Daily Mass on Vacation

When I’m on vacation, I enjoy having the opportunity to go to daily Mass, which I usually cannot do during a normal work week. There are many nice aspects of daily Mass while on vacation, such as:

• Even when far from home, the Mass is the same, so it feels familiar. No matter where you are, no matter how far away from your usual surroundings, the Mass is celebrated in the same way. The Scripture readings are the same, the prayers are the same, the responses from the people in the pews are the same, and Jesus being truly present in the Eucharist is the same. Of course, listening to the priest speak with a Rhode Island accent is a little weird. Especially if the priest is originally from Poland. That good ol’ Polish-Rhode Island accent combo is, um, interesting.

• Daily Mass is a great way to get spiritually grounded, which is necessary when facing a hectic day of sitting on the beach, taking multiple naps, and eating way too many fried clams. After all, Jesus himself said, “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for fried clams? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for some stuffies and a Narragansett Lager?” (Luke, chapter 11, Ocean State Translation of the Bible).

• When I’m at daily Mass, I usually feel rejuvenated. This is because I’m often the youngest person there! And trust me, being the youngest person present for any event hardly ever happens anymore. Since a particular co-worker retired last year, I am now officially the oldest employee at our firm. But in church, especially at daily Mass, I’m often tempted to belt out a song: “You make me feel so young! You make me feel like spring has sprung!” Don’t worry. I do not actually belt out any songs at daily Mass. As we all know, there is never any music at daily Mass, which is why the entire Mass is usually concluded in less than 25 minutes. (For many folks, this is the main reason they agree to attend daily Mass with their wives. But certainly that’s not something that would EVER cross my mind. Certainly. Um, I mean, probably certainly.) Anyway, being a back row bass singer in the church choir with a limited six-note range means that I will not be doing any solos in church anytime soon. The main point I was trying to make here, before I was so rudely interrupted by myself, is that being ONLY in my 60s means that I’m often the youngest, or at least one of the youngest, people attending daily Mass.

• Speaking of the fact that everyone present at Mass was a senior citizen, it did make me ponder the fate of the Church. Of the approximately 40 people at that Mass, I estimated that in 10 years at least half will be dead, a quarter will be in nursing homes and unable to attend Mass in person anymore, and the remaining quarter (hopefully including me) will still be able to shuffle out of the house and make it to church. In other words, the demographics are not great. What we need are a lot of those folks who are currently too busy raising their families to attend daily Mass to start attending when they become empty nesters. That’s something we all should pray for: that busy, stressed-out young adults come to realize how beneficial daily Mass is, and take our place over the next decade or two.

Anyway, those are a few thoughts that occurred to me when I went to daily Mass while on vacation last month. And if you think I spent way too much time thinking these odd thoughts rather than paying attention to the Mass itself, you are partially correct. (And, of course, I am using the definition of the word "partially" that means: completely.)

The best reason for going to Mass, whether daily or Sunday, is the fact that it is the Mass! It’s where Jesus becomes truly present in the Eucharist – body and blood, soul and divinity. Let’s all resolve to meet face-to-face with Our Lord more frequently.