I was wondering

[liz1990]

My friends and I were having a disscussion, and started talking about when the Litergical day starts. One of my friends said at Dawn. and then my other friend no the night before, or how else are we able to go to saturday night mass. I was wondering, when does the Litergical day start, and Why are we allowed to go to Saturday Night Mass if the day doesn’t start until Dawn? Thanks!

 

[SusanG]

Don’t quote me on this…

In the Jewish tradition the day has begun at sunset of one day and lasted to sunset the next. They still observe this practice today. I believe that is also how we work for our Sabbath day etc.

Blessings

 

[JimG]

I agree with Susan; I think that the liturgical day begins on the previous evening. So we can have a Saturday evening Mass for Sunday. The Church is a little looser in this than the Jews, for whom the new day would begin at sunset. We can push it back a little farther, but a 4pm Saturday evening Mass is about the earliest one could go.

 

[pippin]

I always wondered how Sunday can last from 4pm Saturday to 7pm or later on Sunday. Some of the churches here have a 7:00pm Sunday Mass.

 

[Sir_Knight]

One “rule” is used to start Sunday and another “rule” is used to end Sunday which is why you can got to Mass on Saturday at 4pm and also go to Mass on Sunday at 7pm and still fulfill your Sunday obligation.

 

[JimG]

Yes, even going strictly by using the sunset to sunset standard, a “day” will of course vary in actual length during the course of the seasons. The Church thinks in terms of a “moral day” rather than a literal day. (By the same token, in observing the Eucharistic fast, we would think in terms of a “moral hour” not a literal hour, so if you were off by a few seconds you wouldn’t be violating the fast.