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NEW MASS SCHEDULE - as of July 4, 2026
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A Pastoral Introduction
One of the last things that a Pastor wants to do is change a parish’s Mass schedule. For many people, a particular Mass time is connected to years of habit, family routine, friendships, and deep spiritual comfort. We understand that some parishioners may feel uneasy, confused, or disappointed by this upcoming change.Because of that reality, we want to explain not only what is changing, but why it is changing. Our hope is that this FAQ will help answer questions honestly, clearly, and pastorally as we move forward together as one POTHE family. These changes are not being made lightly. They have been made prayerfully, carefully, and with the long-term good of our entire parish in mind.The transition in Father Peter’s ministry touches every single one of us, clergy and parishioners alike. It reminds us that parish life is something we share together. When one part changes, the whole body feels it.And so, in different ways, each of us is being asked to make a small sacrifice for the good of our parish. That may not be easy. But it is also an opportunity to grow in unity, in generosity, and in our commitment to one another in Christ.
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NEW MASS SCHEDULE BEGINNING july 4, 2026
Anticipatory Masses 4 PM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth 4 PM St. Gregory the Great, Gray Sunday Masses of the Day 7:30 AM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth 8:00 AM St. Gregory the Great, Gray 9:00 AM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth 10:30 AM St. Jude, Freeport 11:00 AM Sacred Heart, Yarmouth 5:00 PM Sacred Heart, Yarmouth*
*(silent/ad orientem; chanted on the last Sunday of the month beginning in September 2026)
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ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO
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Announcement text
Upcoming Mass Schedule Change
After the Prayer After Communion, deliver announcements and then ask the faithful to please sit for an important announcement.
For many years, our parish has been blessed to have three priests assigned to offer weekend Masses at our churches, including the faithful ministry of Father Peter Kaseta who at 85 years old has generously served our parish for over sixteen years. This coming July, Father Peter’s status is changing, and he will no longer be a part of our parish’s weekend Mass rotation. That will leave the weekend Masses to two priests, Father Cartwright and Father Joseph, and so we are announcing today a new Mass schedule for our parish that will go into effect the weekend of July fourth and fifth.
Father Cartwright and Father Joseph have generously agreed to offer four Masses every weekend. This is the maximum number of Masses a priest is allowed to offer, and it is a heavy workload.
The new upcoming Mass schedule was decided in collaboration between Father Cartwright, Father Joseph, our parish ministry directors, and the chairpersons of our Pastoral and Finance Councils. Many factors were taken into consideration such as offering varied Mass times for parishioners’ convenience, travel time between churches, priests being able to spend time with parishioners after Mass, our monthly FIRE family faith formation Mass, and the quality of life for our priests, given such a heavy weekend workload.
Given this reality, many of us will be impacted by these changes and will be called upon to sacrifice a level of convenience and routine. Our new parish weekend Mass schedule, beginning the weekend of July 4th and 5th will be:
Saturday anticipatory Masses:- 4 PM at Holy Martyrs
- 4 PM at St. Gregory the Great
Sunday Masses of the Day:- 7:30 AM at Holy Martyrs
- 8:00 AM at St. Gregory the Great
- 9:00 AM at Holy Martyrs
- 10:30 AM at St. Jude
- 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart
- 5:00 PM at Sacred Heart
We know that Mass schedule changes are sensitive. Please know that deciding on this new schedule was not taken lightly. We understand that parishioners don’t just attend a Mass time, they form spiritual habits, routines, friendships, and emotional connections to their fellow parishioners around a Mass time and a church. This new Mass schedule was designed so that if a certain former Mass time was preferred, there would be another one in proximity. Even so, it is okay for this to feel difficult. Change can be painful even when there are good reasons for it.
Father Cartwright, Father Joseph, and other leaders in our parish will address any questions with patience, charity, and a listening ear. You may feel sadness over losing a familiar routine. These feelings will be met with understanding, while also keeping the good of the whole parish in view.
Mass attendance across our parish has been increasing over the past few years, thanks be to God, and we believe that this new Mass schedule best accommodates all the various needs of our parishioners, musicians, ministries, and clergy, and will allow us to continue to grow as a parish both in celebration and in faithfulness. Fewer weekend Masses will also mean fuller churches, which will enhance our worship and participation.
This new weekend Mass schedule is rooted in a serious desire to care for parishioners, to strengthen the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to preserve priestly health, and to position our parish well for the future. Please remember that we are held together by Jesus Christ, who gathers us at His altar not by the convenience of a specific Mass time.
And wherever and whenever we attend Holy Mass in our parish, we remain one family in Him.
Also, you will be happy to know that Father Peter will be staying in Maine, and he has an open invitation to concelebrate any Mass in our parish of his choosing at any time. And in recognition of Father Peter’s sixteen years of faithful service to us, we will soon be announcing a date and time for a celebration to honor him in gratitude.
Please keep Father Peter, Father Cartwright, and Father Joseph in your prayers in a special way in these weeks ahead. We ask for your patience and charity as we adjust together. May we surrender this change to the Lord, who unites us at His altar and keeps us one in Him in the Most Holy Eucharist. May God bless you and continue to bless our parish.
