If a Mass starts before 4 on Saturday

[CrossofChrist]

Let’s say Mass starts at 3:55 or 3:58, somewhere just before 4. Would that count toward one’s Sunday obligation?

 

[baliano]

Let’s say Mass starts at 3:55 or 3:58, somewhere just before 4. Would that count toward one’s Sunday obligation?

I think it depends on what hour your Bishop has designate but 4:00 pm seems to be the norm. At any rate, if Mass started few minutes early it could easily be due to a timekeeping error by the celebrant’s watch or church clock.

 

[Digitonomy]

I see a couple issues here.

1. 
   *]Is exactly 4pm the time the Vatican had in mind in Canon 1248 that describes how a Catholic may meet his obligation?
   
   There are good reasons to think this may be the case, but on the other hand the Vatican has approved translations of the word vespere that imply an earlier hour may be acceptable, and some also hold that the canon was not written with the intention of being applied rigidly.
   
   There are many threads that delve into this question, but I’ll assume for your thread that exactly 4pm is the proper interpretation of the canon.
   .
   *]Is this a 4pm mass that happens to start at 3:55 because the pastor becomes aware of nearby tornadoes or freezing rain, or because the clock in the sacristy is running fast? Or is it a mass intentionally scheduled as a 3:55 mass each Saturday afternoon?
   
   While the Church is at times a bit legalistic in its analysis and codifying of many moral and canonical issues, the application of canons usually allows some reasonable level of pastoral flexibility. If the celebrant thinks it’s 4pm, that’s good enough, even if your watch receiving constant and precise updates from the atomic clock in Colorado disagrees. Similarly, if the celebrant thinks that the safety of the congregation would be better served by starting that day’s 4pm mass a few minutes early, I doubt many canonists within the Church would argue that it’s no longer a 4pm mass, and you haven’t met your obligation.
   
   Obviously anytime you start down the slippery slope of flexibility, there is potential for people to start acting beyond what is consistent with the mind of the Church.

 

[pianistclare]

Let’s say Mass starts at 3:55 or 3:58, somewhere just before 4. Would that count toward one’s Sunday obligation?

The good Lord doesn’t punish us for fast watches.

 

[AngelusDomini]

I would think the key issue here would be the intention - if the intention is to celebrate the Mass of Sunday then that’s what it is (even if 4pm still seems ridiculously early)!

 

[ProVobis]

*]Is this a 4pm mass that happens to start at 3:55 because the pastor becomes aware of nearby tornadoes or freezing rain, or because the clock in the sacristy is running fast?

Also, is there a long opening hymn sung before Mass or is that also part of the Mass?

But I don’t worry about it. Most of the Mass, if not all of it, is said after 4pm anyway.

 

[Corki]

I would think the key issue here would be the intention - if the intention is to celebrate the Mass of Sunday then that’s what it is (even if 4pm still seems ridiculously early)!

But it is only the intention of the pastor or celebrant that is relevant. Even if the priest intentionally started Mass 15 minutes before the approved time, it wouldn’t negate the attendance of the congregation. They will have fulfilled their Sunday obligation.

 

[1ke]

Don’t be scrupulous.

 

[ccmcmg]

There are many parishes, including a nearby diocesan Cathedral, that start long before 4:00, clearly with the approval of the Bishop that presides.

 

[Vico]

Let’s say Mass starts at 3:55 or 3:58, somewhere just before 4. Would that count toward one’s Sunday obligation?

The 1983 Canon Law was specifically vague to avoid this kind of hairsplitting issues, according to canon law commentary.

 

[FrDavid96]

Let’s say Mass starts at 3:55 or 3:58, somewhere just before 4. Would that count toward one’s Sunday obligation?

Yes.

The Church allows for minor mistakes, and that’s certainly a minor one (like, really tiny, minuscule). It is not an issue at all.

I hope you’re asking simply because you’re curious. If you’re asking because it happened, I’d caution you that you’re being scrupulous and that’s a dangerous spiritual position.