards to times of sacraments and whether or not you are open. It's a pet peeve and I really hope churches start to take this seriously.

Private Masses at St. Peter's Basilica Ended

On Monday, March 21, 2021, St. Peter's Basilica officially ended private masses being celebrated in side chapels in the massive church. Apparently there are around 45 side chapels and in the morning many of them were used by various priests to celebrate Mass, but no longer.

There will now only be a few masses said throughout the day at the Basilica, all in Italian. There are some exceptions but this is the main gist of what is happening. When I first heard about this, I thought it was related to Covid, but apparently it's not. It's a new "permanent" change.

Most of the people commenting on this seem to view it negatively.

It was awful. Welcome to Rome's newest museum. https://t.co/6MKvTOBD0m

— The Catholic Traveler (@MountainButorac) March 22, 2021

You can check out the article CNA's Courtney Mares' article on it here: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/private-mass-restrictions-come-into-force-at-st-peters-basilica

I have only been to the Vatican once while on a European tour. I was only there for a few hours and didn't really get a chance to see a lot, which was unfortunately. You really need several days in the Vatican to even scratch the surface. I wasn't aware of the number of Masses that typically took place during the day.

I can't see how this will be a good thing. In a similar line to the above tweet, many are saying it will turn the Vatican into a "museum". That's the last thing we need.

The Church cannot give people a reason to separate the Catholic Church from the beauty created within the Church. That's actually one of the problems in our society, people appreciate all the beauty emanating from the Church but don't give her credit. We can't encourage that.

Hopefully this will be changed back. It's called permanent, but it can be undone and hopefully will be.

Solar Panels for New Cathedral

A new cathedral is being built in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the first in Western Canada in 50 years. One interesting thing about this new cathedral is that its stained glass windows will contain solar panels.

This is quite interesting. The Vatican is also a proponent of renewable energy resources such as solar energy, as I highlighted in this past article.

I'm really glad Saskatchewan is getting a new cathedral. It shows the faith is quite vibrant in that community.

What is the Highest Ranking Church in Catholicism, the Ecumenical Mother Church?

Here's a clue: It's not St. Peter's Basilica. The giant Basilica designed by Michelangelo and others throughout the centuries, and completed in the 16th, known as St. Peter's Basilica, which can be seen in St. Peter's Square, and is by far the most well-known basilica in the world, is amazingly, not the highest ranking church in the Catholic Church. It is in fact the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

St. John Lateran Basilica is the cathedral church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope. Officially named Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris (Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior), it is the oldest and ranks first (being the only cathedral in Rome) among the four major basilicas of Rome, and holds the title of ecumenical mother church (mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Catholics.

This very beautiful cathedral has a very amazing history. The place where the cathedral is now located, was once used by Roman emperors, and was given, as a gift, to the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), by Emperor Constantine, when Christianity was legalized and became the official religion of the Roman empire.

The official dedication of the Basilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace was presided over by Pope Sylvester I in 324, declaring both to be Domus Dei or "House of God." In its interior, the Papal Throne was placed, making it the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. In reflection of the basilica's primacy in the world as mother church, the words Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput are incised in the main door, meaning "Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head."

The Lateran Palace and basilica have been rededicated twice. Pope Sergius III dedicated them to Saint John the Baptist in the 10th century in honor of the newly consecrated baptistry of the Basilica. Pope Lucius II dedicated the Lateran Palace and basilica to Saint John the Evangelist in the 12th century. However, St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist are regarded as co-patrons of the Cathedral, the chief patron being Christ the Saviour himself, as the inscription in the entrance of the Basilica indicates, and as is tradition in the Patriachal Cathedrals. Thus, the Basilica remains dedicated to the Saviour. That is why sometimes the Basilica will be referred to by the full title of Archabsilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Sts. John Baptist and John Evangelist in the Lateran.

Next time you're in Rome, make sure to visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Cathedrals, Basilicas and Churches Stolen from the Catholic Church

Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has built the most spectacular and awe-inspiring places of the worship the world has ever seen. For centuries, churches were the tallest structures of every town in Europe, and around the world. In many countries, this remains the case. They remain the most breath-taking monuments in society. Often built by members of society as a work of love, these buildings touch the sky, and upon entering, people are transported to a new world. You can feel the presence of God all around you. The Catholic Church realizes the importance of these great structures, and that is why for over 1,000 years, the Church has built some of the most amazing examples of human achievement.

Unfortunately, however, the Church suffered great loss in her history. Many of these amazing places of worship were conquered by heretics and schismatics. Often, the treasures of these churches, preserved for generations for the benefit of all were ransacked and stolen. Often Churches were badly damaged, often left in disrepair. Even if these churches were not damaged, they were still stolen. This is very sad, and unfortunate. Almost every magnificent place for Christian worship that has achieved great fame in a country, be it a church, basilica, or cathedral, was once a Catholic or remains one to this day. I will look at some of the most famous Cathedrals in the World, which were stolen from the Catholic Church.

Ulm Münster

Located in Germany, it is the tallest church in the world, and was the tallest building in the world from 1890-1908. It was built in 1377 by Catholics, and later taken from them by Lutherans. The Cologne Cathedral of Germany is the second tallest church in the world, but it has 2 spires instead of one.



Wells Cathedral

The building of this amazing Cathedral began in 1191 by Bishop Reginald de Bohun. It was worked on during the 12th and early 13th centuries, and was mostly completed by 1239. In the years and decades to come, more expansions were made to accommodate a growing congregation. Eventually the Cathedral was taken over by Anglicans.

Westminster Abbey

Perhaps the best-known Cathedral in the United Kingdom, Westminster Abbey is the Cathedral where the Kings and Queens of England are crowned. This is quite a spectacular building, which resembles the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. It was completed before King Henry VIII, but Henry violently took over this Cathedral, like many others, when he broke away from the Catholic Church.

These are just 3 examples of Churches which were apprehended illegally by non-Catholic groups. Fortunately, most of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world remain the property of the Catholic Church. The next time you see a magnificent church, remember that it was probably once a Catholic Cathedral.

Basilica of St. Mark in Venice and the Muslims

St. Mark was one of the Gospel writers, and a companion to St. Peter. He died in Alexandria, Egypt, but his amazing tale has much left to be told. St. Mark was buried, and in 828, Italian sailors went to recover his body, as a relic. The problem was, the Muslims were in control of Alexandria, and getting something such as this out would prove very difficult, but the sailors came up with an impressive plan.

Muslims are very much against anything to do with pork, so with this knowledge, the Italian sailors took the sarcophagus of St. Mark which they had located, and placed it beneath a large shipment of pork. The border inspectors would not go near the pork, and let the boat go out of port without being thoroughly inspected.

The body of St. Mark was transported to Venice, where he soon became its patron saint. A most unbelievable Basilica was built in honour of St. Mark, which is adorned with gold, rubies, diamonds, and many other fine jewels.

The design of St. Mark's Basilica is inspired in some ways by Muslim architecture. At the time, Muslims were very advanced in science and math, and several Muslim architects were hired to work on this magnificent project. At the time, Muslims may have been more advanced technologically than Christians.

The Basilica of St. Mark is an amazing Church and Shrine to one of the writers of the Gospels, which record to life of Jesus Christ.