Feast of the Assumption

[Phemie]

Assumption hasn’t been a Holy Day of Obligation in Canada in decades. I don’t ever remember attending Mass on that day while I was growing up and believe me if it had been a HDofO my parents would have had me there.

 

[JMJ_coder]

I’m not sure if you mean a canon to support the “no 2 for 1” or any Mass counts. The canon doesn’t specify that it has to be the Mass of the day, just ‘a Mass’ on the eve or the day of.

Yes, I’m particularly looking for a canon that supports your claim of:

*“If it is, you don’t get a two for one. You have to attend two Masses to fulfill your obligation to both Assumption and Sunday.”
*

 

[FrDavid96]

Here’s a question:

If you attend a Mass on Saturday evening and it is the Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption, does that Mass fulfill your Sunday obligation? In a similar vein, would a Mass for a wedding or funeral on Saturday evening (after 4/5 pm) fulfill the Sunday obligation?

To both questions, the answer is yes. Because according to canon law (1248) any Mass on the feast (in this case, the feast of Sunday) celebrated on the day-of or the evening-before satisfies the obligation.

In the case of two different holy days of obligation, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday, there exists two distinct obligations. The only way to fulfill two obligations is to attend 2 Masses. Just as attending Mass on Sun Aug 9 fulfills only one obligation, it doesn’t “count” for fulfilling the other obligation to attend on Sun. Aug 16 as well–two days, two obligations and these can only be satisfied with two Masses.

Let’s say, for the sake of discussion only, that Saturday is a Holy Day of Obligation. If you count your Saturday evening Mass towards your Sunday obligation, that will indeed fulfill the Sun. obligation, but you have left the Saturday obligation unfulfilled.

There is no canon as such which says that we don’t get a “two for one” rather we have 2 obligations under canon law, each of those obligations is clearly defined, so each one must be satisfied individually.

We need to look not for a canon forbidding a “two for one” but we need to look at the fact that canon law does sometimes allow a “2 for 1” (even though that’s a strange way of putting it, it does work, and we all know what it means). That’s what happens this year in the US with regard to the solemnity of the Assumption. The obligation to attend Mass is transferred to the nearest Sunday (in this case, Aug. 16)–that’s a canonical way of saying that if we attend Mass on Sun, we are fulfilling the Saturday obligation, and that is a “2 for 1” (again, a strange way of putting it, but oh well).

There are times when the Church allows us to fulfill 2 distinct obligations with one act. But we can only do that if we’ve been specifically given that permission. If we have 2 obligations, but no permission, then we have to attend 2 Masses.

 

[Phemie]

To both questions, the answer is yes. Because according to canon law (1248) any Mass on the feast (in this case, the feast of Sunday) celebrated on the day-of or the evening-before satisfies the obligation.

In the case of two different holy days of obligation, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday, there exists two distinct obligations. The only way to fulfill two obligations is to attend 2 Masses. Just as attending Mass on Sun Aug 9 fulfills only one obligation, it doesn’t “count” for fulfilling the other obligation to attend on Sun. Aug 16 as well–two days, two obligations and these can only be satisfied with two Masses.

Let’s say, for the sake of discussion only, that Saturday is a Holy Day of Obligation. If you count your Saturday evening Mass towards your Sunday obligation, that will indeed fulfill the Sun. obligation, but you have left the Saturday obligation unfulfilled.

There is no canon as such which says that we don’t get a “two for one” rather we have 2 obligations under canon law, each of those obligations is clearly defined, so each one must be satisfied individually.

We need to look not for a canon forbidding a “two for one” but we need to look at the fact that canon law does sometimes allow a “2 for 1” (even though that’s a strange way of putting it, it does work, and we all know what it means). That’s what happens this year in the US with regard to the solemnity of the Assumption. The obligation to attend Mass is transferred to the nearest Sunday (in this case, Aug. 16)–that’s a canonical way of saying that if we attend Mass on Sun, we are fulfilling the Saturday obligation, and that is a “2 for 1” (again, a strange way of putting it, but oh well).

There are times when the Church allows us to fulfill 2 distinct obligations with one act. But we can only do that if we’ve been specifically given that permission. If we have 2 obligations, but no permission, then we have to attend 2 Masses.

But in the US the obligation is abrogated this year rather than transferred, isn’t it? Just as in Canada it’s abrogated on a permanent basis.

 

[FrDavid96]

But in the US the obligation is abrogated this year rather than transferred, isn’t it? Just as in Canada it’s abrogated on a permanent basis.

Right. Abrogated, not transferred. So, yes, that’s not “exactly” what’s happening this year. Thanks for catching that.

It does happen with regard to some other Holy Days though; sometimes the obligation is transferred, but the celebration is not; sometimes both are transferred (like Ascension).

