Sunday - day of obligation

[otjm]

The real question for the Saturday naysayers is why on earth, if you are able to go, and can’t go on Sunday, would you not go? Why would uou take such a bare-bones do-only-what-you-are-forced-to attitude to Holy Mass?

The whole point is that the Sunday Mass has enormous spiritual benefit for us. Indeed it is the supreme of all activities spirituallh speaking. Qualitatively Sunday Mass is no different to Saturday night, being that the prayers, readings etc are the very same for both. Why would anyone willingly miss out on that benefit on a technicality?

Exactly.

In China, the priests and bishops who are in union with Rome, as opposed to those who are appointed by the Chinese government, are subject to harassment and jailing, some for close to life time sentences.

In Saudi Arabia, one of our alleged allies, there is absolutely no public worship allowed by any group; it all has to be done in secret. And the results of getting caught are not what a normal person would choose to endure.

And in some parts of Iraq and Syria, there are friendly, kind jihadists who will take a Christian, pull their head back by either placing a hand on the forehead or pulling the hair, and use a knife to saw the Christian’s head off.

We have the privilege of attending Mass openly, and if for some reason we cannot exercise that privilege on Sunday, we can do so on Saturday, and there is even a question about doing so?

It is my recollection that Christ made a statement about the lukewarm - that He would “spit them out of his mouth”. I don’t know; maybe we can wheedle out of going to Mass by shyster lawyering.

But if wheedling out of attending Mass when we can - and when the Church, it its graciousness, has made it more possible - is our concept of our relationship with the Church, our fellow Christians, and with Christ, then by all means, we should parse out Canon law like the best of the shyster lawyers.

Anyone who posits a question about Mass attendance in terms of “Obligation” seems to be working on a stone cold heart. God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son, but do we really haaaave to go spend 45 minutes or an hour with Him???

 

[ProVobis]

We have the privilege of attending Mass openly, and if for some reason we cannot exercise that privilege on Sunday, we can do so on Saturday, and there is even a question about doing so?

True, yet I hear you criticizing the many who attended Mass back before Vatican II when most Catholics attended Mass on a Sunday morning, without air conditioning, hearing Latin, without questioning, etc. Sure there were abuses but somehow we managed to live with them. They didn’t stop us from going to Church.

In this day of conveniences, is it a wonder why people ask questions about obligations? Or press the bishop or priest to grant them a dispensation on Holy Days and Sundays so they can take care of more important matters? I’m guessing by the number of Masses that are offered on Jan 1st, for example, that many people have asked for dispensation, if not directly, than with their feet.

 

[powerofk]

True, yet I hear you criticizing the many who attended Mass back before Vatican II when most Catholics attended Mass on a Sunday morning, without air conditioning, hearing Latin, without questioning, etc. Sure there were abuses but somehow we managed to live with them. They didn’t stop us from going to Church.

In this day of conveniences, is it a wonder why people ask questions about obligations? Or press the bishop or priest to grant them a dispensation on Holy Days and Sundays so they can take care of more important matters? I’m guessing by the number of Masses that are offered on Jan 1st, for example, that many people have asked for dispensation, if not directly, than with their feet.

Right. Of course, Jan 1st is probably the “forgotten” Holy Day of Obligation. And it’s the hardest one to get to, it seems. Even most pastors seem to think of it as an afterthought.

But regardless, no one seems to miss Mass on Ash Wednesday! Seriously, Ash Wednesday has the most attended Masses of any day of the year. And yet, it’s not a holy day of obligation, nor does it fall on a Sunday.

 

[Michael12]

Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday are those two days when you “get something” (physical) to take away from Mass. Maybe people think it’s like bat day at the ballpark.

 

[AKDee]

We have the privilege of attending Mass openly, and if for some reason we cannot exercise that privilege on Sunday, we can do so on Saturday, and there is even a question about doing so?

It is my recollection that Christ made a statement about the lukewarm - that He would “spit them out of his mouth”. I don’t know; maybe we can wheedle out of going to Mass by shyster lawyering.

But if wheedling out of attending Mass when we can - and when the Church, it its graciousness, has made it more possible - is our concept of our relationship with the Church, our fellow Christians, and with Christ, then by all means, we should parse out Canon law like the best of the shyster lawyers.

**Anyone who posits a question about Mass attendance in terms of “Obligation” seems to be working on a stone cold heart. ** God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son, but do we really haaaave to go spend 45 minutes or an hour with Him???

This is exactly how I feel. Well said.

