Can I fulfill the first Saturday devotion requirement with the vigil Mass?

[Tom_Taylor]

My wife was llistening to EWTN and the subject was regarding “making” the five first Saturdays…she caught the tail end of the discussion and her question is: "If I attend Mat on Sat. night, instead of Sun.,will the Sat. Mass also fulfill my “First Sat.” devotion, or will I need to go to Mass twice on Sat., or once on Sat., & once on Sunday…in other words can the vigil Mass be used to fulfill both requirements…first Sat., & also Sunday requirement…or can it only be used to fulfill one or the other, but not both??? I am of the opinion that it would only fulfill one obligation…
Thanks,
Tom Taylor

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

The first Saturday requirement is to attend Mass on Saturday and receive Holy Communion. It does not specify when on Saturday.
So Mass in the evening is still a Mass on Saturday and it fulfills the requirement.

The Sunday Mass requirement is quite separate. The Saturday night vigil Mass fulfills the Sunday Mass obligation. So you can fulfill the two very separate requirements with the same Mass.

Now don’t succumb to the temptation to scruple here.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.