 

[zab]

Here’s a question:

If you attend a Mass on Saturday evening and it is the Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption, does that Mass fulfill your Sunday obligation? In a similar vein, would a Mass for a wedding or funeral on Saturday evening (after 4/5 pm) fulfill the Sunday obligation?

I can’t imagine that a parish would celebrate the Feast of the Assumption during the normal Saturday Vigil Mass.

 

[Phemie]

I can’t imagine that a parish would celebrate the Feast of the Assumption during the normal Saturday Vigil Mass.

Well, as someone else pointed out, today’s Evening Prayer for the Feast of the Assumption rather than Sunday I so it would be entirely appropriate to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption Mass rather than the anticipated Sunday Mass. It would still fulfill your obligation for tomorrow since there is no obligation to attend Mass today – at least not in Canada nor the U.S.

 

[pnewton]

I can’t imagine that a parish would celebrate the Feast of the Assumption during the normal Saturday Vigil Mass.

We will be doing the Ordinary Time readings, but we will definitely honor Mary in the hymns and in the homily. Today is still her feast even if the litugy mandates the readings fro OT.

If we can honor Mother’s Day in Easter, we can honor our Mother this weekend.

 

[Phemie]

We will be doing the Ordinary Time readings, but we will definitely honor Mary in the hymns and in the homily. Today is still her feast even if the litugy mandates the readings fro OT.

If we can honor Mother’s Day in Easter, we can honor our Mother this weekend.

Since there is no obligation to celebrate an anticipated Sunday Mass, and since Evening Prayer is that of the Feast of the Assumption rather than Sunday I, is there really anything that prevents the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption Mass this evening?

 

[FrDavid96]

Since there is no obligation to celebrate an anticipated Sunday Mass, and since Evening Prayer is that of the Feast of the Assumption rather than Sunday I, is there really anything that prevents the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption Mass this evening?

Technically, no. There could be an evening Mass for the Assumption today. Pastorally speaking, it would be imprudent because it has the potential to cause too much confusion. Some bishops have issued directives saying that evening Masses on Saturday must be the Sunday Mass text & readings–and in those dioceses, the pastors would have to follow his directions, of course. I think that if one is speaking of a small parish, where the pastor would know with certainty that everyone would be aware that Saturday evening is the Assumption, and all parishioners would still attend a Sunday Mass, it might be done. Likewise for a religious community or a seminary. A Saturday evening Assumption Mass would not be “wrong” or “prevented” or illicit or anything else, but in most parishes because it would cause a lot of confusion, it would simply be poor judgment to schedule it that way.

 

[Phemie]

I think that if one is speaking of a small parish, where the pastor would know with certainty that everyone would be aware that Saturday evening is the Assumption, and all parishioners would still attend a Sunday Mass, it might be done.

But that shouldn’t matter, or at least it shouldn’t matter this year since the obligation is abrogated and any Mass attended this evening (whether Assumption, funeral, wedding or anticipated 20th Sunday in OT) fulfills tomorrow’s obligation. Different kettle of fish altogether in the countries where Assumption is still a HDO even though it’s on Saturday.

 

[JMJ_coder]

In the case of two different holy days of obligation, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday, there exists two distinct obligations. The only way to fulfill two obligations is to attend 2 Masses. Just as attending Mass on Sun Aug 9 fulfills only one obligation, it doesn’t “count” for fulfilling the other obligation to attend on Sun. Aug 16 as well–two days, two obligations and these can only be satisfied with two Masses.

Let’s say, for the sake of discussion only, that Saturday is a Holy Day of Obligation. If you count your Saturday evening Mass towards your Sunday obligation, that will indeed fulfill the Sun. obligation, but you have left the Saturday obligation unfulfilled.

There is no canon as such which says that we don’t get a “two for one” rather we have 2 obligations under canon law, each of those obligations is clearly defined, so each one must be satisfied individually.

We need to look not for a canon forbidding a “two for one” but we need to look at the fact that canon law does sometimes allow a “2 for 1” (even though that’s a strange way of putting it, it does work, and we all know what it means). That’s what happens this year in the US with regard to the solemnity of the Assumption. The obligation to attend Mass is transferred to the nearest Sunday (in this case, Aug. 16)–that’s a canonical way of saying that if we attend Mass on Sun, we are fulfilling the Saturday obligation, and that is a “2 for 1” (again, a strange way of putting it, but oh well).

There are times when the Church allows us to fulfill 2 distinct obligations with one act. But we can only do that if we’ve been specifically given that permission. If we have 2 obligations, but no permission, then we have to attend 2 Masses.

I recall once that a Priest told me this – as a member of a spiritual association that is obligated to pray the Rosary daily and having received saying the Rosary as a penance for Confession, one Rosary said would be enough to satisfy both obligations.

