"Prince of Darkness" - JF Powers... short story

[p.falk]

This short story starts off with a parishioner of a nearby church meeting with a priest (Father Burner) after mass, while the priest is eating breakfast in the rectory. The visitor has some plan he has that he wants to get Fr. Burner onboard with.

"I should've known you'd be eating breakfast, Father. But I was at your Mass and I said to myself that must be Father Burner. Then I stayed a few minutes after Mass to make my thanksgiving."

"Fine," Father Burner said. "Breakfast?"

"Had it, Father, thanking you all the same. It's the regret of my life that I can't be a daily communicant. Doctor forbids it. 'Fast every day and see how long you last, ' he tells me. But I do make it to Mass."

"Fine. You said you live in Father Desmond's parish?"

"Yes, Father. And sometimes I think Father Desmond does too much. All the societies to look after. Plus the Scouts and the Legion. Of course Father Kells being so elderly and all..."

"We're all busy these days."

This visitor extends his stay a bit longer than Fr. Burner would prefer... repeatedly calling the priest "father" which gnaws away at Fr. Burner. Then Powers' continues with:

Father Burner met his (the visitor) look briefly. He was wary of the fatherers. A backslider he could handle, it was the old story, but a red-hot believer, especially a talkative one, could be a devilish nuisance. This kind might be driven away only by prayer and fasting, and he was not adept at either.

[Highlander]

Hmmm. Could be worth a read.

[Doom]

When was that written that one is supposed to fast even before daily Mass? I've never heard of such a custom, given that most who attend daily Mass or either retired or attending during their break at work, a long fast before daily Mass would mean one could barely eat at all.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Until 1953, one had to abstain from food and water from midnight before receiving Communion. In 1953, Pope Pius XII allowed water, and a few years later he shortened the timespan for food to three hours. Pope St. Paul VI reduced it to one hour in 1964.

This is why the mandate to receive Communion at least once a year was a bigger deal back then. You really had to prepare to receive.

And so people went to Mass as always, but received much less frequently.

[Doom]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

[Highlander]

At the Mass, it seems -- no, I have observed -- everybody receives. I mean everybody. I am aware of universal reception since, for various reasons, sometimes I don't. I get glances that range from puzzled to judgemental. I wonder why I am the only person who believes that he is not in a state appropriate to receive.

[p.falk]

Fr. Ernest Burner is the associate pastor along with Fr. Quinlan. Fr. Burner is the senior of the two and wishes he'd no longer be a curate but have a parish of his own. A bit more worldly than than Fr. Quinlan. Fr. Burner is on his way to go golfing which Quinlan is critical of, in a lighthearted manner. While Burner is driving he reflects:

That was Quinlan for you, always spouting against the status quo without having anything better to offer. Told him that. Told him golfers, funny as it might seem to some people, have souls and who's to save them? John Bosco worked wonders in taverns, which was not to say Father Burner thought he was a saint, but rather only that he was not too proud to meet souls halfway wherever it might be, in the confessional or on the fairways. Saint Ernest Burner, Help of Golfers, Pray for Us!

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

It was also forbidden to celebrate Mass after noon.

[p.falk]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

Tough beans...
gotta pack those calories into that 6 hour window then. Get to it!

[Doom]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

Tough beans...
gotta pack those calories into that 6 hour window then. Get to it!

It is practically starvation and would probably kill many who tried it.

[Doom]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

It was also forbidden to celebrate Mass after noon.

I forgot about that; it was Pius XII who allowed an evening Mass. Is there a reason for the restriction beyond trying to make it more difficult to go to Mass?

[p.falk]

But given the time that daily Mass is usually held, from as early as noon to as late as 5 PM, a daily communicant could be fasting for as much as 18 hours a day. That seems unreasonable.

Tough beans...
gotta pack those calories into that 6 hour window then. Get to it!

It is practically starvation and would probably kill many who tried it.

I'm joking

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I forgot about that; it was Pius XII who allowed an evening Mass. Is there a reason for the restriction beyond trying to make it more difficult to go to Mass?

It's probably connected to the fast from midnight, if I had to guess.

[Doom]

I forgot about that; it was Pius XII who allowed an evening Mass. Is there a reason for the restriction beyond trying to make it more difficult to go to Mass?

It's probably connected to the fast from midnight, if I had to guess.

Makes sense, so if the fast is made shorter, then Masses can be held later, and people who work can attend daily Mass more often

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

That is my thought process, at least.

[Doom]

It is probably not too far off, Pius X is called "The Pope of frequent communion" but maybe that title really belongs to PIus XII