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Elizium23
Guest
The Saturday evening Mass is not (usually) a vigil Mass or an anticipated Mass. It is the Sunday Mass.
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tee_eff_em
Guest
I do not think anyone has said it was? But none the less is (along with the non-obligatory SS Peter & Paul) retains a proper vigil Mass.
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
And since this has been true for at least two generations now, I don’t understand why the question seems to come up here about every 9 days.
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BarbG
Guest
I wish they had a Saturday Mass many years ago when my husband was working – a fireman and of course, they worked Sundays as well as other days. The earliest Mass in our Parish was 7 AM and he had to be at work at 8 AM-- so he asked if they couldn’t have an earlier Mass – 6:30 – the answer was NO – so he had to take the car and find a Parish near the firehouse where he was working. I was left with three kids to get up, get dressed, and walk to our Parish Church. On the days it rained it was really tough getting to Mass but I don’t think I ever failed to get there unless I was ill.
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TheSeeker2014
Guest
how new is this saturday mass concept?
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tee_eff_em
Guest
I wonder how widespread was the phenomenon – practiced in at least Baltimore and Pittsburgh, according to Google – Of the “Printers’ Mass”? A 02:30 Sunday morning Mass, affording the newspaper men the chance to attend on their way home, after spending a shift printing the next day’s papers.
Pittsburgh ended theirs sometime in the last 20 years; St Vincent dePaul in Baltimore appears to continue celebrate a 00:15 Mass on Sundays and holy days.
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pianistclare
Guest
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jmcrae
Guest
Since the mid-sixties, for sure. I remember neighbours of ours when we first moved in to the house I grew up in, were on their way to Saturday evening Mass the day we moved in; that was May of 1966.
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jmcrae
Guest
I think there must be a lot of people who’ve been away from the Church that long, and are just beginning to come back.
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Phemie
Guest
There now also a Vigil of Epiphany.
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Phemie
Guest
Someone once pointed out that since allowing those Saturday evening “anticipated” Masses was left to the Bishop’s discretion, some areas experienced these much later than others as some Bishops refused to allow them.
I know that by the time I graduated from high school in 1971 we had them on a regular basis but they weren’t implemented as early as '66 in my neck of the woods. Perhaps late '69…
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HollowGhost
Guest
Great topic, one of my favorites. My understanding was that Saturday evening Mass was a product of Vatican II which I am personally very thankful for. I also thought that the Jewish Sabbath began at sunset, hence the requirement for some time after 4 pm. I just had the pleasure of dining with and sitting next to our new Bishop last night and this topic came up. In my Diocese, 5 pm seems most common although there are some that start at 4:30 and some as late as 5:30.
I am 47 and as a kid, rarely remember going to Mass on any other day. My mother is a “night owl” and my family is too so Saturday has always seemed “normal” to me. My wife and I have 4 children age 13 and under. At one point we had two in diapers. Trying to get out the door on Sunday am was always one catastrophe after another. My wife was not Catholic at the time and for a while we were “Church shopping.” I mentioned to her that as a kid, my family and I always went on Saturday evening so she agreed to try it.
Saturday Mass at my Parrish is amazing! The dress code is much more casual (we are usually racing in from various sports practices or games) and the music ministry is contemporary, very moving, and very inspiring. I sometimes work on Sunday as well but NEVER on Saturday because it is a HOLY DAY for us, never missing Mass if at all possible. It is very easy with children when you are already up and about to make it to Mass on Saturday. Speaking of music, my wife was Protestant at the time and the music was so inspiring for her that if we missed Saturday, she simply would not attend on Sunday (traditional cantors).
In my humble opinion, Saturday Mass is the greatest thing ever invented!!! My family builds our entire schedule around it; if that is not “honoring the Sabbath” than I don’t know what is.
The Saturday Mass option has been so important in my families faith journey that my wife became Catholic this year after 23 years of marriage and sitting in Catholic Mass for over eight years. I knew she had truly become Catholic when several weeks back I was out of town and she actually took my children to Mass on Sunday; I was so proud of her!!!
One of the previous posters was correct in that the Saturday readings are actually the readings for Sunday, ie. if you went on both Saturday and Sunday you would hear the same ones. This gets confusing for my kids since we try and perform the USCCB daily readings together when I am not travelling.
