Communion Service meets Sunday Obligation?

[ProVobis]

There is no situation where something other than a Mass meets the Sunday Obligation. There are only situations where the obligation is dispensed. It would not be dispensed if it is reasonable to go to Mass still.

Ture, even if it’s in a language you don’t understand.

 

[MSSheBear]

I went to another Mass this morning at another parish. The cancelled Mass was a Saturday Evening Mass so most though not all of us could have gone to another Mass, perhaps in another language. I myself had so many choices that I was actually confused as to which one to take.

Someone at our parish contacted our priest so maybe, perhaps, he dispensed us from our obligation and the lay person misspoke. I don’t know if he can do that. But the way the lay person spoke she gave the impression that attending the Communion Service itself dispensed us from the Mass obligation.

Our one and only regular priest is very hard working and is usually wonderful although he annoys me sometimes. He should be able to take a weekend off once in awhile but we still need to attend a Mass.

 

[adrift]

This happened to me once. Unfortunately they believed that it did fulfill the obligation You are not obliged to attend a communion service. It also happened that they did not announce it until it was to late to attend Mass at another Church. This area is small with only four churches in the area. They tend to have their masses at the same time.

 

[Corki]

Because of the shortage of priests many communities do not have Holy Mass,although the Holy Mass is important, the Eucharistic service does fill the void as the word is shared and hosts consecrated by a priest are distributed. These services are usually conducted by lay ministers who are schooled in the faith and are fully aware that they are not priests.

And that’s exactly why there is the rite for a Sunday service in the absence of a priest, commonly called a Communion service. It’s a good thing, when needed, and it does fill a void. But it is never obligatory to attend a Communion service, even if there is no Mass available. In these situations, there is no obligation.

 

[Phemie]

This happened to me once. Unfortunately they believed that it did fulfill the obligation You are not obliged to attend a communion service. It also happened that they did not announce it until it was to late to attend Mass at another Church. This area is small with only four churches in the area. They tend to have their masses at the same time.

For three years I lived in a city with a Francophone Catholic Community. We were too small a group to have a parish so the Archbishop appointed a Chaplain who celebrated Mass in our school auditorium every Sunday. On the odd weekends that there was no French-speaking priest available we always had a Sunday Liturgy of the Word with Communion and nobody ever mentioned the obligation to attend Mass.

Considering that most of us drove through at least 1, if not 5 or 6, parishes to get to the school for Mass, it was impossible to think we had no access to Mass. I didn’t usually attend the Communion Service unless I was reading or an EMHC in which case my kids and I attended Mass somewhere on Saturday evening or Sunday at noon.

It’s interesting to note that Bishops have not always agreed with this. When “Communion Services” first started the Western Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada published a ritual book for the celebration. One of the introductory notes plainly stated that it was more important for the community to gather “as a community” than to go to Mass and that going to another parish was to be discouraged. Needless to say the present “Sunday Celebration of the Word and Hours” ritual book does not say that, in fact it says quite the opposite.

 

[FrDavid96]

What happened was our regular priest was out of town or otherwise unavailable and the substitute priest did not show up. I live in an urban area so there are plenty of other Masses in the area that most of us could have attended. So I was wondering if the lay person who announced that the Communion Service met our obligation was correct.

I don’t know if our bishop could have permitted this in our diocese or not beforehand.

No, it’s not correct. A Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest does not meet the obligation. If Mass is truly unavailable (if it’s physically or morally impossible), then the obligation itself no longer exists. This is not a dispensation (I mention that because I’ve seen that word posted several times now), although the bishop (and to a limited extend, the pastor) can give such a dispensation from the Sunday obligation.

A Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest is not something that laypersons can simply do on their own initiative, not even in an emergency situation. Only the local bishop can authorize such services, and even the bishop is bound by laws which govern when he can and cannot authorize them.

So, unless they had a mandate from the bishop, they should never have done it. Now, if they did have a mandate from the bishop, of course they could do it.

Unless they had that specific mandate from the bishop, the right thing to do would be to refer people to other Masses in the area; after first making a sincere effort to find another local priest, but since the expected priest was already a substitute, it doesn’t seem likely that they could have easily found one on such short notice.

 

[robwar]

No, it’s not correct. A Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest does not meet the obligation. If Mass is truly unavailable (if it’s physically or morally impossible), then the obligation itself no longer exists. This is not a dispensation (I mention that because I’ve seen that word posted several times now), although the bishop (and to a limited extend, the pastor) can give such a dispensation from the Sunday obligation.

A Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest is not something that laypersons can simply do on their own initiative, not even in an emergency situation. Only the local bishop can authorize such services, and even the bishop is bound by laws which govern when he can and cannot authorize them.

So, unless they had a mandate from the bishop, they should never have done it. Now, if they did have a mandate from the bishop, of course they could do it.

Unless they had that specific mandate from the bishop, the right thing to do would be to refer people to other Masses in the area; after first making a sincere effort to find another local priest, but since the expected priest was already a substitute, it doesn’t seem likely that they could have easily found one on such short notice.

