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Kkb
Guest
Pls, I will like to know when someone is considered late for mass. Is it after the sign of the cross or after the gospel reading have been read?
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Spirithound
Guest
You’re late after the processional hymn starts. When it is you’re too late to receive Holy Communion, or to fulfill your Sunday obligation, there is no specific rule.
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Maureen1125
Guest
If the Priest is on the alter when you arrive, you are late
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nicolep
Guest
My opinion, if you arrive after the priest has entered, you’re late for Mass. As mentioned previously, there is no rule regarding how late one can be to receive Communion or to fulfill the Sunday Obligation.
Easy to remember -
The priest should be the last in and the first out.
Easy to remember -
The priest should be the last in and the first out.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
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Sarabande
Guest
I don’t know what it is “officially”, but for me, I’m late if I get there right when the processional hymn begins. I’m really late if I get there once the priest is at the altar and has begun the mass. I personally like to get to mass at least 10 minutes before the processional hymn.
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FrDavid96
Guest
“Late” would be after the Mass starts, that is, the opening sign of the cross.
To fulfill the obligation, the generally accepted answer is that one must be there to hear the Gospel. That’s never been answered by Rome definitively (not that I know of at least), but it has been answered indirectly over several decades.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
One other popular opinion is that you have to be there for the sacrifice of the Mass. Which is the Offertory all the way to the priest receiving the Eucharist.
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jmcrae
Guest
This is a pre-Vatican II thing, where the Mass was divided into “the Mass of the Catechumens” (the Liturgy of the Word) and “the Mass of the Faithful”(the Liturgy of the Eucharist). People were under the (false) impression that since they were not Catechumens, they didn’t have to be present for the Mass of the Catechumens.
I forget now which of the Documents addresses this, but Vatican II clarified that the faithful are also supposed to be present for the Liturgy of the Word (which is where the idea comes from that you have to at least be there to hear the Gospel and the homily).
However, it’s like anything else - if the ushers have to wait for a break in the action before they can seat you, then you’re either “late” for this Mass, or very early for the next one.
What I would also suggest is that rather than worry about how late one “may” be, instead, do everything possible to arrive a few moments before the advertised time of the start of Mass.
Take into account the amount of time it takes you to prepare yourself and your family, get everyone out the door and into the car, and then take into account the traffic patterns on the route that you take to the Church - I mean, if every single Sunday there is a little old lady who takes ten minutes to cross the street in front of you, then allow that extra ten minutes into your planning, rather than saying that she “made you” be ten minutes late. And if leaving ten minutes earlier means that you don’t encounter her, and you’re ten minutes early, then so much the better.
Also, if there is a whole lot of traffic every Sunday on one particular part of the route, then allow time for that, as well. And take into account what is going on in your community - if there is a “race for” this or that good cause on a particular Sunday, where the racers are blocking up the intersections periodically, then know that it will take a bit longer to get out of your neighborhood, and leave a bit earlier to allow for that.
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runwaymodel
Guest
I agree completely! I am always amazed when Mass is over how people rush out the door literally a few steps behind the Priest…
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laszlo
Guest
Sacrosanctum Concilium only advises the pastors to emphasize the presence on the full Mass.
The previous teaching was that it is grave sin if someone is not present from the Offertory to the Communion of priest (both inclusive), omitting the rest is totally or partially is venial sin.
The recent Canon is
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
w/o determining what constitutes valid participation.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
I’ve heard a priest once say that every part of the Mass is important. I’m sure people will say, “no, Consecration is the most important of all, more important than the rest.” But from a pastoral point-of-view, you wouldn’t want to say that lest you want people coming only for the consecration.
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dconklin
Guest
I attended a Mass at a Parish in Tuscon, AZ and the doors from the narthex seemed to automatically shut with an audible woosh when we stood for the Alleluia. That sent a good message.
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thistle
Guest
That’s not quite correct.
A person would normally be considered late for Mass if they do not arrive before the Homily.
