Does a Communion service fulfill Sunday or holy day obligation?

[InnocentIII]

how does it not fulfill the obligaton? I can think of three exampels where I went to a communion service instead of a mass on a Sunday. One was when the preist was visiting his sick mom in the hospital and there was no priest in that parish. The deacon said the communion service fulfilled the obligation even though I could have went to another church if I chose to. The second example was on a retreat where the priest was unable to attend on Sunday. He consecrated the bread on Saturday afternoon and then there was a communion service on Sunday. Third was on Easter. Although most of us had went to the vigil, we had a communion service the next day before a brunch and although it was highly recommended to have gone to another actual Easter mass, it was not obligatory.

Despite what the deacon may have told you, none of the above constitute fulfilling your Sunday Mass obligation. The Communion Service cannot ever be a substitute for Mass. However, you are dispensed from your Sunday obligation if you are prevented by valid reason (e.g health, mobility, or distance). If you have a valid reason but can still attend a Communion Service this is all to the good, but it is not a substitute for your obligation which has in fact already been dispensed whether you attend the Communion Service or not. In the specific cases you mention:-

1. I do not know all the circumstances so I cannot say definitively but I would probably err on the side of going to another church if it was within reasonable driving distance.
2. Here the obligation was clearly dispensed by the lack of a priest to say Mass at the retreat ( I am assuming there was no reasonable possibility for those attending to go to a local church)
3. Here there was no obligation at all as you had already fulfilled your obligation by attending the vigil.

 

[InnocentIII]

Everyone at the retreat should have been present at the Saturday evening Mass when the Hosts were consecrated. Or made other arrangements to attend Mass on Sunday.

Thank you Br Rich. I let that slip past me while I was concentrating on the Sunday but you are absolutely right. If the priest was there on Saturday to say Mass then all should have attended knowing he would not be there on Sunday.

 

[wjp984]

Despite what the deacon may have told you, none of the above constitute fulfilling your Sunday Mass obligation. The Communion Service cannot ever be a substitute for Mass. However, you are dispensed from your Sunday obligation if you are prevented by valid reason (e.g health, mobility, or distance). If you have a valid reason but can still attend a Communion Service this is all to the good, but it is not a substitute for your obligation which has in fact already been dispensed whether you attend the Communion Service or not. In the specific cases you mention:-

1. I do not know all the circumstances so I cannot say definitively but I would probably err on the side of going to another church if it was within reasonable driving distance.
2. Here the obligation was clearly dispensed by the lack of a priest to say Mass at the retreat ( I am assuming there was no reasonable possibility for those attending to go to a local church)
3. Here there was no obligation at all as you had already fulfilled your obligation by attending the vigil.

In the first situation there was only one Saturday night mass in the area and the next day was the Superbowl so there was no way I was going to church that day. The priest is the one who dispensed the obligation and asked the deacon to do the communon service for him.

Situation 2 was like you described. We had mass Saturday before 4 which does not fulfill the requirement but there was a communoin service the next day which did.

I already knew that for situation 3 where I and anyone else that went to the Easter vigil met the obligation. However, for the few people who did not want to go and just went to the communion service, they were told that they should have went to another mass but that the Easter communion service still fullfilled the requirement.

I really don’t understand what the problem is with a communion service once and a while. It still has every other part of the mass (readings, gospel, etc)

 

[InnocentIII]

In the first situation there was only one Saturday night mass in the area and the next day was the Superbowl so there was no way I was going to church that day. The priest is the one who dispensed the obligation and asked the deacon to do the communon service for him.

Situation 2 was like you described. We had mass Saturday before 4 which does not fulfill the requirement but there was a communoin service the next day which did.

I already knew that for situation 3 where I and anyone else that went to the Easter vigil met the obligation. However, for the few people who did not want to go and just went to the communion service, they were told that they should have went to another mass but that the Easter communion service still fullfilled the requirement.

I really don’t understand what the problem is with a communion service once and a while. It still has every other part of the mass (readings, gospel, etc)

I suggest you read the following explanation
ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur23.htm

The Service of Communion outside Mass can never substitute for our obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Where the obligation has been dispensed for sufficient cause it is recommended that the faithful assist at the Liturgy of the Word if this is celebrated in the parish church but it does not fulfill the obligation which has already been dispensed. I find it dangerous to think of the Communion Service as being like a Mass without the Priest as it confuses the faithful with regard to their obligations as the article points out. The onus is still on each individual to attend Mass on Sunday or Days of Obligation wherever possible.

 

[wjp984]

thankyou for the link. That explains the answer very well.