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Chuck1
Guest
Hi I was wondering since All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation does that mean I can skip school o go to mass ?
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YoungTradCath
Guest
You aren’t Catholic yet, so there is no obligation for you.
With that said, you can do whatever you want, although I wouldn’t recommend skipping school. Besides, most Catholic churches have more masses on Holy Days than just the regularly scheduled ones. Usually, if a Holy Day is on a weekday, there might normally be one mass on that day, but because it’s a Holy Day, there would probably be more like three, four, or five or more, and they’re usually spread throughout the day so it can fit peoples’ schedules.
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PerfectTiming
Guest
I find it hard to believe there is not an evening mass or an evening vigil the night before. If this is the case (as I am sure it is) then you should attend one of these services and still attend school. If you are still in the process of becoming Catholic then you are not bound by obligation so it is admirable that you still wish to attend Mass but you should also not be missing school.
Without meaning to sound uncharitable, your question is phrased in such a way that it could seem as if you are looking for a way to miss school. I do not question your intentions but just be careful because misunderstandings can lead to people being uncharitable. The internet has that problem.
Without meaning to sound uncharitable, your question is phrased in such a way that it could seem as if you are looking for a way to miss school. I do not question your intentions but just be careful because misunderstandings can lead to people being uncharitable. The internet has that problem.
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Chuck1
Guest
Hi thanks for response , I appreciate itI find it hard to believe there is not an evening mass or an evening vigil the night before. If this is the case (as I am sure it is) then you should attend one of these services and still attend school. If you are still in the process of becoming Catholic then you are not bound by obligation so it is admirable that you still wish to attend Mass but you should also not be missing school.
Without meaning to sound uncharitable, your question is phrased in such a way that it could seem as if you are looking for a way to miss school. I do not question your intentions but just be careful because misunderstandings can lead to people being uncharitable. The internet has that problem.
no I like school I didn’t mean it to sound like I wanted to skip school I was just wondering thanks all again
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CatholicZ09
Guest
In most parishes like mine, since this solemnity is a Holy Day of Obligation this year, they will have a morning Mass as usual, and then they will have an evening Mass for those who work or have school. My parish doesn’t do a vigil the evening before because of Halloween, but I guess that some parishes do.
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Blenderx
Guest
The precept is “You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.” I can see why the OP would ask if they should attend school on a day that should be given to rest, if possible. Why don’t people take the day off work or school, if they are at all able, to observe holy days? I mean this question in all sincerity.
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YoungTradCath
Guest
I don’t engage in servile labor at my school or my job.
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ExLibris
Guest
If you attend a public school, then I think you should skip that day as long as it does not affect your grades.
Those government bureaucrats must be reminded that not everyone genuflects to the State.
Those government bureaucrats must be reminded that not everyone genuflects to the State.
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YoungTradCath
Guest
I think this is awful advice.
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JGMendes4049
Guest
I go to public school, and purely by coincidence, I have All Saints Day off. 
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Timothysis
Guest
It is not a sin to miss Mass because of having to attend school. I do not think suggesting to skip school to go to Mass is a good idea, either.
If there is a Mass before or after school, then fine.
If not, there is no sin on your part.
If there is a Mass before or after school, then fine.
If not, there is no sin on your part.
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LilyM
Guest
The precept is actually about rest from UNNECESSARY servile labour. Workers should attend work, and students school, on all days when they are required. And you’d hardly be asked to work or attend school on any day when it was unnecessary to do so.
This holds true even if you would miss Mass as a result. Remember Our Lord said ‘the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath’, so legitimate necessities such as work and study can trump the requirement to go to Mass.
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thistle
Guest
I agree with you.
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Mrs_Sally
Guest
As others have said, when a HDO is a weekday, there are usually extra Masses scheduled in the afternoons and evenings.
We should also refrain from unnecessary work, but that doesn’t mean our ordinary duties. Go to school, but try to plan your time so that you are not working all day to finish a big project.
In many places the bishops have moved the celebration of Holy Days to Sundays specifically to make it easier for people to celebrate. Our secular calendars no longer automatically give us Holy Days as days off of school or work. I know people who plan their vacation or personal days off to coincide with HDO, but that is not possible for all of us.
We should also refrain from unnecessary work, but that doesn’t mean our ordinary duties. Go to school, but try to plan your time so that you are not working all day to finish a big project.
In many places the bishops have moved the celebration of Holy Days to Sundays specifically to make it easier for people to celebrate. Our secular calendars no longer automatically give us Holy Days as days off of school or work. I know people who plan their vacation or personal days off to coincide with HDO, but that is not possible for all of us.
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Paxvobis
Guest
I think it’s fine to skip school for All Saints’ Day. I’m a public high school student and my school does have a religious exemption for attending school for holy days of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. I don’t plan to take advantage of it (I wouldn’t know what to do if it weren’t for school. 
