Father Mike is assisted by an associate priest, Father Alex Crasta. Between them, they conduct Mass in either of the churches, alternating between the two. St Ignatius has three Sunday Mass services, one on Sunday Morning at 8:30, and another at 6:00 pm.

There is also a Sunday Mass on Saturday evening at 6:00 pm, which is called 'Sunday,' even though it is on a Saturday, because of the tradition of counting a Sunday's beginning from Sun-down on a Saturday.

Technically, this would also make the Sunday Evening Mass not part of Sunday, but rather early on Monday morning, but the sun-down rule is not applied very strictly.

Most of the Masses last for around one hour, and are composed of several different sections.

The first section is the Litergy of the Word, which consists of three readings, one from the Old Testament, and two from the New Testament, one from the Epistles, and another from the Gospels.

The readings follow a set pattern, so that the same scriptures are read in all Roman Catholic churches all over the world, on the same days.

After the scripture readings, the priest gives a homily, that is, an explanation of the scriptures' meaning and how believers can apply it to their everyday lives.

"The second half of the Mass is composed of the Litergy of the Eucharist, where we say the prayer that Jesus used at the Last Supper, praying the bread and wine become his body and blood," Father Mike said.

"After that we have the communion itself, where people receive the body and blood of the Lord."

"As Catholics, we believe that the bread and wine actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus. This is called Transubstantiation. It is literally his flesh and blood, but it is in the form of bread and wine," he said.

There are also shorter versions of the Mass that take place every morning at 7:00 am for people who want to receive the Eucharist every day.

Speaking about his work, he said: "Administrative work takes a lot of my time. I have to make sure the church is financially stable in its work.

Part of his work involves administration work associated with St Ignatius School.

"We are all part of one community; you wouldn't have the school without the church," he said.

"The rest of my time is working with the sick, visiting the sick in hospital or at home. I pray that they will be healed, and I anoint them with the Oil of the Sick, which is a bottle of olive oil blessed by the bishop."

Father Mike said that the authority to do that was given in the Book of James, Chapter 5, verse 14: "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord."

Father Mike also said that much of his time was spent counseling couples who are planning to get married.

When asked if being celibate presented a problem, insofar that as a celibate priest he didn't have any first-hand experience of married life, Father Mike said that it wasn't really an obstacle to effective counseling because he is familiar with the kinds of problems married couples have.

"Marriage is about relationships, and we're all in relationships one way or another," he said.

Expanding on this principle, he said that it wasn't always necessary to personally experience what other people were experiencing in order to counsel them effectively. He believes that the Holy Spirit regularly comes to his aid to provide him with words of comfort and wisdom, when he knows that in his own strength, he would be at a loss for what to say.

christopher@caymannetnews.com