# Would a Priest Perform a Mass if her were All Alone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030 "2017-06-28T02:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/41 "2017-06-29T21:04:43Z")
There is a scene in “The Exorcist” where Father Karras celebrates Mass alone in his dormroom at his Rectory/Georgetown University. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/42 "2017-06-29T21:21:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **gigi** : > > You wouldn’t say “great sermon” to a Catholic priest. Huh? Why not? And another thing you see a lot in the media is depictions of the Church that would have been accurate… in 1950. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/43 "2017-06-29T21:52:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Huh? Why not? Because we don’t call them sermons - they’re homilies. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/44 "2017-06-29T22:09:26Z")
There’s a scene in one of Tony Hillerman’s Navajo Police mystery novels where a Navajo priest (that is, a Catholic priest who’s a Navajo) says Mass when he’s alone. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I was an altar boy for several years. We did early morning masses at 6AM and 7AM every day, and the church was mostly empty. There would generally be a couple of old ladies sitting 'way in the back, in the very last pews, and they paid little or not attention to the mass going on – they were busy praying their rosaries. I suspect they like the Mass going on as “background noise”. Or maybe they felt they got extra grace from attending. In any event, the priest and altar boys were pretty much irrelevant to them, and they could’ve done without us. As far as people paying close attention to what was going on at the altar, aside from the three of us there wasn’t anyone. > > So it’s really easy for me to imagine a situation where no one shows up. I attended – well, participated in, such masses for years Back when I was a good Catholic, attending an inner-city church, the priests used to call the 7:00 am Mass “the Mass of the Living Dead”. They were a pretty chill bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/45 "2017-06-29T23:28:59Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > . . . You genuflect on your right knee to God in church and on your left to the Pope. I absolutely cannot tell if that’s a joke or not! > [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > There is a scene in “The Exorcist” where Father Karras celebrates Mass alone in his dormroom at his Rectory/Georgetown University. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > There’s a scene in one of Tony Hillerman’s Navajo Police mystery novels where a Navajo priest (that is, a Catholic priest who’s a Navajo) says Mass when he’s alone. . . . See? Ya come up with an idea for a story, and people just jump at the chance to steal from ya! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/46 "2017-06-30T00:06:46Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I absolutely cannot tell if that’s a joke or not! Not a joke! The right knee is reserved for God (you genuflect when you enter and leave your pew at church) so it would be left knee (or a bow) to the human Pope. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/47 "2017-06-30T02:34:52Z")
I knew about the right knee for God part, but I’d never learned about proper etiquette for meeting the Pope. And I’ve always seen the words “sermon” and “homily” used interchangeably for the little talk the priest gives. Maybe that varies regionally. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/48 "2017-06-30T04:33:10Z")
Do I remember correctly that **Chronos** is himself Catholic? A lot of people are talking like he’s not one, so I thought it might be useful to clear that up. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/49 "2017-06-30T13:49:46Z")
Yup, I’m Catholic. And it’s possible that some of my theology teachers were mistaken, or that I misunderstood what they said, but I’m certain I’ve heard other Catholics use the word “sermon” for the homily. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/50 "2017-06-30T14:32:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yup, I’m Catholic. And it’s possible that some of my theology teachers were mistaken, or that I misunderstood what they said, but I’m certain I’ve heard other Catholics use the word “sermon” for the homily. So have I. The only reason I can think of that it would be unlikely - but not impossible - to say “Great sermon!” to the priest is that, unlike some Protestant congregations, the sermon isn’t the central or most meaningful part of the Mass - that would be the Eucharist. Some years ago I saw an article in _Parade_ magazine where various priests and pastors were asked how long they would preach on Easter Sunday. The Baptist minister said his sermon was going to be roughly forty-five minutes long, because Easter, the Resurrection, and salvation were so supremely important that he didn’t want to give it, heh, short shrift. The Catholic priest, on the other hand, said that he’d preach for about five minutes, simply because his homily wasn’t that important. “And besides, all the kids will be all hopped up on Easter candy.” That, I thought, was a man who understood humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/51 "2017-06-30T15:20:02Z")