 

[otjm]

True, yet I hear you criticizing the many who attended Mass back before Vatican II when most Catholics attended Mass on a Sunday morning, without air conditioning, hearing Latin, without questioning, etc. Sure there were abuses but somehow we managed to live with them. They didn’t stop us from going to Church.

In this day of conveniences, is it a wonder why people ask questions about obligations? Or press the bishop or priest to grant them a dispensation on Holy Days and Sundays so they can take care of more important matters? I’m guessing by the number of Masses that are offered on Jan 1st, for example, that many people have asked for dispensation, if not directly, than with their feet.

There is a difference between a criticism and a critique. It is a fact that a large number of people pre-Vatican 2 went to Mass and said their rosary, or read a novena pamphlet, or simply were there. Some had missals with Latin on one side and English on the other; but not even a significant majority by any stretch of the imagination. That is not a criticism, it is a fact.

The vast majority, if they had religious training, had the Baltimore Catechism as their base and that was good at transmitting doctrine, albeit in a rote fashion. When that was tossed, rather than being incorporated to the changes which needed to be made, we lost a tremendous amount.

And next to no one knew Latin sufficient to be able to translate on the fly, let alone speak it. People had phrases memorized; but if one were to change the tense or case, they would have no clue as to how it was changed. And I don’t call rote memorization “knowing” Latin.

And interestingly, it was during the reign of Pope Pius 12th that attendance peaked and started down. What the factors were which started that decline I will leave to scholars, as anything unresearched is simply a w.a.g. However, the great majority knew that there was an obligation. Whether or not they knew that there was something far larger than an obligation is left to the scholars.

 

[Merrick]

Interesting responses.

I do see a lot of agonizing that a question in terms of the obligation to attend mass was even asked. In the event that any of that is directed toward me I will clarify: I simply ask because I was curious. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing to do with hardness of heart. It probably wasn’t directed to me personally, but still.

I almost always attend a Saturday evening mass if I can when I’m not able to make it to Sunday mass and often attend daily mass. But now that I think about it it’s also important for me to know besides my curiosity because the only way for me to get to Saturday mass in the event I can’t get a ride (which sometimes does happen and did happen this week) is to walk to a church that is over two miles away up a very steep hill with no sidewalk, tall grass and other plants, lots of traffic, dangerous crosswalks, and heat that usually exceeds 100 degrees. Yes, I have made that walk before many times, but it’s not easy, parts of it are dangerous, and nearly impossible to do in the rain or when my work schedule is crazy. So it is good for me to know what the exact requirements for mass attendance are given these circumstances. It is nothing to do with hardness of heart or not wanting to receive the Sacrament.

 

[dans0622]

Interesting responses.

I do see a lot of agonizing that a question in terms of the obligation to attend mass was even asked. In the event that any of that is directed toward me I will clarify: I simply ask because I was curious. …

Hello,

It’s a good question. It’s something I started to wonder about earlier this year.

I’ve given my opinion already…I’m sure there are other canon lawyers who would say “no, you’re obliged to go on Saturday, at least in those circumstances.” I don’t think that is true, based on the language of the law which defines the obligation.

That being said, it is also clear that the Church has given us the opportunity to fulfill the obligation on the evening of the previous day for those times when we can’t make it to Mass on Sunday. So, we should take advantage of the opportunity.

Dan

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Giving more than the calendar day of Sunday to fulfill the obligation is meaningless if that broader window does not establish the boundaries of the obligation itself. Since we are never bound to the impossible, those who legitimately can’t attend on Sunday would, under dans0622 and Agt. Macklin’s laxist interpretation, not need any more “opportunity to fulfill the obligation” because their physical or moral impediments to attendance would mean they have no obligation to fulfill. You can’t help people fulfill an obligation that does not exist.

The calendar day, liturgical day, and time period with canonical relevance are not necessarily coterminous. When the solemnity of St. Joseph falls on a Saturday we don’t get to eat meat on (a Lenten) Friday evening, even though those who live in regions where the feast is obligatory can fulfill that obligation with Mass that evening. Saturday evening is (often, usually) liturgically Sunday but if I were trying to count down to the expiration of some canonical waiting period that liturgical fact doesn’t cut hours of the the standard 24-hr. canonical day. In an expansive disjunction of times, the Church has said that even though the obligation arises from the character of Sunday, the period for fulfillment will be longer than Sunday’s 24 hours.

The Church has created an obligation. It has given a time frame within which it is possible to fulfill that obligation. If we can reasonably comply within the time frame we must.