Also, while only allowed to receive one stipend, a Priest can say a Mass for multiple intentions. The lay faithful can participate at Mass for multiple intentions. I can say one Rosary for any number of intentions, I don’t need to say a Rosary for each intention individually.

In that same vein, attending a Mass in the evening of the Saturday feast, where it is the day of the Saturday feast and the eve of the Sunday, wouldn’t the same principle apply?

 

[patwolford]

Our Parish is called Our Lady of the Assumption. They had a Mass today at 10 am. I had to work so I was unable to attend.

 

[ack]

August 15 is still the Solemnity of the Assumption. No local parish, or even diocese can change this. Saturday is the Assumption (this year).

There seems to be one exception to this – the Diocese of Trenton has transferred the Assumption to the 16th this year because the Assumption is the patronal feast of the diocese. I don’t know of any other such exceptions.

 

[FrDavid96]

There seems to be one exception to this – the Diocese of Trenton has transferred the Assumption to the 16th this year because the Assumption is the patronal feast of the diocese. I don’t know of any other such exceptions.

The bishop can transfer the celebration, so it can be celebrated on Monday. But the Assumption itself is always 15 August (unless the conference of bishops moves it with Rome’s approval).

My point was that just because it’s on a Saturday does not mean that the Saturday is no longer the Assumption. In an earlier post, it seems that some readers here would get the impression that because it is not an obligatory Holy Day, that somehow the entire solemnity was no longer celebrated.

 

[ack]

The distinction between transferring the celebration of a feast and transferring the feast day itself is an interesting distinction that I am not familiar with.

So, are you saying that in the Diocese of Trenton, Evening Prayer II of the Assumption is prayed on the 15th, but the Mass is not said until the 16th? This seems inconsistent.

(This is a moot point for the rest of the US, because it appears that the Assumption is still celebrated on Saturday the 15th in other dioceses, but is not an obligation.)

The bishop can transfer the celebration, so it can be celebrated on Monday. But the Assumption itself is always 15 August (unless the conference of bishops moves it with Rome’s approval).

My point was that just because it’s on a Saturday does not mean that the Saturday is no longer the Assumption. In an earlier post, it seems that some readers here would get the impression that because it is not an obligatory Holy Day, that somehow the entire solemnity was no longer celebrated.

 

[Chatter163]

SUBSEQUENT ACTION: Canon 1246§2

DECREE OF PROMULGATIONOn December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of American made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin rite Catholics:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.

This decree of the Conference of Bishops was approved and confirmed by the Apostolic See by a decree of the Congregation for Bishops (Prot. N. 296/84), signed by Bernardin Cardinal Gantin, prefect of the Congregation, and dated July 4, 1992.

As president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, I hereby declare that the effective date of this decree for all the Latin rite dioceses of the United States of America will be January 1, 1993, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Given at the offices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC, November 17, 1992.

Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk
Archbishop of Cincinnati
President, NCCB

Monsignor Robert N. Lynch
General Secretary

 

[FrDavid96]

I recall once that a Priest told me this – as a member of a spiritual association that is obligated to pray the Rosary daily and having received saying the Rosary as a penance for Confession, one Rosary said would be enough to satisfy both obligations.

That depends. Let me explain: it depends upon who imposes the obligation. If I make a personal commitment to say the rosary once a day, I owe it to myself (so to speak) to say that one rosary, so I can likewise exempt myself. The obligation to do the penance is still there, so the rosary done for the penance can count for the daily rosary (I exempt myself from the daily rosary, or allow myself to count the penance as the daily), however the daily rosary can’t count for the penance (since a penance is something we aren’t already doing, and it’s imposed upon us by one in authority) In that case, it amounts to the same thing in the end, but it depends upon how one wants to look at it. I can exempt myself from my own obligation to say the rosary (or allow myself a 2 for 1), but I can’t exempt myself from the penance since that obligation was imposed upon me. I know that can be a bit confusing, did it make sense? The authority who imposes an obligation can likewise dispense from it.

Also, while only allowed to receive one stipend, a Priest can say a Mass for multiple intentions. The lay faithful can participate at Mass for multiple intentions. I can say one Rosary for any number of intentions, I don’t need to say a Rosary for each intention individually.

That’s a good example, but it works in reverse. Let’s say that 2 different people each give me a Mass request and a stipend. I “owe” each one of them a Mass. That means 2 seperate Masses. I can add as many intentions as I choose, whether those are personal or whether they come from someone else (w/o a stipend of course). What I cannot do is accept 2 stipends for 2 intentions but only say one Mass to satisfy both of them. I can still combine the intentions in any number of ways, but I’m also obligated to have at least one Mass intention for each stipend. [If Smith and Jones both give a stipend, I can have 1 Mass for Smith, and 1 Mass for Jones. I can have one Mass for Smith&Jones and 1 Mass for Jones&Smith. What I can’t do is have only 1 Mass for Smith&Jones.]

