100 Masses in a Year

Back in December, my husband told me about a friend who set a goal to spend 100 hours on his boat during 2023. I found myself wondering what I could do 100 times in a year. I told our oldest son that maybe I would try to go to 100 Masses.

“You probably already go to that many in a year,” he said. But I wasn’t sure. I had never counted.

That’s where the idea was born.

At first, it seemed a little daunting. But then we broke it down. If you go every Sunday to Mass, you’re more than halfway. Then you figure you have a few holy days of obligation. Maybe 100 would be challenging but doable.

Going to daily Mass wasn’t new to me, but I started going more regularly. There is always a reason not to go to daily Mass since it’s completely optional. I tried to think of a reason to go, whether it was a particular feast day or someone in our world really needed prayers. Each day that I went to Mass, I circled the date on the calendar hanging in our kitchen.

At the end of each month, I added up the days. I did well for the month of January, making it to 12 Masses, but then I dropped down to 7 for February. I didn’t break 10 again until September. But during September and October, I really found my rhythm, making it to 16 Masses in September and 14 in October—so far.

This Tuesday morning, I woke up and looked at my schedule and decided I could make it to my 100^th Mass that day.

As the days added up, I had started wondering where I would mark my 100^th Mass of the year. It would have been nice to be together as a family for that Mass. But it turned out that it was the feast of St. John Paul II, and I was at a simple and lovely daily Mass on the campus where I work.

Sitting there, praying for my nephew who is named for that great saint and for his new baby sister, who was born over the weekend, I listened as the priest—Father Tom Roach of the Society of Jesus—reminisced about being in Rome for Pope John Paul II’s funeral.

I found myself remembering going to a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in Rome. That was back in 1998, so many years ago, and my friend and I just happened to come across that packed outdoor Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

That is one Mass I will never forget, and it seemed appropriate that I reached my goal on such a special feast day.

Reflecting on this 100-Mass journey, I mainly feel grateful to have reached this point. Over the past year, I’ve slipped into pews in several churches. I’ve researched Mass times to know which ones I can get to just after school drop-off or in between other obligations. I’ve listened to homilies that have stayed with me and others that have just been what I needed in that moment. I’ve been called into service as a lector. I’ve received Communion from priests I know well and priests whose name I do not know at all.

I’ve prayed alone and with friends. Every single time, I have carried intentions of friends and family members with me, sometimes sharing them aloud, and sometimes sharing them only with God.

It’s been a wonderful year—and I have needed Mass more than I thought I would going into it. Attending Mass more often is a gift to God, of course. It is so, so good to spend that time with him. But it’s been a gift to me, too. I love Mass, especially daily Mass, and I have been spiritually nourished through that time.

Over the past 10 months, I have learned the pleasure of setting a concrete goal and achieving it. I’ve also learned just how much I love that time in my day. I can’t get to Mass every day, but I can go to Mass more often than I have gone in the past.

And, although it might seem silly, there were days where I would be on the fence about going to Mass. Knowing that I had my goal gave me that little extra push to fit Mass into my day.

One of the best aspects of this journey was how supported I felt by friends and family and colleagues. My Mass buddy Laura slipped into the pew beside me several times this year. The afternoon I reached 100, my friend Emily and I met for ice cream. The next day, my boss had a “Congrats” balloon waiting on my chair in our weekly meeting.

The year still feels young, and I am hoping to fit several more Masses into these last days before we start a new year. What will the final tally be? I can only guess. But I am grateful to have marked this milestone. I’m thankful to live and work in an area where I can attend Mass freely, and where Mass is so available and accessible.

100 Masses. It seemed like a bit of a stretch when I started this road back in January, but I made it.

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