Priests told: Shun wakes with gambling, loud music

DAGUPAN CITY ,Philippines  – Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas has reminded his priests not to celebrate Mass “in wakes at home or in funeral parlors where gambling takes place or loud music is being played.”

The instruction was among those contained in Villegas’ circular issued this month about “Masses in Private Homes, Offices and Funeral Parlors.”

The circular cited the present discipline of the Church that “the celebration of the Eucharist is to be performed in sacred place, unless in a particular case necessity

demands otherwise; in such a case the celebration must be done in a respectable place.”

In the past, as an expression of pastoral charity, the celebration of Masses in private homes have been allowed for two specific situations - during the wakes and for the anointing of the sick and the infirm who cannot attend Mass in the parish church.

“Likewise, Masses in funeral parlors have been given a general permission still in the same spirit of pastoral charity for the grieving family,” he said.

He added that Masses in private offices have also been given general permission at the moment for the sake of adult catechesis and in order to promote Christian witnessing in the work place.

Villegas said his letter to his priests upholds these general permissions to parish priests or moderators of team ministries with guidelines that must be strictly observed when Masses are celebrated in private homes, offices or funeral parlors.

He said all the requirements for the valid, licit and dignified celebration of the Eucharist must be observed.

Villegas said all the priests in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan are beneficiaries of an indult from the Holy See, allowing them to celebrate three Masses on weekdays and four Masses on Sundays, taking into account the severe lack of priests and the need of communities quite far from the parish church for the presence of the Church.

He reminded the priests that the poor, far-flung communities must be the first beneficiaries of this indult.

“The regular barangay and sitio Mass schedule must not be prejudiced by Masses in private homes and offices,” he said.

“Absolute caution must be exercised to prevent any appearance of commercialization of the spiritual goods of the Church or that only the wealthy can avail of such blessings. Those who have less in life must have more from the Church,” he said.

He added that Masses outside the church or oratory on the occasion of family reunions or traditional memorials of the dead must not be celebrated in the same venue where the meal will be served.

“The area for the celebration of the Mass must be distinct and treated with reverence even after the Mass,” he said.