Thanks for the clarification Fr. I am wondering if this would be more about education with the parish staff or sacristans etc on what to do when there is no priest at the last minute. Since these situations are more unusual but with the shortage of priests more of a realistic possibility maybe more priests need to go over what to do etc in the event of this type of situation. Again we don’t have the inside here on who the staff called and spoke to. I guess I like to think that people don’t try to brake rules and step out on purpose and that there maybe need to be more of an emergency game plan in place in case of this. Have you ever discussed with your staff what to do if you at the last minute was not able to do Mass. This is seems to be a topic that deserves more discussion and education over.

 

[FrDavid96]

Thanks for the clarification Fr. I am wondering if this would be more about education with the parish staff or sacristans etc on what to do when there is no priest at the last minute. Since these situations are more unusual but with the shortage of priests more of a realistic possibility maybe more priests need to go over what to do etc in the event of this type of situation. Again we don’t have the inside here on who the staff called and spoke to. I guess I like to think that people don’t try to brake rules and step out on purpose and that there maybe need to be more of an emergency game plan in place in case of this. Have you ever discussed with your staff what to do if you at the last minute was not able to do Mass. This is seems to be a topic that deserves more discussion and education over.

Yes, a lot of education is needed.

 

[Jeancreese]

Our Sunday obligation is to take part in the Eucharistic celebrations, if however there is no priest present due to limitations or emergencies I do not think that we need to walk away void of the word and not share the Eucharist, there are provisions for these.
We must face the fact that many parishes in the world are run by nuns or the laity, where there are no priests available due to the dire shortage. The finances and other domestic duties are sometimes run by committees, while the priest adheres to the spiritual aspect and the Holy Masses as his time permits. In one instance the priest has to do more than five week end masses in addition to school masses, this takes a toll on their health.
He also has to assume the role of administrator or CEO in addition to his role as priest and spiritual director

 

[ProVobis]

Our Sunday obligation is to take part in the Eucharistic celebrations, if however there is no priest present due to limitations or emergencies I do not think that we need to walk away void of the word and not share the Eucharist, there are provisions for these.

If one isn’t disposed correctly, what would be the point of attending a communion service, when with a little effort, he may be able to witness a real Mass?

 

[M-Dent]

A Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest is not something that laypersons can simply do on their own initiative, not even in an emergency situation. Only the local bishop can authorize such services, and even the bishop is bound by laws which govern when he can and cannot authorize them.

Thanks for the clarity Fr. David.

If I understand Redemptionis Sacramentum (#165) correctly, (depending on the disposition/understanding of those involved) - there may be rare times when permission is given for a gathering yet Holy Communion may not be permitted to be distributed in these gatherings?

[164.] “If participation at the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible on account of the absence of a sacred minister or for some other grave cause,”[269] then it is the Christian people’s right that the diocesan Bishop should provide as far as he is able for some celebration to be held on Sundays for that community under his authority and according to the Church’s norms. Sunday celebrations of this specific kind, however, are to be considered altogether extraordinary. All Deacons or lay members of Christ’s faithful who are assigned a part in such celebrations by the diocesan Bishop should strive “to keep alive in the community a genuine ‘hunger’ for the Eucharist, so that no opportunity for the celebration of Mass will ever be missed, also taking advantage of the occasional presence of a Priest who is not impeded by Church law from celebrating Mass”.[270]

[165.]** It is necessary to avoid any sort of confusion between this type of gathering and the celebration of the Eucharist**.[271] The diocesan Bishops, therefore, should prudently discern whether Holy Communion ought to be distributed in these gatherings. The matter would appropriately be determined in view of a more ample co-ordination in the Bishops’ Conference, to be put into effect after the recognitio of the acts by the Apostolic See through the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. It will be preferable, moreover, when both a Priest and a Deacon are absent, that the various parts be distributed among several faithful rather than having a single lay member of the faithful direct the whole celebration alone. Nor is it ever appropriate to refer to any member of the lay faithful as “presiding” over the celebration.

[166.] Likewise, especially if Holy Communion is distributed during such celebrations, the diocesan Bishop, to whose exclusive competence this matter pertains, must not easily grant permission for such celebrations to be held on weekdays, especially in places where it was possible or would be possible to have the celebration of Mass on the preceding or the following Sunday. Priests are therefore earnestly requested to celebrate Mass daily for the people in one of the churches entrusted to their care.

[167.] “Similarly, it is unthinkable on the Lord’s Day to substitute for Holy Mass either ecumenical celebrations of the word or services of common prayer with Christians from the . . . Ecclesial Communities, or even participation in these Communities’ liturgical services.”[272] Should the diocesan Bishop out of necessity authorize the participation of Catholics for a single occasion, let pastors take care lest confusion arise among the Catholic faithful concerning the necessity of taking part at Mass at another hour of the day even in such circumstances, on account of the obligation.[273]

Redemptionis Sacramentum

 

[FrDavid96]

Thanks for the clarity Fr. David.

If I understand Redemptionis Sacramentum (#165) correctly, (depending on the disposition/understanding of those involved) - there may be rare times when permission is given for a gathering yet Holy Communion may not be permitted to be distributed in these gatherings?

Yes.

It’s not an absolute that if there is no Mass that Sunday… then there “must” be distribution of Holy Communion.

Keeping in mind that these decisions are made by the diocesan bishop, in accord with the Church’s norms.