In summary, Saturday Mass is a viable and attractive option for many people. The “Saturday crowd” tends to be a bit different and it is not for everyone but I love it. To me, Mass on Sunday feels odd because we always went on Saturday.
Your Brother in Christ,
HollowGhost
I am 47 and as a kid, rarely remember going to Mass on any other day. My mother is a “night owl” and my family is too so Saturday has always seemed “normal” to me. My wife and I have 4 children age 13 and under. At one point we had two in diapers. Trying to get out the door on Sunday am was always one catastrophe after another. My wife was not Catholic at the time and for a while we were “Church shopping.” I mentioned to her that as a kid, my family and I always went on Saturday evening so she agreed to try it.
Saturday Mass at my Parrish is amazing! The dress code is much more casual (we are usually racing in from various sports practices or games) and the music ministry is contemporary, very moving, and very inspiring. I sometimes work on Sunday as well but NEVER on Saturday because it is a HOLY DAY for us, never missing Mass if at all possible. It is very easy with children when you are already up and about to make it to Mass on Saturday. Speaking of music, my wife was Protestant at the time and the music was so inspiring for her that if we missed Saturday, she simply would not attend on Sunday (traditional cantors).
In my humble opinion, Saturday Mass is the greatest thing ever invented!!! My family builds our entire schedule around it; if that is not “honoring the Sabbath” than I don’t know what is.
The Saturday Mass option has been so important in my families faith journey that my wife became Catholic this year after 23 years of marriage and sitting in Catholic Mass for over eight years. I knew she had truly become Catholic when several weeks back I was out of town and she actually took my children to Mass on Sunday; I was so proud of her!!!
One of the previous posters was correct in that the Saturday readings are actually the readings for Sunday, ie. if you went on both Saturday and Sunday you would hear the same ones. This gets confusing for my kids since we try and perform the USCCB daily readings together when I am not travelling.
In summary, Saturday Mass is a viable and attractive option for many people. The “Saturday crowd” tends to be a bit different and it is not for everyone but I love it. To me, Mass on Sunday feels odd because we always went on Saturday.
Your Brother in Christ,
HollowGhost
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pianistclare
Guest
Indeed. At out parish the Saturday night crowd are mostly widow and widowers who are great friends, very close, and they all go out to a buffet together. They are not able to get up in the morning so early, and they don’t like to drive in the dark either. It suits them perfectly. I’m sure they all grew up thinking it was Sunday morning or else, but time and age changes people. And people WANT to fulfill their obligations and worship the Lord.
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HollowGhost
Guest
Great point. We have several families that will head out to dinner together for some Christian fellowship after Mass. Oftentimes we can talk our priest into coming with us. We usually have a few adult beverages, relax, unwind, and share in each others’ lives. I have become close friends with my priest as a result and love him dearly as well as the other families; we are very close.
HollowGhost
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PaulfromIowa
Guest
The Church is always growing, there are always new converts.
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Errham
Guest
This leaves me with a question. If Solemneties begin at sundown of the night before, then shouldn’t they also end on the night that day? Or are they 36 hour celebrations?
The reason I’m asking, is because there’s a parish nearby that only holds masses in the evening. So one could attend Saturday night Mass and fulfill the Sunday requirement. However, most people who come to the Sunday evening mass also think that they’ve filled the Sunday requirenent. Is this correct? Do Solemnities start at sundown the night before and then until midnight of the day itself?
The reason I’m asking, is because there’s a parish nearby that only holds masses in the evening. So one could attend Saturday night Mass and fulfill the Sunday requirement. However, most people who come to the Sunday evening mass also think that they’ve filled the Sunday requirenent. Is this correct? Do Solemnities start at sundown the night before and then until midnight of the day itself?
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TheSeeker2014
Guest
On the Jewish calander I think it is from sundown to sundown. (evening to evening)
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meherdmann
Guest
Yes, an evening Sunday/Holy Day mass fulfills the Mass obligation. Technically the Solemnity starts with 1st Vespers the evening before and ends with 2nd Vespers the evening of
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tee_eff_em
Guest
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ProVobis
Guest
Closer to 30-hours.
But to those who think expansion of the obligation fulfillment to Saturday evening was a good idea, wouldn’t further expansion to Friday or Monday be even better?
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