Mass and Good Friday

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Hello everyone. One time I went to a Catholic Church on Good Friday for what I thought was the Mass. However, they did not celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Eucharist was not received by any of the faithful either. Plus, it wasn’t even offered. Was there something wrong here or is this the way it is supposed to be? 🤷:confused:
 
Holly3278 said:
Hello everyone. One time I went to a Catholic Church on Good Friday for what I thought was the Mass. However, they did not celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Eucharist was not received by any of the faithful either. Plus, it wasn’t even offered. Was there something wrong here or is this the way it is supposed to be? 🤷:confused:
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According to the Church’s ancient Tradition, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated on this day. Thus, on this day, the Church commemorates the Passion of her Lord, venerates the Cross and distributes Holy Communion to the faithful.
 
The Triduum begins on Holy Thursday - the first Eucharistic Mass.

The reason that the Eucharist is not consecrated on Good Friday at the altar (nor is the red candle lit at the Sanctuary which indicates the presence of the Lord) is because the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity lays dead in His grave. God is not present upon Earth.

The Eucharist given on Holy Thursday comes from the Holy Thursday consecration.
At the end of Mass on Good Friday, we are not excused in the usual “the Mass is ended, go in peace”.

The Triduum culminates with Jesus’ Resurrection at the end of the Easter Vigil Mass.
 
Eucharist was not received by any of the faithful either. Plus, it wasn’t even offered.
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We receive at our parish. But as above, the Eucharist was consecrated on Holy Thursday.
 
Yep, that’s what’ll be happening in our church, too (just been told all about it at tonight’s RCIA class 🙂 ).

Consecrated Host from Maundy Thursday is kept in our lady chapel for a vigil to midnight; it will then be used in the Good Friday Solemn Celebration the next day. At this Solemn Celebration there will be readings and prayers, the cross will be venerated, and Communion offered. But Christ has died and is not yet risen, so there can be no Mass in its usual form.

This will be my first Easter as a Catholic. It all sounds so beautiful, so meaningful, so holy, so - as my priest put it tonight - soulful. 👍
 
Holly3278 said:
Hello everyone. One time I went to a Catholic Church on Good Friday for what I thought was the Mass. However, they did not celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Eucharist was not received by any of the faithful either. Plus, it wasn’t even offered. Was there something wrong here or is this the way it is supposed to be? 🤷:confused:
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That is the way it is supposed to be. Mass isn’t celebrated on Good Friday.
 
Ya know, I think there was a time… I can kinda remember from my childhood, walking out of Good Friday services and saying, “The priest didn’t give us Communion.”
 
The liturgy on Good Friday is referred to as The Mass of the pre-Sanctified.
 
It’s the one day of the year when, according to the rubrics, no Masses are said. So what you saw was as it should be.

ICXC NIKA
 
The traditional Liturgy for Good Friday consisted of:
  • 2 lessons from the old testament
  • the Passion from the Gospel of John
  • intercessions for the Church, pope, clergy and faithful, cathechumens, against errores, for heretics, Jews, pagans
  • adoration of the cross
  • communion (presanctified)
This structure and text was basically unchanged in 1955, and was subjected to a minimal change in 1962 related to the prayer for the Jews.

In 1970 the same structure remained intact; the prayers themselves changed significantly.

There is no Mass, neither benediction on that day.
 
Even though there is no Mass, to quote a priest whom I trust deeply: “If you do not do the Triduum, there is really no point to doing Lent.”

I’d like to encourage everybody, if they can, to make as many of the Triduum observances as they feel they can. It’s once a year; it’s the climax of our LORD’s life; and it is a shadow of what we hope in the end for ourselves.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.
 
GEddie said:
Even though there is no Mass, to quote a priest whom I trust deeply: “If you do not do the Triduum, there is really no point to doing Lent.”

I’d like to encourage everybody, if they can, to make as many of the Triduum observances as they feel they can. It’s once a year; it’s the climax of our LORD’s life; and it is a shadow of what we hope in the end for ourselves.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.
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👍

That is true. To further quote our mutual friend: Lent is all about the Sacred Triduum.
 
GEddie said:
Even though there is no Mass, to quote a priest whom I trust deeply: “If you do not do the Triduum, there is really no point to doing Lent.”

I’d like to encourage everybody, if they can, to make as many of the Triduum observances as they feel they can. It’s once a year; it’s the climax of our LORD’s life; and it is a shadow of what we hope in the end for ourselves.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.
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I want to, but it’s moving week. I have to move to another city on Easter, which is a full day drive. Assuming I stay on schedule, I’ll be able to make it to Mass on Easter, but we’ll see about the other three days with packing and finals, etc. I’ve heard doing the Triduum adds up to something like 15 hours of church. Is that true? How long does each observane take? (I know, this sounds bad, but I’m really on a tight schedule.
 
=Holly3278;7753216]Hello everyone. One time I went to a Catholic Church on Good Friday for what I thought was the Mass. However, they did not celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Eucharist was not received by any of the faithful either. Plus, it wasn’t even offered. Was there something wrong here or is this the way it is supposed to be? 🤷:confused:
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GREAT Question Holly:thumbsup:

Good Firday is “good” ONLY becaue it commenorates the day that Jesus willingly went to the Crosss for us. Because His Mortal human body died for OUR SINS; we suffer the loss of His Divine Presence until easter Sunday; the GREATEST DAY OF THE CHRISTIAN YEAR! Thus no-Mass…:o

***Rom.5: 8" But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. *"
**

God Bless,

Pat
 
To the OP, as you’ve read there is no Mass on Good Friday. But the Rite calls for Communion to be given to the faithful that day after the Veneration of the Cross. I’ve heard of parishes where they ‘fast from Communion’ on Good Friday but that’s not doing what the Church wants.

