Is it Saturday or Sunday?

[babochka]

Fuerza:

4 pm is the standard in the US. I’m 36 and I can’t remember it’s ever being later. In some parts of the world there is debate about Masses as early as 2 pm, or even 12 noon, as counting for the obligation. I’m not sure what the rationale is for Mass that early, but I imagine it probably has to do with a quasi-literal reading of Genesis, where the day is divided into morning and evening.

I think I’m right in saying that the Church can make “fulfilling the Sunday obligation” anything it wants to — the whole “binding and loosing” thing, you know. Byzantine Catholics are often allowed to attend a typica service (basically a liturgy of the word and communion of the presanctified) where there is no priest to celebrate Divine Liturgy, instead of having to go to a Latin Rite Mass. I have even wondered if the Church, in extreme circumstances, could allow a Mass on Monday to “count”, for instance, in a mission territory where the priest is spread so thin that he can’t cover all of the parishes on Saturday and Sunday.

Byzantine Catholics can attend any service on Saturday evening or Sunday - Vespers, Compline, etc. It doesn’t have to be Mass or Divine Liturgy.

I have heard that in some parts of the Middle East, the day of obligation is Friday, rather than Sunday. I have always wondered if they do the Sunday Mass and readings at those Masses or the regular weekday Mass and readings.

 

[maryjk]

In contrast, I know many parishes at which the Vigil Mass in English has such a regular following that many parishioners go to that Mass almost exclusively. They’re almost never at a Mass on Sunday.

I can see why it is more practical to offer Vigil Masses on Saturday than Sunday evening Masses–a priest ought to limit the number of Masses he says on a calendar day, when possible. Still, it is interesting that so many people prefer to go Saturday night even when they have the choice.

I regularly attend Saturday evening Mass. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of times in the past 5 years, that I have attended on a Sunday.

I do work on Sunday morning. But I am through by 12. That would allow me to attend our Sunday evening Mass, but I prefer our Saturday evening Mass.

 

[catholicwx]

I’d say the vigil counts as I know a parish I went to for one of my cousin’s wedding had a 4 pm vigil but the wedding mass was at 5 while most in my area have a 5 or 5:30 vigil. As long as it’s at a certain time I think it counts since I don’t know of any place (even the most traditional parish) that has Saturday afternoon mass that isn’t a vigil.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

But properly speaking, these aren’t “vigils”. They’re just Sunday Mass on Saturday evening. A vigil is a specific liturgy that only occurs on a handful of days throughout the year.