Question about Sunday Liturgy Attendance

[theistgal]

Lets say that I am a Ukrainian Greek Catholic.

So … just out of curiosity … are you?

 

[justme]

Well, this is where examination of conscience is needed, and it becomes a personal spiritual matter for an Eastern Catholic.

Did you have truly good cause for missing DL at your parish, in general, which also would have precluded you from assisting at a Roman Catholic Mass or other nearby Eastern Catholic church (if any)?

Were there no other options for you to attend a DL at another Eastern Catholic church, or a Roman Catholic Mass in your area? (i.e. evening Vespers; a Sunday late morning / afternoon Mass)

Do you have a personal objection against attending Mass vs. a Divine Liturgy offered according to your own Church’s canonical rite? If so, does that objection represent a separation from the Catholic Church, in general?

If you live in a community where other Catholic churches are in near proximity, with various Mass / DL times offered, why would you not want to attend at another Catholic Church, if it is impossible for you to make the single scheduled Sunday DL at your own parish?

Bottom line = we are Eastern, but still Catholic, so an outright refusal to consider attending DL or Mass elsewhere for anything other than “good cause” is a subject for further examination of conscience.

When I miss DL at my parish, which also has only one DL per Sunday, it is usually because my wife and I are exhausted and need a little more sleep. In those cases, we do attend a Mass at one of the many RC parishes within a reasonable driving distance. If we were to mis DL for a reason such as actual illness or having an emergency arise (one that is not quickly resolved), then I think we would not attend services at all on such a Sunday.

Thank you ByzCathCantor and RyanBlack. Both of your replies have helped me with this question.

 

[steve_b]

This is not the case.

I will spell it out agani. My parish has only one Divine Liturgy on Sunday as is proper.

I can see one liturgy being proper, if your community is small.
j:

If I, for a legitimate reason, miss it am I “obligied” to attend a Roman Mass?

The purpose of our Sunday obligation, is to celebrate the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day…Sunday… regardless of rite. As a Catholic of the Roman rite, as you probably know, I have masses I can go to, that are all over the place at usually 4 or 5 different time slots. It’s easy to meet my obligation. Therefore, you as a Catholic, would also be able to attend mass easily. imo, Think Catholic 1st, not rite.

 

[theistgal]

I can see one liturgy being proper, if your community is small.

Actually, in the Eastern Rites, one liturgy per altar per day is the norm, regardless of the size of the congregation.

 

[steve_b]

Actually, in the Eastern Rites, one liturgy per altar per day is the norm, regardless of the size of the congregation.

I didn’t know that.

It wouldn’t be practical for the Latin rite. For example, we have 5 masses in our parish and all masses are full. The building holds 900 people and there is usually many standing along the walls. 5000 at one mass just wouldn’t work. Although I’ve been to Fatima on the feast day with 1 million at mass

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZMBv0wLd2-d0GCuoDbJB9KhMBkz5sUyCk0j4UUqrudHg3mqj7bA

 

[theistgal]

I didn’t know that.

It wouldn’t be practical for the Latin rite. For example, we have 5 masses in our parish and all masses are full. The building holds 900 people and there is usually many standing along the walls. 5000 at one mass just wouldn’t work. Although I’ve been to Fatima on the feast day with 1 million at mass

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZMBv0wLd2-d0GCuoDbJB9KhMBkz5sUyCk0j4UUqrudHg3mqj7bA

Fortunately we’ve never had to worry about a crowd of more than 120 - and that was at our wedding.

 

[5Loaves]

Actually, in the Eastern Rites, one liturgy per altar per day is the norm, regardless of the size of the congregation.
steve b;9846258:

I didn’t know that.

It wouldn’t be practical

for the Latin rite.

The Liturgy isn’t celebrated more than once in a day in the Eastern Churches because of the theology and the canons of the East.

As one Eastern Catholic Church, the Byzantine/Ruthenian Catholic Church, puts it:

In the Divine Liturgy, the local church is most clearly seen as gathered together in an orderly fashion, led by a priest who is empowered by ordination to offer sacrifice and prayers on behalf of the faithful. Word and actions emphasize the unity of the faithful. For this reason, it is traditional in the Byzantine Churches that there should only be one celebration of the Divine Liturgy in a particular church on a given day - “one altar, one liturgy.”

Here is a similar quote from the Greek Orthodox Church:

The Divine Liturgy is properly celebrated only once a day. This custom serves to emphasize and maintain the unity of the local congregation.

Size is clearly not an issue as there are massive Liturgies at present in Russian, 50,000 or more of the faithful. It is about the community celebrating as a unified church.

In smaller parishes where they may have only one priest it would be impossible for him to celebrate a second time in the same day because of the fasting required. He will have broken the fast, as is appropriate, with Holy Eucharist. So then he would need to fast after that until at least the equivalent of overnight so 8-12 hours. If Liturgy went from say 9:00AM until 11:00AM and assuming he finally got a meal of some kind after the Liturgy, then you’d be talking about a second Liturgy at 9PM or later. That is after sunset then you’re now in a new day so no point in another Liturgy at that hour.

 

[ConstantineTG]

The fact of the matter is, more than one Liturgy per day does happen to both Eastern Catholic and Orthodox parishes, especially those congregations with a split preference on language used for Liturgy. The solution was to have a second, smaller altar or side altar. Some would have a more relaxed rule where it is the celebration on a particular antimens is what is counted, so they would have a second antimens for the second Liturgy whilst using the same Holy Table. Eastern Catholics tend to just use the same antimens and same Holy Table, adapting the Latin practice.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Actually, in the Eastern Rites, one liturgy per altar per day is the norm, regardless of the size of the congregation.

Indeed that is the norm, but there are ways around it (Cathedral practice, for example, where different antimensia are used).

 

[theistgal]

Indeed that is the norm, but there are ways around it.

Well, yes, that’s why we’re called Byzantine.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Well, yes, that’s why we’re called Byzantine.

No, that was just to confuse everyone about our true identity and origin

 

[5Loaves]

Indeed that is the norm, but there are ways around it (Cathedral practice, for example, where different antimensia are used).

The local ROCOR Cathedral has Divine Liturgy twice on Sundays, once a month the early one is an English Language version. They use different altar, different antimins, different priest.

I haven’t heard of any Orthodox or EC parishes around here ever having the same priest offer liturgy twice in the same day, on a separate artimins.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

I haven’t heard of any Orthodox or EC parishes around here ever having the same priest offer liturgy twice in the same day, on a separate artimins.

Not the ideal, but it does happen at least at one of the BCC cathedrals out of necessity. Used to be that they had enough priests to manage the Sunday DL’s (3), but sadly no longer the case.

 

[theistgal]

I should add that while it is the norm, there are always exceptions.

Like those Greek Orthodox churches that have big pipe organs. (If you’re EC or EO, you’ll understand why I say that’s the exception - or should be! )