Secondly, you are never too late to receive (apart from turning up after Communion is ended). Provided you are in a state of grace you could walk into the Church straight into the Communion line and receive Communion.
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jmcrae
Guest
This would be assuming that your tardy arrival was not your own fault, by negligence or by deliberate fault.
You are also “late” if you don’t get there until the homily, but again, if it’s not your fault, then there is no sin.
But I should think that if you are timing your arrival so that you deliberately don’t arrive until after the Processional, then there is sin. But I have a hard time imagining what someone could be thinking, who would arrive later than the start of Mass on purpose - there would certainly be deeper issues than just the lateness itself.
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ConstantineTG
Guest
If you are receiving for the first time that day only. Unless you are in danger of death.
Yes, reception of Communion is not dependent on being there for the entire Liturgy. It would be equivalent of being in a Communion Service or receiving Communion when you are sick at home or in the hospital.
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bmonk
Guest
Mass is one movement, one moment of grace from beginning to end. Whenever possible, we should be there from start to finish–and even spend some moments before preparing, and some moments after processing what we are doing. (Such preparation would include, in my opinion, considering what we are wearing and what we should wear, or how long it will take before we arrive, and when we need to leave to arrive on time)
In certain cases, especially when the delay is not our fault and not anticipated, arriving late is lamentable, but not blameworthy. Like the time I, the pastor, arrived at a mission without problem because I was early to set up and have time for confessions and such. But people from the North, just a few minutes later, found a train blocking the only crossing available. It did not move for over 45 minutes–and so half the congregation arrived, through no fault of their own, during the intercessions.
However, in other cases, I have some questions. Like the couple who arrived at a daily Mass just before the Eucharistic Prayer, and cut out just after communion. To do both seems to indicate either not enough time for the full encounter, or a minimalist attitude. Why were they really there? To receive the grace of the Mass, or to spend time with and receive their Savior, Jesus Christ?
To ask when is the last moment we can arrive is to ask like what is the least amount of time I can spend with a friend and still call him a friend. If you are asking that question, you might consider why you want to call him a friend, and whether he really is one.
In certain cases, especially when the delay is not our fault and not anticipated, arriving late is lamentable, but not blameworthy. Like the time I, the pastor, arrived at a mission without problem because I was early to set up and have time for confessions and such. But people from the North, just a few minutes later, found a train blocking the only crossing available. It did not move for over 45 minutes–and so half the congregation arrived, through no fault of their own, during the intercessions.
However, in other cases, I have some questions. Like the couple who arrived at a daily Mass just before the Eucharistic Prayer, and cut out just after communion. To do both seems to indicate either not enough time for the full encounter, or a minimalist attitude. Why were they really there? To receive the grace of the Mass, or to spend time with and receive their Savior, Jesus Christ?
To ask when is the last moment we can arrive is to ask like what is the least amount of time I can spend with a friend and still call him a friend. If you are asking that question, you might consider why you want to call him a friend, and whether he really is one.
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Victory9
Guest
Late is always late, but as I was born before Vatican II my mom always said, and I myself still observe this rule, that you cannot receive Holy Communion if you’ve missed the Gospel reading, due to the fact that you’ve missed the entire 1st half of the Mass. The Mass is made up of the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, one Mass, two parts.
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TheRealJuliane
Guest
I saw a woman walk very quickly up from the back of the church, cut IN FRONT of everyone else to receive from the priest, and leave in as much of a haste as she had when cutting to the front of the line! I was greatly offended at this and wanted to cry. It was as though she had stolen the Eucharist and run away. What an attitude to have when receiving the Body of Christ!
I guess since it was “just” a weekday Mass, she thought she could get away with this…She would never have had the courage to do that on a Sunday. This church is rather formal and orthodox and I’m sure a lot of people felt the same way I did, and on a Sunday there are ushers, etc. who may have stopped her from jumping the line as she did.
We are there to honor Our Lord, not grab His Body and run!
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