Love Divine, I think 15 hours would include the Liturgy of the Hours and Adoration. The average parish would have something more like this:

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 1 hour
Adoration until Midnight-------------------------- 4 hours
Good Friday Passion of Our Lord ------------ 1.5 hours depending on the number of parishioners venerating the Cross and receiving Communion
Vigil ------------------------------------------------- 3 hours depending on whether there are candidates and elect and how many readings are done. With no baptisms or confirmations but with all readings we averaged 2.5 hours.
Easter Sunday Mass ---------------------------- 1 hour

Add in the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday and perhaps a Tenebrae Service, add in Morning Prayer on Holy Saturday and Evening Prayer Easter Sunday and you’re adding another 3 or 4 hours.
 
Phemie said:
To the OP, as you’ve read there is no Mass on Good Friday. But the Rite calls for Communion to be given to the faithful that day after the Veneration of the Cross. I’ve heard of parishes where they ‘fast from Communion’ on Good Friday but that’s not doing what the Church wants.

Love Divine, I think 15 hours would include the Liturgy of the Hours and Adoration. The average parish would have something more like this:

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 1 hour
Adoration until Midnight-------------------------- 4 hours
Good Friday Passion of Our Lord ------------ 1.5 hours depending on the number of parishioners venerating the Cross and receiving Communion
Vigil ------------------------------------------------- 3 hours depending on whether there are candidates and elect and how many readings are done. With no baptisms or confirmations but with all readings we averaged 2.5 hours.
Easter Sunday Mass ---------------------------- 1 hour

Add in the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday and perhaps a Tenebrae Service, add in Morning Prayer on Holy Saturday and Evening Prayer Easter Sunday and you’re adding another 3 or 4 hours.
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** I’ve heard of parishes where they ‘fast from Communion’ on Good Friday but that’s not doing what the Church wants.**
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In light of what the OP said I think its so sad that their are Catholic Churches that don’t distribute Holy Communion on Good Friday. This is a Gross Liturgical Abuse and symbolizes (“Nothing”).

Peace
Chris
 
centurionguard said:
In light of what the OP said I think its so sad that their are Catholic Churches that don’t distribute Holy Communion on Good Friday. This is a Gross Liturgical Abuse and symbolizes (“Nothing”).

Peace
Chris
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I agree that this is gross liturgical abuse, but not without reason. It symbolizes the tendency to wash together the Mass and the Communion (we people are important, we do not sin, Jesus Christ and His sacrifice is too abstract and unimportant for us).

This tendency forces weekday communion services if there is no Mass, and this says that in Good Friday there is no Mass so there is neither Communion.
 
laszlo said:
I agree that this is gross liturgical abuse, but not without reason. It symbolizes the tendency to wash together the Mass and the Communion (we people are important, we do not sin, Jesus Christ and His sacrifice is too abstract and unimportant for us).

This tendency forces weekday communion services if there is no Mass, and this says that in Good Friday there is no Mass so there is neither Communion.
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If you put the symbolism in this context I’m in complete agreement.

I wonder what kind of humanistic symbolism those who implement this liturgical abuse use in their idiom?
 
laszlo said:
I agree that this is gross liturgical abuse, but not without reason. It symbolizes the tendency to wash together the Mass and the Communion (we people are important, we do not sin, Jesus Christ and His sacrifice is too abstract and unimportant for us).

This tendency forces weekday communion services if there is no Mass, and this says that in Good Friday there is no Mass so there is neither Communion.
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I’m not sure exactly what you are trying to say.

Rome has said in Redemptionis Sacramentum that to avoid confusion between Mass and ‘Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest’, the inclusion of Communion in Sunday Celebrations… should be ‘prudently discerned’.

It goes even further when it comes to having these services on weekdays,
[166.] Likewise, especially if Holy Communion is distributed during such celebrations, the diocesan Bishop, to whose exclusive competence this matter pertains, must not easily grant permission for such celebrations to be held on weekdays, especially in places where it was possible or would be possible to have the celebration of Mass on the preceding or the following Sunday.
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It would seem to be a serious abuse when some parishes have a daily Communion Service on a regular basis, even worse are those who schedule a Communion Service and Mass on the same weekdays.

OTOH, the Rite for the Celebration of the Passion of Our Lord clearly includes Communion so I can’t see why a parish would truncate the Rite and forgo Communion.
 
Phemie said:
To the OP, as you’ve read there is no Mass on Good Friday. But the Rite calls for Communion to be given to the faithful that day after the Veneration of the Cross. I’ve heard of parishes where they ‘fast from Communion’ on Good Friday but that’s not doing what the Church wants.

Love Divine, I think 15 hours would include the Liturgy of the Hours and Adoration. The average parish would have something more like this:

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 1 hour
Adoration until Midnight-------------------------- 4 hours
Good Friday Passion of Our Lord ------------ 1.5 hours depending on the number of parishioners venerating the Cross and receiving Communion
Vigil ------------------------------------------------- 3 hours depending on whether there are candidates and elect and how many readings are done. With no baptisms or confirmations but with all readings we averaged 2.5 hours.
Easter Sunday Mass ---------------------------- 1 hour

Add in the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday and perhaps a Tenebrae Service, add in Morning Prayer on Holy Saturday and Evening Prayer Easter Sunday and you’re adding another 3 or 4 hours.
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Thanks. Our regular Sunday TLM Masses average closer to 1.5 hours, so I wonder about Easter. The only thing that would make it longer is if there was the rush of Christmas and Easter Catholics, and they all decided to go to Communion even if they weren’t in the state of grace. Communion does take a little longer with only the priest doing it, but I’m down with that.:cool:
 
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