Can the Eucharist be celebrated outside Can the Eucharist be celebrated outside of a church-for example, inside my home? What an interesting question. The earliest celebrations of the Eucharist were held in the homes of the early Christians. As centuries evolved and the Christian population grew, larger rooms were rented and later built to house the community gathering. The word church is what we now call a building in which people worship. If we were to be completely accurate, we would call the building the house or shelter for the Church because the Church is understood primarily as the baptized community living in faith and charity. Unfortunately, because of changing demographics and priest shortages, many communities are consolidating and church buildings are being shut down and even destroyed. As a result, communities and places for liturgy grow larger. Large communities can easily become impersonal and pastoral leadership increasingly difficult. Recently, some large parishes have developed neighborhood communities in an attempt to subdivide into smaller faith-sharing units-not unlike the original house churches. These smaller communities gather for regular prayer and catechesis. The parish priest occasionally attends their meetings and celebrates the Eucharist with them. This is one example of celebrating the Eucharist outside of a church building. So, although there can be exceptions for pastoral necessity, canon law indicates that celebrating Mass in a sacred place is the norm. The bishop may clarify this law for his own diocese to best meet the needs of his people while respecting the dignity of the Eucharist.
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MASSES FOR JANUARY 16th -24th Saturday, Jan. 16th-2nd Sun. Ordinary Time 4:00 PM +Bill Regula Req. M/M Steven Hunt Sunday, Jan. 17th-2nd Sun. Ordinary Time 10:00 AM +Alice Sobolewski Req. Family Mon., January 18th-Weekday 7:30 AM OLPH Parishioners, Living & Deceased Tuesday, January 19th-Weekday 7:30 AM Health & God's Blessings Req. M. Herr Wed., Jan. 20th-Bl. John Baptist Triquerie7:30 AM ++Faithful Departed Thurs., Jan. 21st-St. Agnes 7:30 AM ++Obenauf Family Friday, January 22nd-Day of Prayer 7:30 AM for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Saturday, January 23rd-St. Marianne Cope 7:30 AM +Elizabeth, Joseph, & Casimir Borodziuk Saturday, Jan. 23rd-3rd Sun. Ordinary Time 4:00 PM OLPH Parishioners, Living & Deceased Sunday, Jan. 23rd -3rd Sun. Ordinary Time 10:00 AM +Pawel Kochmanski Req. Maria Kochmanska
A WORD FROM Pope Francis Jesus does not want disciples who are merely able to repeat memorized formulas. He wants witnesses: people who spread hope, with their way of welcoming, smiling, and loving; above all loving because the power of the resurrection makes Christians capable of loving even when love seems to have lost its motivation. GENERAL AUDIENCE, OCTOBER 4, 2017