Late for Mass

[expectthebest]

I didn’t know Mass was starting early this morning due to Palm Sunday so I showed up at the regular time. When I arrived the Gosple was being read. Did I still fulfil my Sunday obligation?

 

[DavidFilmer]

The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days. [CCC 2042]

It seems to me that you did, indeed, “participate” in the Eucharistic celebration (especially as you were present for all of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in particular).

I’m not sure where the line is drawn (or if it is even defined) as to when a person is “too late” to be considered a “participant.” But a strict reading of the Catechism seems to suggest that you are OK.

 

[Lancer]

I didn’t know Mass was starting early this morning due to Palm Sunday so I showed up at the regular time. When I arrived the Gosple was being read. Did I still fulfil my Sunday obligation?

Below quotes…are for your consideration.

My thoughts: after Vatican II, the Church took the “training wheels” off our Catholic faith…and put the “monkey” on our individual backs to answer this question ourselves…and a good one. I call myself Catholic but do I know my faith and do I practice it in Spirit and Truth…I discovered many flaws in how many legalistic…Pharisee-isms I had let creep into my Faith…and I was missing the beauty and depth of what the Church was saying.

In the Marine Corps the test is stated this way: *"…they look good…but can they fight and win…" *

Pax Christi

In the Light of the Law:
a canon lawyer’s blog on current issues
Blog Archives 2003

Second obligation: Help the questioner ask the question he might, or also, want answered. Here, the questioner might (I say might, as there is no evidence of this in the question itself) have wanted to know “How much of Mass can be missed before one cannot be said to have satisfied the Sunday obligation?” A very different question indeed. In response, one should help the questioner see first that the Sunday obligation is not a Communion reception obligation at all, and that receiving Communion no more fulfills the Sunday obligation than not receiving Communion means one has not fulfilled the Sunday obligation. Once that distinction is clear, helping the questioner avoid more legalistic descriptions of the Sunday obligation is easier, the unity of the entire Eucharistic celebration can be stressed, and the importance of being present at and participating in the whole liturgy is more obvious. To the insistent questioner still demanding to know just how late one can be and still have it count, one must simply reply “The Legislator (Pope) has not told us how much of Mass one may miss under what conditions and still have it count toward one’s Sunday obligation, but this much is clear: if you arrive during, let alone after, the Entrance Rites, you are late, and you may be sure that you’ll being taking up your reason for being late with God at Final Judgment." Finally, the blanket assertion that “certainly … someone who arrives after the consecration … should go to another [Sunday] Mass” also needed, but unfortunately did not receive, some important nuances and qualifications. But enough of this.

It is not easy to avoid morphing questions we are asked into those we thought we were asked, or even into those we think we should have been asked, but that’s our duty as experts in canon law, liturgy, theology, and so on, to say nothing of our responsibility to get the answers right. If I react thus when I see a fellow seemingly commit these errors, it’s only because I bear the regret of having committed similar ones myself and hope others can avoid my mistakes. +++

canonlaw.info/blogarch03.htm

The Village
real questions ~ real dialogue ~ real faith

How late can you be to Mass while still fulfilling the obligation?
Thursday, 17 February 2011 15:38 | Written by Beth Spizarny | | |
How late can you be to Mass while still fulfilling the obligation?

Prior to Vatican II, a person had to be present for the Offertory, Consecration, and Communion, or you had not fulfilled the Mass obligation and was required to go to another Mass. While a noble attempt to get people to church on time by giving them the time at which they were late, it had two unforeseen effects:

Those with freer consciences would arrive after the start of the Mass, knowing that as long as they got there on time for the Offertory
Those with tender consciences suffered deeply from scruples and would believe themselves in a state of mortal sin even though their tardiness to Mass was entirely out of their control (e.g., the car broke down; road hazards slowed down traffic; etc.).

Both of these conditions were unhealthy, and following Vatican II the cut-off point of the Offertory was dropped. Another reason that contributed to that decision was the elevation of the liturgy of the word and the homily to their modern importance in the Mass today.

Basically, the Church wants us to be there for the full Mass! Canon law states that “if it is impossible to assist at a eucharistic celebration, either because no sacred minister is available or for some other grave reason, the faithful are strongly recommended to take part in a liturgy of the word, if there be such in the parish church or some other sacred place, which is celebrated in accordance with the provisions laid down by the diocesan bishop; or to spend an appropriate time in prayer, whether personally or as a family or, as occasion presents, in a group of families (canon 1248).”

If there is just cause for being late to a particular Mass, one has still met one’s Sunday obligation, but being late should not become a habit. Being late without just cause, may still meet the Sunday obligation– yet failing to prioritize getting to Mass on time is probably something to confess.

Either way, our primary concern should be to be present for Mass! The Church gives us the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Mass on Holy Days because this is a part of the very necessary minimum required to sustain and nurture our relationship with God.

thevillage.sainttc.com/apologetics/questions-of-the-week/121-how-late-can-you-be-to-mass-while-still-fulfilling-the-obligation