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FAQ
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The reason is that our parish will now be served by only two priests instead of three.
For many years, we have been blessed by the faithful ministry of Father Peter, who at 85 years old has generously and sacrificially served this parish for close to 16 years. He is now moving to per diem status, meaning he will no longer be regularly assigned to a parish. The regular pastoral responsibilities at POTHE now rest with Fr. Cartwright and Fr. Joseph.
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In our Diocese of Portland, the Bishop allows, in cases of pastoral necessity, a priest to celebrate up to 4 Masses per weekend, as the Code of Canon Law permits:
Can. 905 §2. If there is a shortage of priests, the local ordinary can allow priests to celebrate twice a day for a just cause, or if pastoral necessity requires it, even three times on Sundays and holy days of obligation.
With two priests, this means a practical limit of 8 Masses can be offered in a way that is lawful, sustainable, reverent, and pastorally effective.
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Yes. Fr. Cartwright and Fr. Joseph will each be offering 4 Masses every weekend.
While it is not ideal for a priest to consistently celebrate the maximum number of Masses every weekend, for the spiritual good of our parish, both of our priests will offer 4 Masses. However, even with this commitment and sacrifice, changes to the schedule are still necessary.
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With much prayer and consultation among the clergy, the Department of Faith Formation, the Department of Sacred Music and the respective chairs of both the Pastoral and Finance Councils, several key priorities were carefully considered:
- Sufficient time between Masses: Ensuring that there are at least two hours between Masses for the priest, unless he is staying at the same church for both Masses. Allowing priests adequate time to travel, prepare for Mass, greet and meet with parishioners, hear a confession, anoint the sick, celebrate reverently, and preach well is essential.
- Families & Religious Education (FIRE): Continuing to ensure a strong and accessible Sunday morning Mass for families and faith formation planning.
- Children’s Liturgy of the Word: Supporting a growing and important ministry for young children.
- Serving all 4 churches with Sunday morning Mass times: Maintaining a “prime time” Sunday morning Mass at each church and geographic accessibility across the parish.
- Quality of Worship: Encouraging fuller congregations, stronger active participation, and vibrant liturgy.
- Sustainability of Priestly Ministry: Creating a sustainable and dependable pace of pastoral care into the future.
- Sufficient time between Masses: Ensuring that there are at least two hours between Masses for the priest, unless he is staying at the same church for both Masses. Allowing priests adequate time to travel, prepare for Mass, greet and meet with parishioners, hear a confession, anoint the sick, celebrate reverently, and preach well is essential.
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In the Church’s structure, the Pastor of a parish is responsible for establishing a workable liturgical schedule in keeping with diocesan norms and the real limits of clergy availability, travel time, and the number of weekend Masses a priest can celebrate. There was consultation with those most directly responsible for key areas affected by the schedule (clergy, faith formation, sacred music, and the leadership of the Pastoral and Finance Councils) to ensure the schedule would function in real parish life.
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The new Mass schedule is an 8-Mass weekend schedule:
Saturday Anticipatory Masses:
4:00 PM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth
4:00 PM St. Gregory the Great, Gray
Sunday Masses of the Day:
7:30 AM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth
8:00 AM St. Gregory the Great, Gray
9:00 AM Holy Martyrs, Falmouth
10:30 AM St. Jude, Freeport
11:00 AM Sacred Heart, Yarmouth
5:00 PM Sacred Heart, Yarmouth*
*silent/ad orientem; chanted on the last Sunday of the month beginning in September 2026
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Within our one united parish family each of our 4 communities is beautiful and unique. One of the most important guiding principles in this process was that we maintain all 4 churches so that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Most Holy Eucharist remain accessible to the widest geographical population possible. Each church serves a distinct part of the parish and surrounding communities. This schedule change is not about favoring any one church or Mass over another. It is about balancing and serving the needs of the entire parish as fairly and prudently as possible given their distinct needs and populations.
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No, not at all.
In fact, our attendance trends show that our parish as a whole has remained strong, and in some areas, has grown. The issue is not simply how many people attend across the whole weekend, but how to distribute Masses in a way that best serves parishioners, supports vibrant worship, and remains sustainable for priests and parish life over time.
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A multitude of different scenarios of 8-Mass schedule were considered and exhaustively debated from various perspectives and priorities, and in the end, this Mass schedule listed above was deemed by all involved to be the one that serves our entire parish community in the fullest and most complete way, while achieving all of our established guiding principles.
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Mass intentions scheduled for beginning July 4 will be moved as follows:
1. 8:30 AM Mass intentions at St. Gregory the Great will automatically be moved to the 8 AM Mass.
2. 9:30 AM Mass intentions at St. Jude will automatically be moved to the 10:30 AM Mass.
3. 5:30 PM Mass intentions at Holy Martyrs will automatically be moved to the 5 PM Mass at Sacred Heart.
4. 8 AM Sacred Heart and 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM Holy Martyrs Mass intentions will be rescheduled. Lisa, our dedicated office volunteer, will be calling in the order Mass intentions were received to personally reschedule these Mass intentions.
