Archbishop of Miami remembers that Sunday Mass is also a priority on vacation

The holidays do not excuse us from attending the encounter with Christ at Sunday Mass, reminded the Archbishop of Miami, Florida (United States), Mons. Thomas Wenski, to the faithful who are enjoying their period of rest these weeks.

In his column titled There is no holiday from Sunday Massthe American prelate recalls that “participation in the Sunday Eucharist is the obligation of every practicing Catholic,” since “it is through these sacramental encounters with the Lord that we grow in the grace necessary to be faithful to our baptismal vocation to holiness.” ”.

To underline the need to guarantee Sunday Mass, the archbishop recalls that when he was a seminarian, the rector always warned them before the summer recess that “there are no vacations from the vocation.”

“It was wise advice; After all, we were seminarians even if we were far from the structured environment of the seminary, with its fixed times for prayer and daily Mass.”

“It seems to me,” he assures, “that this is wise advice for all Catholics, when planning vacations that will take us away from our homes and parishes. There can be no vacation from our fundamental vocation to holiness. Fidelity to attending Mass is inextricably linked to that vocation.”

In that sense, Bishop Wenski gives as an example the faithful who, during their vacations in Orlando, Florida, in addition to enjoying the tourist attractions, “sought Sunday Mass, even if they were far from their homes.”

In Orlando is the Basilica Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, which “receives thousands of visitors every week.” “The priests of the sanctuary provide an important service to these tourists, offering them the sacrament of reconciliation and the opportunity to participate in Sunday Mass. (And when I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass there, I often found many of you, from South Florida, at Sunday Mass),” the prelate writes.

For this reason, he reaffirms that “even if there is not a shrine like Mary, Queen of the Universe in the place where we go on vacation, we must also make an effort to guarantee our attendance at Sunday Mass.”

Bishop Wenski remembers that every Catholic is a member of the universal Church, and although the holidays are a time of rest and sharing with family and friends, it is also important to “’rest in the Lord’ during the day in which we commemorate his love for us, in the Sunday Eucharist.”

“If we take our Christian commitment seriously, we cannot help but recharge our spiritual batteries in the central act of our worship, the source and summit of all Christian life: the Mass. There should never be vacations from our vocation,” concludes the Archbishop of Miami.