My mom has the day off of work because she works with religious Catholics. I work at a public university and my lab does not have the day off. Also, I am a temporary hourly employee so any time I take off is time I don’t get paid, regardless of national or religious holidays. I can’t really afford to lose time/money because I am entering graduate school in the fall and I am trying to save up money/pay off credit cards before I get there.
So what do I do? Lose money I can’t afford to lose, or work on Good Friday?
I thought of going to an early mass and then working afterwards, to kind of balance both sides of it.
There is no early Mass on Good Friday…or any “Mass” per se. There is though a Liturgy for the Passion…and Holy Communion…but that is in the afternoon or evening (so you could easily make it there perhaps…but it is not a “day of obligation” where one has to go to Liturgy…but do try to make it).
There is no “obligation” to not “go to work” from the Church. Though it can be good to do if one can.
One is though obligated to Fast and to Abstain from Meat…
You have to make your decision…judgment in your case…
Nurses, Doctors, Firemen and the Police have to work on Good Friday.
There’s no sin in having to work Good Friday anymore than having to work on Sunday.
Also even on Holy Days of Obligation one can work if the interest of the public requires it, and a public University Lab belongs to this category.
Just as curiosity as the media over here is chewing on the priestly abuses, (while millions of other children are abused by parents, youth leaders, teachers etc, and no one cares about them); so the communist media when I was young chewed on he fact that the housekeepers in the rectory cooked the ham usually in Good Friday, telling that the priest orders so, because he breaks the fast and abstinence. In the reality they eat the ham only Saturday after the resurrection process like everyone else, but to cook the ham was paid work and sinless.
2193 “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound . . . to abstain from those labors and business concerns which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s Day, or the proper relaxation of mind and body” (CIC, can. 1247).
(though of course some have to work…like Doctors etc…)
Per the Code of Canon Law:
Can. 1246 §1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.
§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday. Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.
You will note that Can. 1246 does not list Good Friday as a day of obligation. Therefore, there is no restriction whatsoever, regardless of your job, to observe the day as a day of obligation.
Having said that, though, you are not off the hook:
Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.
Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Although there is no obligation to go to the Good Friday service or to take the day off from work, you are still obliged to abstain, fast, and devote yourself to prayer and works of charity on that day. A Christian is more than capable of doing that at work, in school, or other places.
Don’t get me wrong: if you are able to take that day off from work, that’s a good thing…better to devote yourself entirely to prayer and works of charity. However, it is not considered any type of obligation to take the day off from work.
Somebody responded that it wasn’t a sin to work on Sunday or Holy Days. I do not agree with that statement. Canon 1247 states that you are obliged not only to go to Mass but to abstain from unnecessary work on those days.
Please note that August 15th (Assumption), November 1st (All Saints) and December 8th (Immaculate Conception) are days of obligation in the US. And, if at all possible, you should make plans to take those days off (including, if money is an issue, setting aside a little bit each week so that it won’t be too much of a hardship when the day comes up).
The Commentary on the Code of Canon Law says: “Those whose livelihood requires them to work on holy days and/or Sundays are morally excused from the observance of the rest, but not necessarily from participation in the Mass.”
So the question is if you ask to take Aug 15th, Nov 1st, and Dec 8th off (assuming that they don’t fall on weekends…I don’t have a calendar handy), would your work require you to be present on those days? If you ask and your boss says “no,” then you would be excused from the requirement to rest. But if you don’t ask, are you truly required to work or are you just working because you want to work? There is a difference.
it is not a holy day of obligation and if you have to work at a job that does not allow you to take it as a personal day with pay, there is nothing wrong with working. Check the schedules at your parish, also at the Catholic Campus ministry, you may be able to make something. There is no Mass in any case.
Many Catholics would find themselves fired from their jobs and unable to support their families if they strictly followed this canon as you interpret it and always refused to work on Sundays and Holy Days. I don’t believe the Church or God asks this of us.
(not commenting on all his post per se but will note)
humm…in his post he noted:
“The Commentary on the Code of Canon Law says: “Those whose livelihood requires them to work on holy days and/or Sundays are morally excused from the observance of the rest, but not necessarily from participation in the Mass.””
There can be necessity you know…
and as the CCC notes:
“Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.”
The Code there is not establishing specific obligations there …the devoting oneself to prayer and works of charity etc…in the Canon are indicating some of the different ways of living these days… (as noted in the “Code of Canon Law Annotated”…pg 771)
Fast and abstinence are obligations though of course as seen in the following Canons…on Good Friday…etc (which can vary in places according to the Conf. of Bishops)
But yes…certainly let us pray etc! on especially this day (and the whole Triduum)
First, not my interpretation, it is the Canon Law Society’s interpretation.
You will note what I copied from the Commentary: “Those whose livelihood requires them to work on holy days and/or Sundays are morally excused from the observance of the rest, but not necessarily from participation in the Mass.”
In other words, if you have a job that requires you to work on Sundays or days of obligation, you go to your pastor and say: “My job requires me to work on Sundays. Can you please give me a dispensation from the rest requirement? I’ll go to Mass on Saturday evening, but I have no choice but to work.”
I cannot picture a pastor immediately saying, “you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
Or if you are going to be on travel someplace where there aren’t any Catholic churches (like Saudi Arabia): “Hey Father, I’m going to be on travel in the Mideast for two weeks and won’t be near any churches. Can you dispense me from the Sunday obligation?”
The point being that you should get the dispensation. Not just presume. Presumption leads us down the path where a kid’s softball tournament is more important that going to Mass.
“Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.”
Absolutely. The point is that each of us, above and beyond our typical daily penitential living, should make special efforts on those days according to our individual situation and our state in life.
And, as it states in Canon 1253:Can. 1253 The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.
The US bishops adopted this 1966 statement on Penance and Fasting as particular law in accordance with Can 1253. Included in those norms:
Recommended (not mandated, recommended) fasting each weekday during Lent.
Attendance at Daily Mass during Lent
Interesting is number 27, speaking of each Friday during the year:
27. It would bring great glory to God and good to souls if Fridays found our people doing volunteer work in hospitals, visiting the sick, serving the needs of the aged and the lonely, instructing the young in the Faith, participating as Christians in community affairs, and meeting our obligations to our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our community, including our parishes, with a special zeal born of the desire to add the merit of penance to the other virtues exercised in good works born of living faith.
Note: this is not phrased in such a way to MANDATE these specific works, but as a recommendation.
Regarding Mass…I highly recommend the dispensation route…but such is not always needed per se in regards to either the rest or Mass (regarding Mass for example see CCC 2181)
Though again …especially in cases of doubt…seek to be dispensed!
Stations of the Cross are at noon, so you could do that on your lunch hour if you work close enough to a Church. Actually, a lot ot days that aren’t obligatory have mass at noon on weekdays, such as Ash Wednesday, so that working people can observe the day.
Actually, I am my own favorite non-profit…;)<–that is a “wink” emoticon, implying facetiousness… (I shouldn’t have to say that, but you never can tell)
I work fo ra parish so I have to work on Good Friday. I get in at 8AM and stay until things are cleaned up after the afternoon service…around 4:30. I work Holy Saturday and Easter too.
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