How many times can a priest say Mass in a day?
The Church has never obliged her priests to celebrate Mass every day, for centuries she has encouraged daily celebration of Mass but she has never insisted that a priest must celebrate Mass every day. The Mass as we know it is first and foremost the sacrifice of Christ Our Lord, the offering of Himself to the Father for the salvation of mankind. Because this is so, the Church encourages us to celebrate Mass daily and to attend such celebrations. She does not permit priests to celebrate Mass more than once a day except for certain special instances. We can certainly say that it is not in accordance with either the mind or the discipline of the Church to say more than one Mass a day apart from special occasions, Sundays and Days of Obligation. It is possible for permission to be given due to a shortage of priests for the celebration of Mass twice a weekday, but mere convenience is not sufficient reason especially when it is possible to attend one celebration. (cf. Canon 904,905).
