No. The jury is not out on that point. There’s no question that attending one single Mass does not count for both the Immaculate Conception and for Sunday.
I agree with you on that, Father; nonetheless, I was surprised to see that Father Z disagrees.
Of course, you’re probably right anyway, Father David, as even Father Z said that he respectfully defers to most bishops and canonists, who - along with Dr. Ed Peters - confidently assert that a single Mass cannot fulfill two obligations for different days.
Update: My husband didn’t go on either day.
I’m sorry, Juliane. Hopefully we here can all keep him in our prayers; perhaps I need to realize I should pray more and discuss less!
Pray for us, too, Juliane!
Vico, the obligation to attend Mass is not an obligation to attend Mass “that day.” It’s an obligation to attend Mass for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
Gwen, we know that
that, at least, is untrue. The law says,
"The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."
So… yes, the obligation self-evidently
is to attend a Mass *on *the day itself, not necessarily
for the day.
Frankly, the only argument to the contrary that ever had any credibility in this thread was the one originally presented by Father David: namely, that Mass on Saturday evening couldn’t fulfill the IC obligation, because the solemnity is over by that point (i.e. evening Mass is
not actually
on the holy day by that time of day).
By contrast, the notion that the Mass we assist at must be a Mass
for that particular holy day is obviously not true per the above quote. And as has been pointed out, it’s not true in many dioceses that weddings are prohibited on Sundays, or that the readings must be the Sunday readings. No amount of spin can change the fact that wedding Masses and funeral Masses on a Sunday aren’t Masses
for that Sunday.
Also, I have a question for you. On January 1 of this year - the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God - for Mass I went to a Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy.
On their calendar, it was the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. I am canonically Latin.
Did I fail to meet my holy day obligation that day, in the eyes of your bishop’s interpretation?
I asked this same question of our Cathedral rector, a very knowledgeable and quite brilliant Franciscan friar. Same answer, and same surprise that someone would even ask this question. “The only reason for the obligation is for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Why would anyone think that you could fulfill the obligation by attending Mass for some other holy day?”
Because
"The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."
And before you say, “Who are you to disagree with people who are trained professionals in canon law?” let me remind you that I’m simply agreeing with Dr. Peters, who advises the Curia on such matters.
Anyway, I admit I was confused when it came to Father David’s argument about when the holy day ends. But the parallel argument that the obligation is to assist at a Mass
of and
for that holy day is quite obviously untrue by this point. Let’s not default to an argument that needs, in order to work, to reinvent the rules in such a way that the hitherto uncontroversial fact that wedding Masses can fulfill an obligation is now abruptly called into question.
Hmmm…let me see…who should I trust and believe on this matter? Hmmm…a successor of the Apostles who is also a canon lawyer? Internet warriors with no credentials, who pose as “professionals” and tell others to “give up and leave it to professionals?” Hmmm…what a choice.
I’m sorry people have gotten rude at points. I hope I haven’t. If I have, please forgive me.