Sermon and homily are used pretty much interchangeably these days in the Episcopal Church, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/52 "2017-06-30T15:29:13Z")
Sure, the Eucharist is more important than the homily (whatever you call it), but you certainly wouldn’t go up to the priest and say “Hey, great job on consecrating those hosts!”. Though I suppose you might still compliment him on his proclamation of the Gospel (also more important than the homily), if he has good public speaking skills. And the church I went to out in Montana, the priest knew he had a tendency to run long, and so on the Big Important Days like Easter and Christmas, he made it a point to give literally one-minute sermons. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/53 "2017-06-30T15:29:39Z")
Pretend ‘say a mass’ is a euphemism for masturbation and tell me this thread isn’t hilarious. > [@](#): > > I’ve read of priests who were, for example, prisoners of war, and the priest might say an entire mass seated at a table with his back to the cell door with only a cracker and some water with raisins soaking in it. > [@](#): > > I always read that the other way around: if there were two people there, they didn’t need a priest… > [@](#): > > Priests are not required by canon law to say mass every day, but it is recommended, and in contexts like this a mass with no congregants would be a common event, because there would be many masses said every day. > > Mind you, they’re also recommended not to celebrate mass alone when celebration with the participation of at least one other is possible. So in these cases a priest would normally go to the chapel or church attached to the institution and celebrate mass there, so that the attendance of others is at least possible, rather than celebrating it privately in his room. > > In the scenario in the OP, if the priest is on a day hike he’ll likely celebrate mass before he leaves for his walk, or after he gets back. But if he’s on a longer walk, yeah, he’ll celebrate mass on his own, in the woods, using a mass kit brought for the purpose. > [@](#): > > I believe it is canon law that a priest must say mass every day. that would include times when he was alone. > [@](#): > > Huh, I hadn’t realized that each priest was expected to say Mass himself every day, rather than just attending one celebrated by another priest. Co-celebrating is still a thing, though, isn’t it? Why wouldn’t all of the priests in a monastery just celebrate the same mass together? > [@](#): > > I was an altar boy for several years. We did early morning masses at 6AM and 7AM every day, and the church was mostly empty. There would generally be a couple of old ladies sitting 'way in the back, in the very last pews, and they paid little or not attention to the mass going on – they were busy praying their rosaries. I suspect they like the Mass going on as “background noise” ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/54 "2017-06-30T16:15:41Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Pretend ‘say a mass’ is a euphemism for masturbation and tell me this thread isn’t hilarious. You are a sick, perverted, disgusting person. I’m sure you have many other fine qualities, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/55 "2017-06-30T16:22:26Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I’m sure you have many other fine qualities, as well. My credit rating is great! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/56 "2017-06-30T18:11:46Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > So have I. The only reason I can think of that it would be unlikely - but not impossible - to say “Great sermon!” to the priest is that, unlike some Protestant congregations, the sermon isn’t the central or most meaningful part of the Mass - that would be the Eucharist. No, I was referring to not using the term “sermon”. We have Dominicans (OPs) and homilies are tremendously good. They do keep them very well structured and focused though, so they don’t end up rambling. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/57 "2017-06-30T19:32:04Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > No, I was referring to not using the term “sermon”. We have Dominicans (OPs) and homilies are tremendously good. They do keep them very well structured and focused though, so they don’t end up rambling. An old Episcopal joke: “One Lord, one faith, one hour.” ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/58 "2017-06-30T19:44:31Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@Folly](#): > > Pretend ‘say a mass’ is a euphemism for masturbation and tell me this thread isn’t hilarious. While we do allow a certain amount of latitude in GQ after the question has been addressed factually, this goes well beyond what is acceptable in this forum. No warning issued, but please do not do this again in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030/59 "2017-06-30T20:15:05Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Please ask away! TV at least contains too many mistakes - especially when the Church is a main part of a plot and it’s clear they haven’t hired a consultant! Books are guilty of this too! Especially English translations of novels in Spanish–more than once I’ve seen a novice (nun) called a “novitiate” or a character described as “helping” at Mass (where the meaning was just “attending”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-priest-perform-a-mass-if-her-were-all-alone/790030.md?page=2)