If for some reason you do not want your Mass intention at the new Mass time, please call Lisa at our parish office, (207) 847-6890, and she will do her best to accommodate your new request. Please be advised that new weekend Mass intention requests received will not be scheduled until all current Mass intentions have been rescheduled.
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We will continue using Ministry Scheduler Pro and automatic scheduling. If your preferred Mass time has changed, email Regina, [email protected], with your new Mass preference by June 15. After June 15, we will default your Mass preference as follows:
Old Schedule New Schedule 8:00 AM Sacred Heart 7:30 AM Holy Martyrs 8:30 AM St. Gregory 8:00 AM St. Gregory 8:30 AM Holy Martyrs 9:00 AM Holy Martyrs 9:30 AM St. Jude 10:30 AM St. Jude 10:30 AM Holy Martyrs 9:00 AM Holy Martyrs 5:30 PM Holy Martyrs 5:00 PM Sacred Heart
After July 1, especially as we begin practicing this new schedule, your preferred Mass schedule can be changed in Ministry Scheduler Pro or by emailing Regina.
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Liturgy of the Word for children ages 7 and under will be offered during the 9:00 AM Mass at Holy Martyrs.
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It is where the both the priest and the people face the same direction. The offering of Mass “facing the people” (versus populum) was officially encouraged after Vatican II, but the historic practice, of “facing East” (ad orientem), is still permitted and normative for the traditional Latin Mass. Please see Fr. Cartwright’s bulletin articles for more explanation.
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On the scheduled FIRE/CGS weekends, families will attend the 9:00 AM Mass at Holy Martyrs followed by Faith Formation programming until noon.
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Baptisms will take place during or after these Masses: 4 PM Holy Martyrs, 4 PM St. Greogry the Great, 8:00 AM St. Gregory the Great, 9:00 AM Holy Martyrs, 10:30 AM St. Jude, and 11:00 AM Sacred Heart. Baptisms will be celebrated by both priests and deacons to make more dates and times available for families.
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As we begin this new Mass schedule, the Precious Blood will be offered at one Mass at each church, as before. The Precious Blood will be available at the following Masses: 4 PM Holy Martyrs, 8 AM St. Gregory the Great, 10:30 AM St. Jude and 11:00 AM Sacred Heart.
If because of this new Mass schedule, we begin to have enough Extraordinary Ministers at the other Masses, consideration will be given to expanding the number of Masses which distribute the Precious Blood.
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No. It is about doing what we do more effectively.
This is about mission, not minimization. The aim is to strengthen worship, preserve priestly health, support our ministries, and create a schedule that can be sustained well.
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Because family life and faith formation are central POTHE priorities.
Families in Religious Education (FIRE) needs a morning Mass at Holy Martyrs at a certain time which is conducive to parish-wide family programming. The schedule preserves a 9:00 AM Sunday Mass at Holy Martyrs, moving from its current 8:30 AM time slot.
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No. The daily Mass schedule and the First Saturday Latin Mass will remain the same.
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This feeling is completely understandable.
People not only attend a time, but they also form spiritual habits, routines, friendships, and emotional connections around a Mass time and a church. This new 8-Mass schedule was designed so that if a certain former Mass time was preferred, there would be one in proximity. Even so, it is okay for this to feel difficult. Change can be painful, even when there are good reasons for it.
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Has the parish taken into consideration people’s emotions about changing Mass times in this process?
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Yes, most certainly.
This is why this document was put together. The parish knows that Mass schedule changes are sensitive. This FAQ aims to make one thing clear: practical reasons matter, but people matter too.
The emotional difficulty of change is real, and it deserves patience, charity, and honest communication. People may feel sadness, frustration, anxiety, confusion, inconvenience, or grief over losing a familiar routine. These feelings need to be met with understanding, while also keeping the good of the whole parish in view.
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A few important things:
First, this change is being made for the spiritual well-being of the entire parish, not against any one church or Mass time.
Second, some inconvenience is real, but inconvenience is not the same thing as abandonment.
Third, our unity does not come from a preferred hour, but from Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Fourth, charity matters. People will react differently. Some will welcome the change. Some will grieve it. We must meet people with patience.
Fifth, this is an invitation to renew our understanding of Sunday Mass not as “my slot” but as the gathering of the Church around the altar of God.
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Parishioners are being asked to respond with: patience, prayer, openness, flexibility and trust.
No Mass schedule change is easy. But if this transition is approached in a spirit of charity and faith, it can become not merely an administrative adjustment, but an opportunity for the whole parish to grow in unity, reverence, and love for the Holy Eucharist.
We also ask that every parishioner pray ever more fervently for an increase in vocations and that more young men will open their hearts to a potential calling to the beautiful life of the priesthood. Families taking part in the Chalice Program each week help us do this in a very real and tangible way.
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CLOSING WORDWe know this change will not be easy for everyone. That is understandable. But this decision is rooted in a serious desire to care for the people of our parish, to strengthen the offering of Holy Mass, to preserve priestly health, and to position our parish well for the future.
Above all, our parish is not held together by convenience. We are held together by Jesus Christ, who gathers us at His altar. And wherever and whenever we attend Holy Mass in our parish, we remain one family in Him.
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