As far as the rosaries go, we don’t have an “obligation” as such to say a rosary for each person, so we can say one rosary for many people. We don’t “owe” a rosary, so there’s no “debt” to be satisfied.

In that same vein, attending a Mass in the evening of the Saturday feast, where it is the day of the Saturday feast and the eve of the Sunday, wouldn’t the same principle apply?

That gets us back to what I said earlier. The Church “imposes the obligation” to attend at least one Mass on Sunday and at least one Mass on the Holy Day. Two seperate obligations. Since the Church (in accord with Divine Law) imposes the obligations, only the Church can exempt us from it–which She occasionally does. In an individual case, the bishop can dispense from the obligation, but that gets us a little off track.

If Saturday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, then attending on Saturday evening fulfills everything because there’s only one obligation (Sunday).

If Saturday is obligatory, then we have not just one but two obligations, and both of them have to be fulfilled.

Only the authority that makes the obligation has the authority to exempt from it, or to allow us to count something else toward it. We can’t give that to ourselves. If we attend only 1 Mass when we’re obligated to attend 2, then that’s what we’re attempting: giving ourselves an exemption, and that’s what we can’t do.

Bear with me here on this analogy, because it sound a bit odd to speak of Mass obligations this way, but I think it’ll make some sense.

Let’s say that a loaf of bread in the store is $1 (ok, I like easy math). If I leave the store with 1 loaf, I owe the store $1–no question about it. Now let’s say that the store has a 2 for 1 special. I buy the one loaf, pay $1 and walk out with 2 loaves. I can do that. I’m not stealing because the authority that sets the prices, and imposes the obligation (the store) has decided to accept only 1 payment in exchange for 2 items.

On the other hand, I can’t just pay for 1 loaf and walk out with 2 based on the fact that I have decided on my own that the store “should” have a 2 for 1 today. (The store can decide to allow me to count 1 payment as if it were 2, but I can’t do that myself.) If I want to walk out the door with 2 loaves, I have 2 obligations of $1 each. No matter what, I owe a total of $2. Of course, we can all see the difference here.

When we have 2 days of obligation (example, Saturday and Sunday) we have 2 obligations to attend Mass. A total of 2 obligations can only be satisfied with 2 Masses. We can’t satisfy both obligations with one Mass, based on our own authority. The Church can, but we can’t.

Confused yet? Or at least cross-eyed?
Bottom line: 2 obligations, 2 Masses.

 

[FrDavid96]

The distinction between transferring the celebration of a feast and transferring the feast day itself is an interesting distinction that I am not familiar with.

So, are you saying that in the Diocese of Trenton, Evening Prayer II of the Assumption is prayed on the 15th, but the Mass is not said until the 16th? This seems inconsistent.

(This is a moot point for the rest of the US, because it appears that the Assumption is still celebrated on Saturday the 15th in other dioceses, but is not an obligation.)

Here’s what I’m saying. The bishop can add the public celebration of the Assumption to a Sunday in Ordinal Time. This is from the “Liturgical Year and the Calendar” 1974 printing (outdated printing, but it’s the only text I have on my desk).

#58 For the pastoral advantage of the people, it is permissible to observe on the Sundays in Ordinary time those celebrations which occur during the week and which are popular with the faithful…

Naturally, the patronal feast of the diocese would constitute a good reason beyond any doubt.

The bishop himself cannot change the date of the Assumption. The only way that can happen if if the USCCB suggests that to Rome and Rome approves (see the text that Chatter posted as well as canon 1246 which is the basis for the decree). However, the bishop is most certainly competent to say that there will be a public observance of the Assumption in that diocese on Sunday, Aug. 16.

The bishop can require it to be “observed” but he can’t outright transfer it.

The Assumption itself doesn’t move–so Saturday is still the Assumption. Even though it will be publicly celebrated (again) on Sunday.

 

[ack]

This makes sense – thanks for the reference.

Here’s what I’m saying. The bishop can add the public celebration of the Assumption to a Sunday in Ordinal Time. This is from the “Liturgical Year and the Calendar” 1974 printing (outdated printing, but it’s the only text I have on my desk).

#58 For the pastoral advantage of the people, it is permissible to observe on the Sundays in Ordinary time those celebrations which occur during the week and which are popular with the faithful…

Naturally, the patronal feast of the diocese would constitute a good reason beyond any doubt.

The bishop himself cannot change the date of the Assumption. The only way that can happen if if the USCCB suggests that to Rome and Rome approves (see the text that Chatter posted as well as canon 1246 which is the basis for the decree). However, the bishop is most certainly competent to say that there will be a public observance of the Assumption in that diocese on Sunday, Aug. 16.

The bishop can require it to be “observed” but he can’t outright transfer it.

The Assumption itself doesn’t move–so Saturday is still the Assumption. Even though it will be publicly celebrated (again) on Sunday.