T
torch621
Guest
Is it permissible to attend a Mass celebrated on Sunday evening? One of the churches around me offers a Mass on Sunday at 6:00 pm and I will be unable to attend the morning Masses at my local church.
- Status
M
MarkThompson
Guest
Yes, definitely. That will meet your Sunday obligation.
1
1ke
Guest
So, you have to ask yourself, why would a parish offer Mass that *wasn’t *permissible to attend? How would that work?
I don’t understand the question, maybe. You can attend any Mass you want to.
C
ConstantineTG
Guest
Of course. Why do you think that its not? And many parishes offer it, if its not permissible why would they even try to?
R
revert_jen
Guest
Indeed.
I agree that it fulfils the Sunday obligation, but it seems a reasonable question to me. If Saturday evening counts as Sunday, why doesn’t Sunday evening count as Monday? I’ve never known the answer to that. I just know that both Saturday evening (after a specific time which I don’t know, but maybe it is 4pm?) and Sunday evening count for Sunday. Does anyone know why? I’ve wondered sometimes.
–Jen
R
Rolltide
Guest
And here is a more thorough analysis from the great “Father Z”:
wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/quaeritur-late-evening-sunday-masses/
wdtprs.com/blog/2010/10/quaeritur-late-evening-sunday-masses/
C
callmeChris
Guest
Your in the clear my friend:thumbsup: This indeed would fulfill your Sunday obligation. Remember also if all hope is lost on attending ANY Mass on Sunday, you could also attend a Mass on Saturday night which is the ‘Sunday Vigil’, this would also fulfill your Sunday obligation.
T
tee_eff_em
Guest
M
MarkThompson
Guest
Saturday evening is part of the liturgical day of Sunday. Therefore a person doesn’t need any reason whatsoever to go to Saturday evening Mass; it will always fulfill the Sunday obligation. Examples: “Father Smith is saying Mass on Sunday? I don’t like him; I’ll go Saturday evening”; “Sunday’s football/fishing/sleeping-in day! I go Saturday evening.” Entirely permitted.
E
Elizabeth502
Guest
There are so many varieties of churches in my area, that there is no reason why almost anyone could not attend one that fulfills the Sunday obligation unless he or she worked both Saturday afternoon/evening PLUS from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Sunday (a 17-hr day).
That is, all of the times offered fulfill the Sunday obligation: Sunday vigil times plus all kinds of Sunday offerings, from early a.m. through 10 p.m. starts. One of the churches even offers a 3 p.m. Sunday Mass. (Then you can really sleep in.
)
It also means that one can spend the weekend away, and still return to attend Mass late Sunday night! Really great, if you ask me.
That is, all of the times offered fulfill the Sunday obligation: Sunday vigil times plus all kinds of Sunday offerings, from early a.m. through 10 p.m. starts. One of the churches even offers a 3 p.m. Sunday Mass. (Then you can really sleep in.
)It also means that one can spend the weekend away, and still return to attend Mass late Sunday night! Really great, if you ask me.
M
MarkThompson
Guest
I guess this is a popular question today, for some reason. Father Z opines:
Yes, it is permissible to have Mass at any time of any day (except on Good Friday and the times of Mass on Holy Thursday and the Easter Vigil).
If the Mass is on a Sunday you fulfill your Mass obligation, even if it is in the evening, even until midnight.
That said, I don’t think it is a good idea to have lots of Masses in the evening on a Sunday. Let Sunday be Sunday. Let people go to Mass on Sunday morning and then give the rest of the day to good things people should do on Sundays.
Yes, it is permissible to have Mass at any time of any day (except on Good Friday and the times of Mass on Holy Thursday and the Easter Vigil).
If the Mass is on a Sunday you fulfill your Mass obligation, even if it is in the evening, even until midnight.
That said, I don’t think it is a good idea to have lots of Masses in the evening on a Sunday. Let Sunday be Sunday. Let people go to Mass on Sunday morning and then give the rest of the day to good things people should do on Sundays.
C
ConstantineTG
Guest
Most parishes that have evening Masses are the ones who have so many people go to that parish that even if they hold many Masses in the morning and afternoon, they still cannot accommodate everyone. I know of a parish that has as late as 9:00pm Mass, and they start Mass at 5am every Sunday and have a Mass almost by the hour.
M
Matthew_Holford
Guest
Most of the Church’s liturgical days run concurrently with the calendar day, i.e. midnight to midnight. There a three exceptions:
- Sundays - includes the whole calendar Sunday and the previous calendar Saturday evening;
- Solemnities - includes the whole calendar day on which the solemnity falls and the previous calendar day’s evening; and
- Feasts of the Lord in the General Roman Calendar that fall on Sundays in Christmas or Ordinary Time - includes the whole calendar Sunday and the previous calendar Saturday evening.
Any Mass celebrated at any time on the calendar Sunday is the Sunday Mass and it fulfils the obligation.
Most liturgical days that fall on a Monday would be liturgical days that run concurrently with the calendar day of Monday, so Monday does not liturgically begin on Sunday evening.
There can be an exception: if the Sunday is in the Christmas season or in Ordinary Time and a solemnity fell on the Monday then the celebration of that solemnity would begin on the calendar Sunday evening. (It can’t happen during Advent, Lent, or Easter because all their Sundays outrank all solemnities).
I hope this helps.
C
curlycool89
Guest
As others have said, yes. I regularly attend the 9pm Sunday Mass at the Catholic College here. Among university students (that all important 18-25 demographic), it’s the most popular Mass to attend. Out of the 4 Masses celebrated for Sunday, it’s the fullest one, and I’ve been to all 4 times so I can say that (the only time it’s ever fuller is the Triduum, and probably Christmas).
V
Vico
Guest
Interestingly the time for fulfillment of the obligation is from 4PM on the day before until midnight, 32 hours later. This gives eight hours of overlap. In one situation it is possible to assist after 4PM on Sunday for a Monday holy day of obligation, where it will not simultaneously fulfill the Sunday obligation: the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. This occurred recently in 1975, 1980, 1986, 1997, 2003, 2008, and will occur again in 2014 and 2025. (About 14 times a century.)
The same is true of Christmas on a Monday.
- Status