If there’s one skill a savvy pilgrim should know, it ought to be… how to quickly find Mass times!
Unless you’re on a packaged pilgrimage or tour-style pilgrimage with a set itinerary, then you’re probably not automatically scheduled to go to Mass somewhere. I like to do self-designed or do-it-yourself pilgrimages, and that often requires stalking church websites in order to find Mass times that fit with my intended itinerary. Here are two recent cases of me needing to look up Mass times quickly:
Case #1. Recently, I attended a wedding of a good friend in Kansas, US of A. I didn’t have my itinerary totally finalized in the days leading up to it. Because I have never been to Kansas before, I thought it would be cool to attend Mass near my hotel or the cathedral in Wichita, KS. After I returned home from the wedding reception Saturday night, I needed to look up Mass times for Sunday. Unfortunately, an intense winter storm hit first thing in the morning and derailed any plans I had to go to Mass in Kansas. So, I had to continuously look at Mass times during my road trip back home to find something that fit. I ended up just going to Mass at a church I’ve previously been to in Texas.
Case #2. Several months ago, I flew to Australia via Hong Kong and Singapore. I purposefully scheduled really, really long layovers in Asia so that I could enjoy the airports and lounge accesses due to my frequent flyer status, but because I flew on the weekends (including Sundays), I also wanted to give myself time to leave airports and go to Mass. Therefore, before leaving for this trip, I had to look up what churches were near Hong Kong’s and Singapore’s airports and what Mass times they offered. Unfortunately, on my return home, a significant typhoon cancelled all flights to Hong Kong, and I had to be rerouted to South Korea. I wasn’t able to go to Mass in South Korea because I found myself stuck in the airport…and furthermore, the airport did offer Mass at the airport, but I was stuck in the wrong part of the airport…
I’m sure there are more cases to share, but in general, finding Mass times quickly is a useful skill especially when traveling for pleasure, work, or with the express intent of going on a pilgrimage.
Here are some useful ways to quickly find Mass times:
1. Use an app
Most people have smartphones these days, so using an app is probably a no brainer. If you’re traveling internationally, this method only works if your smartphone is connected to WiFi or have an international data plan in order to connect to these services.
The Catholic Directory
For the longest while, I used The Catholic Directory as my primary app for finding Mass times. I like it because the interface is simple, and a very big plus is that they have a visual indicator showing you what churches have upcoming Masses based on time.
Using the “Nearby Churches” function utilizes your phone’s GPS to locate nearby churches. When you click on one, you’re presented with directory info, if provided, for the church as well as Mass times.
You can also select a Map View that shows you nearby churches relative to your current position.
If you happen to have the address of a church, you can search for it that way as well.
The app also lets you bookmark churches. It also has a directory of Catholic businesses, the daily readings, saint of the day, and videos.
I haven’t tested this app for international locations, but it works pretty well for U.S. domestic Mass-finding.
You can visit their website: The Catholic Directory (apps have been discontinued, it seems)
MassTimes.org
I recently downloaded this app to try it out. It’s even more simple than Catholic Directory. When you first start it up, it gives you the option to search for Mass based on city, state, or zip code. Or you can press the button to tell the app to search for times near you based on your location.
One thing I really like about this app is that it presents you the list of churches with Sunday Mass times automatically on the search results so you don’t have to click or tap on each church. When you do click or tap on a church, it gives you the rest of their Mass times. Another feature I like about this app is that when you tap on the church’s address, it pulls up driving directions in your default maps app.
The app also gives you the option of viewing search results in a list or map.
But other than that, it lacks some of the features that The Catholic Directory offers in their app. That’s totally fine, but this app gives you Mass times pretty well!
When I was in Asia and Australia, I used this app and can verify that it does bring up international results. That’s how I was able to search for churches and Mass times in Singapore and Hong Kong.
You can download this app here:
Note: I will say that The Catholic Directory and MassTimes are also websites that you can access on a non-smartphone. And you can search for Mass times that way as well!
2. Go to the Google
When in doubt, go to Google! Isn’t that how we find…anything on the Internet? Haha.
Sometimes I do a combination of things utilizing Google to find Mass times.
Find the church website
If there’s a particular church i want to go visit, I’ll usually go Google that church or parish to find their website. Hopefully their website makes it easy to find Mass times and other useful information. Sometimes I do this even after I’ve looked up the church using an app because Mass times may have changed or, depending on if there’s a feast day or holiday, Mass times may be different. Sometimes I also like to see if the church offers other things like Adoration or Confession that I may wish to participate in, and websites will show this, if available.
Using Google Maps
I’ll pull up Google Maps and search for churches to see if there are any near me. The search results in Google Maps will link to a church’s website, if available, where I can look up Mass times and other information.
Find the diocese’s website
Not every church has a website or a website that provides useful information. Sometimes I’ll go to the diocese’s website to see if they have a directory of parishes and churches with Mass times. I’ll type something like “diocese of (insert current city here)” to find the diocese’s website.
The Easy Search
Literally just Google “mass times near me”, and Google will usually provide you some map results, links to MassTimes.org or other Mass-finding services, and some nearby church websites.
Benefits of Quickly Finding Mass Times
I know this skill seems like common sense, and using an app or Google is nothing revolutionary. But regardless of the method, there are some benefits to finding Mass times quickly.
Meet your Sunday obligation
Did you know that you’re still obligated to go to church on Sunday (or Saturday vigil is legit too) even if you’re traveling? Especially if you have the means to go to church? If you can find Mass times quickly, it’s easy to find a church and time that works. For me, when I traveled to Japan for work many times, I would often fly on weekends so finding Mass somewhere in-between landing from a flight and transferring to bullet trains was necessary.
Guarantee the church is open
I see this more in America where churches tend to be closed during the day or when Mass isn’t being celebrated. Such a shame, but I realize it’s usually for security concerns. It stinks when trying to visit a really cool-looking church only to find that it’s closed! One time, I flew to Tokyo with a friend, and we tried to visit a church on a way to a Tokyo Giants game because it was near their stadium, but it ended up being closed because Mass had been way earlier in the day. So, by finding Mass times, you can guarantee that a church will be open.
Helps with planning the itinerary
Trying to squeeze in Mass during airport layovers can be tricky, especially with international travel. I did a few hours of research prior to my Australia trip in order to work out the logistics and timing of going to Mass in Singapore and Hong Kong. Of course, the need to find your own Mass times is unnecessary if you’re on a typical, packaged pilgrimage.
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Featured photo: Photo by George Dolgikh from Pexels
JR is a full-time engineer working in the aerospace industry. Apart from having such a fly job, he flies unto the arms of Our Lady and the Church pursuing his faith and a relationship with Christ. Over the past several years, faith and flying via pilgrimages became a thing. When he’s not being fly, JR hangs out with family, friends, his chihuahua, and with thoughts of the next trip.