 

[otjm]

Giving more than the calendar day of Sunday to fulfill the obligation is meaningless if that broader window does not establish the boundaries of the obligation itself. Since we are never bound to the impossible, those who legitimately can’t attend on Sunday would, under dans0622 and Agt. Macklin’s laxist interpretation, not need any more “opportunity to fulfill the obligation” because their physical or moral impediments to attendance would mean they have no obligation to fulfill. You can’t help people fulfill an obligation that does not exist.

The calendar day, liturgical day, and time period with canonical relevance are not necessarily coterminous. When the solemnity of St. Joseph falls on a Saturday we don’t get to eat meat on (a Lenten) Friday evening, even though those who live in regions where the feast is obligatory can fulfill that obligation with Mass that evening. Saturday evening is (often, usually) liturgically Sunday but if I were trying to count down to the expiration of some canonical waiting period that liturgical fact doesn’t cut hours of the the standard 24-hr. canonical day. In an expansive disjunction of times, the Church has said that even though the obligation arises from the character of Sunday, the period for fulfillment will be longer than Sunday’s 24 hours.

The Church has created an obligation. It has given a time frame within which it is possible to fulfill that obligation. If we can reasonably comply within the time frame we must.

Common sense would come to that conclusion.

One of the problems with electronic discussions is that one cannot hear the tone of voice of the question. Sans inflection, at times one does not know if a question is a theoretical or scholarly issue, or if one is dealing with the question sounding like the teenager who goes “Awww, do I haaaf to?”.

If one cannot attend on Sunday, and the Church provides Saturday evening as an addition to the Sunday Mass, then one can cast a question on whether the obligation attends.

Or one can go and meet the Lord, and engage in praise, petition, thanksgiving and reparation. And ultimately, that is what it is supposed to be about, not about being a warm body in the pew for however long Mass takes, making sure one has met their “obligation”.

And then there is Rev. 3:15.

 

[ProVobis]

And interestingly, it was during the reign of Pope Pius 12th that attendance peaked and started down. What the factors were which started that decline I will leave to scholars, as anything unresearched is simply a w.a.g. However, the great majority knew that there was an obligation.

No doubt.

For the record, the reforms were begun in 1948, if not sooner. There is plenty of documentation on that. And I would have no argument with anyone who claims attendance had reached a peak about that time. But the more pronounced the changes after that, the faster the decline in attendance, it seems. Maybe making everything more convenient (cars, air conditioning, vernacular, facing the people, audible prayers, relaxing the fast and meat abstinence, Sat Mass, etc.) also had a profound negative effect on one’s spirituality? I don’t know but I certainly entertained the thought as I was studying psychology of adjustment as part of my one year of required social studies in the 60’s.

 

[EasterJoy]

The text of the law doesn’t create any such obligation. I think if there were such an obligation it would be spelled out for us.

We are bound to fulfill the obligation. We can fulfill the obligation by attending a Mass on the preceding evening. Why on earth would we not feel obliged to observe the holy day by attending Mass?

 

[Vico]

The text of the law says that there is an obligation to attend Mass on Sunday. The main purpose of the Saturday vigil Mass is to make it possible for people who specifically cannot attend the Sunday Mass to still fulfill the Sunday obligation to keep Holy the Lord’s Day as well as possible depending on circumstances. The Church does not require us to attend a specific time Mass, but it does spell out that it is required.

It is also clear that the Church sees the Saturday Vigil in the same way as the Sunday Mass with the same readings, etc. I think it is correct (although I could be wrong) to say that for liturgical purposes the Saturday Vigil Mass and the Sunday Mass liturgically take place on the same day, even though they take place on two separate 24 hr. calendar days. So liturgically speaking, in order to fulfill the Sunday obligation, if one can’t make the scheduled Sunday Mass times, but they can attend the Saturday Vigil (which liturgically is actually Sunday) then they are obligated to attend the Saturday Vigil. It would be no different than attending any one of the various time scheduled Sunday Masses. It doesn’t matter which one you go to, but you are obligated to go to one of them if possible.

They also fulfill the Sunday Mass obligation when the Saturday readings are not those of Sunday but within the allowable time for fulfillment on Saturday.

 

[ProVobis]

The Church has created an obligation. It has given a time frame within which it is possible to fulfill that obligation. If we can reasonably comply within the time frame we must.