)
On Sundays & Holydays of Obligation, Catholics are obliged to attend Mass and rest from all labors which hinder the proper worship owed to God. If you personally can’t fulfill either of those two because you have to attend school then don’t go to school that day. It’s a matter of priorities, like today’s gospel reading: pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and pay to God what belongs to God. The obligation to assist at Mass and rest on Sundays & Holy Days is pretty serious and I don’t think one should be advised not to unless they physically can’t get there, or they’d get fired from work, or something gravely serious like that.
Besides, it’s better for anybody to be at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass than to be in the morass that is the 21st century American public high school (I’m from California, maybe it’s not so bad where you live
).
(Just a note - I have a love/hate relationship with my school. Sure it’s a morass, but it’s the morass I’m in..)
)On Sundays & Holydays of Obligation, Catholics are obliged to attend Mass and rest from all labors which hinder the proper worship owed to God. If you personally can’t fulfill either of those two because you have to attend school then don’t go to school that day. It’s a matter of priorities, like today’s gospel reading: pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and pay to God what belongs to God. The obligation to assist at Mass and rest on Sundays & Holy Days is pretty serious and I don’t think one should be advised not to unless they physically can’t get there, or they’d get fired from work, or something gravely serious like that.
Besides, it’s better for anybody to be at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass than to be in the morass that is the 21st century American public high school (I’m from California, maybe it’s not so bad where you live
).(Just a note - I have a love/hate relationship with my school. Sure it’s a morass, but it’s the morass I’m in.
.)
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JReducation
Guest
To the best of my knowledge, there is only one moveable solemnity in the USA, the Ascension of the Lord.
If a solemnity is consecutive with a Sunday, on a Saturday or Monday, the local bishop or the Bishops Conference, may dispense with the obligation. This was allowed because in many communities, especially rural communities, people travel long distances to get to mass. In places where they have poor roads, bad weather, or inefficient means of transportation, this can present a hardship, if you have to do it two consecutive days. The Church is not in the business of making life impossible for her people.
It also gives parish priests a breatk. Many parish priests depend on priests from religious orders, chanceries, schools, colleges, hospitals, prisons and other non parrochial institutions for help with Sunday masses. However, these other priests may not be available two days in a row. This means that the local parish priest has two days full of masses and not enough priests. It’s exhausting, especially since most parish offices do not close on holy days of obligation. They would have a full schedule and the extra masses without help. For example, a priest who teaches may not be able to get away if the solemnity falls on a school day. He has to celebrate mass before or after school.
In my own fraternity, our one priest is the maintenance man, go to guy, the on call confessor for our centers and the celebrant for the conventual mass. He is on call during the centers’ hours of operation Mon - Sat. He is only available in the mid afternoont. He can’t celebrate an evening mass, because they usually coincide with community recreation and community meals. Mid afternoon is not when a parish priest needs help. This is the case with many non parrochial priests.
This year, All Saints falls on Tuesday. The parish priests get a little rest on Monday. They may even get to sleep a little later and can pick up the speed again on Tuesday.
First, you have a moral duty to go to school. School is not servile work. Even in religious houses, novitiates and seminaries we go to school every day and sometimes on Saturdays.
Second, if a parish is large enough, the pastor will usually schedule an extra mass the evening before or the evening of the solemnity. It’s only in smaller parishes that you may not have the extra mass, because there is not a demand for it. Even then, pastors will try to schedule it at a time when the largest number of people are available. Then there are the other parishes in your area, in case you can’t make mass at your parish.
Third, if you have to miss school to attend a morning mass, most school systems in the USA have an allotted number of days and hours that a student can miss, before it affects his grade. You can always arrive late and dock that time from the time allowed for absences. Schools will not argue against an tardiness for religious reasons if they have a note from the parent. It is better to let them know in advance, if you can.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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Blenderx
Guest
The precept is actually this (bolding mine):
And honestly, I can think of many days when it really wasn’t all that necessary for me to be at work or school but I was there anyway.
And I’m someone who liked school.I really wasn’t suggesting that anybody should take off if this would cause problems for them, and I’m not suggesting anybody would be sinning if they didn’t. I’m not being pharisaical here. But if somebody can find a substitute to cover their shift, or has some extra vacation days at work and there aren’t any big, important projects or presentations happening, why not take the day off to observe the holy day? Or for a student, if they are able to get a religious exemption, can make up any work missed, get notes, and there aren’t any big projects or tests that can’t be made up, etc. that day, why not take the day off to attend mass and enjoy some rest of mind and body?
I was mostly curious because I recently had a discussion with an orthodox Jewish student about missing classes for their holy days.
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Catholic90
Guest
No, skipping school is never a good idea.
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Evan
Guest
I’ll be skipping work that day, as I do every Holy Day. That is what makes it Holy… it is separate from the mundane. Dedicated to God.
Probably go to mass, say a rosary at Planned Parenthood, etc.
Probably go to mass, say a rosary at Planned Parenthood, etc.
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dconklin
Guest
This is nuts! I am pretty sure you are doing more of a dis-service to yourself and God by skipping school. If your parish does not offer Mass after school, then they are not offering convenient enough Mass times. It is not on you.
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