Brian Eyre: CELEBRATING MASS IN MY OWN HOME

CELEBRATING MASS IN MY OWN HOME

Brian Eyre

I am an Irish catholic married priest. After receiving the dispensation from celibacy my wife and I got married in the Catholic church. Due to Lockdown we cannot go to our parish church to take part in the Eucharist so every Sunday I celebrate the Eucharist in my own home with my wife.

Our celebration is slightly different to the usual Sunday celebration in our parish church. For example, I don`t preach, instead both of us share our thoughts on the Gospel and this is often a very rich experience. Both of us then will say some spontaneous Prayers of the Faithful. During the proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer my wife will say part of it especially for the remembrance of the dead when she will mention by name our deceased parents and family members and other deceased friends.

At the moment of Holy Communion she receives the consecrated bread and wine. Our altar is very simple. We use a small table covered with a white tablecloth and a candle. I celebrate with the chalice my parents and family gave me 54 years ago when I was ordained in Clonliffe College along with 25 other Holy Ghost Fathers by Archbishop McQuaid.

I was a celibate priest for 17 years and worked as a missionary priest in Brazil. During those 17 years I celebrated Mass many times for the people, sometimes in small chapels or in the open air and sometimes in people`s homes. These Masses were always a source of joy and happiness for me and the people.

My wife and I are now living in Ireland as both our two grown-up children have come to live here too. Like everybody else we are deprived of actual physical presence at Mass in the parish church due to the Pandemic so I have decided to say mass at home for the two of us.

Due to  the Lockdown it is not possible to invite our neighbours to our home for the Mass but when most people have got their Covid 19 injection I will let my neighbours know that once a month I will be celebrating Mass in my own home especially for our old neighbours who have difficulty in getting to the church.

To my fellow married priests I would suggest that they too share their priesthood with other families by celebrating in homes.

I have a very good relationship with our parish priest and he knows that I am celebrating Mass in my own home on Sundays.

 

 

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Some time ago we published here an open letter written by Fr. Mike Fallon to the Bishops of Scotland relating to the liturgical texts.  He received no reply from any of them, so he has decided to write a second letter.  We publish this here, and also the text of an interview he gave on the subject.  For those of us involved in the issue here, there is a ring of familiarity about his experience.

One Comment

  1. Soline Humbert says:

    Thank you Brian for sharing where your Spirit-filled journey has brought you and your wife. Blessings on your ministry. I am sure that many will follow your suggestion. Some already do so.

    Reply

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