So under the scenario that one doesn’t have the convenience to a Sunday Mass but Saturday only, when exactly is the mortal sin of not fulfilling the obligation committed? What if one does find a convenient Mass to attend on late Sunday by accident and decides to attend then? DId he already commit the sin on Saturday and needs to confess? IOW can one undo a mortal sin? Honest question.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

So under the scenario that one doesn’t have the convenience to a Sunday Mass but Saturday only, when exactly is the mortal sin of not fulfilling the obligation committed? What if one does find a convenient Mass to attend on late Sunday by accident and decides to attend then? DId he already commit the sin on Saturday and needs to confess? IOW can one undo a mortal sin? Honest question.

I can’t speak to the thought crime of choosing to spurn the Church’s authority by not fulfilling the obligation - we are morally responsible for such free choices, so there would be some guilt there, sure, but moral theology is not my specialty so I can’t say whether intending to do something and then not following through necessarily involves the mortal gravity as if one had completed the intended action.

Whatever the gravity of that initial sin, though, the act wouldn’t be “failing to fulfill the Sunday obligation,” as we can really only pass definitive judgment on that once the possible time for fulfillment has passed. One would irrevocably have committed the sin of choosing disobedience, but that choice would not be compounded by the outward act of disobedience.

 

[Vico]

I can’t speak to the thought crime of choosing to spurn the Church’s authority by not fulfilling the obligation - we are morally responsible for such free choices, so there would be some guilt there, sure, but moral theology is not my specialty so I can’t say whether intending to do something and then not following through necessarily involves the mortal gravity as if one had completed the intended action.

Whatever the gravity of that initial sin, though, the act wouldn’t be “failing to fulfill the Sunday obligation,” as we can really only pass definitive judgment on that once the possible time for fulfillment has passed. One would irrevocably have committed the sin of choosing disobedience, but that choice would not be compounded by the outward act of disobedience.

Catechism indicates it is a grave matter. Willfully deciding against observing this obligation in a particular instance is also grave matter.

2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "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."118

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

 

[EasterJoy]

So under the scenario that one doesn’t have the convenience to a Sunday Mass but Saturday only, when exactly is the mortal sin of not fulfilling the obligation committed? What if one does find a convenient Mass to attend on late Sunday by accident and decides to attend then? DId he already commit the sin on Saturday and needs to confess? IOW can one undo a mortal sin? Honest question.

This is getting a little juridical, wouldn’t you say? What on earth difference does it make?

OK…I would suppose that, like filing your taxes on time, you are not in violation of the law until the time frame for fulfilling the obligation has passed. If you plan to miss the deadline for your taxes and purposefully miss the only opportunity you believe you will have to file your taxes prior to the deadline, you still haven’t violated the law until the deadline has passed. Likewise, you have not technically failed to meet your obligation to attend Mass on a certain day until the day is over.

The sin of indifference or whatever hardness of heart lead you to so obstinately avoid an obligation that ought to be a joy would be the sin you commit when you decide not to attend the only Mass you think will allow you to fulfill that happy obligation. If you missed out of no bad motive, but because you honestly believed a more serious consideration dispensed you from your obligation, then you would not be guilty of any bad intention or lack of the ardor due to God under the first great commandment.

 

[Rosebud77]

unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin." Grand… and who but the person knows truly the validity of the “serious reason”? Referring to another thread and indeed to others that have arisen. One point re the Saturday mass here in ireland is that as the priesthood declines rapidly, more remote churches can have mass if saturday is allowed, but ut does undermine the whole Sunday

 

[MatthewTrainor]

This thread has already provided the relevent portions of the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism. I would like to add the following from the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship on February 14, 1969

1. Each day is made holy through the liturgical celebrations of the people of God, especially through the eucharistic sacrifice and the divine office.

The liturgical day runs from midnight to midnight, but the observance of Sunday and solemnities begins with the evening of the preceding day.

(emphasis added)

In my eyes the obligation could not be more clear. You are morally obligated to attend Mass every week at some time between Saturday evening and the end of Sunday at midnight. Intentionally failing to fulfill this obligation is a mortal sin. (See CCC 2181 & 1857)

Presuming you have a legitimate conflict on Sunday, if you think that because regulations do not specifically state that you must attend on Saturday that you can go to your Bowling League or attend your regular Saturday night poker game with your buddies (or whatever) instead of attending Mass there is little else anyone can say to change your mind. Whatever you choose to do, be prepared to discuss it with the Lord on judgment day.

 

[MissRose73]

As my work schedule will NOT allow me to go to a Sunday morning Mass, I go on Saturday evenings. I am fulfilling my obligation to attend Mass. I am sure I am not the only Catholic out there whose job requires them to work on the weekend in some way. When I was growing up, my mother preferred the Saturday evening Mass and so I went at that time with her (and she still does to this day).