The Problem of Holy Days of Obligation

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I know, by nature of the title, we are obligated to go to mass on these days, All Saints being the most recent one.

I also know the Church has said that if these days fall on a weekday, we are not expected to skip out on a full time job.

My issue is that these conflict for me. I do not have a Catholic church near me that typically holds mass in the evening on obligation days, or early enough that I could go in the morning without being late to work.

So am I expected to confess the fact that I did not go to mass on a holy day of obligation? In my particular case one of these rules of the church seems to invalidate the other.
 
nfinke said:
I know, by nature of the title, we are obligated to go to mass on these days, All Saints being the most recent one.

I also know the Church has said that if these days fall on a weekday, we are not expected to skip out on a full time job.

My issue is that these conflict for me. I do not have a Catholic church near me that typically holds mass in the evening on obligation days, or early enough that I could go in the morning without being late to work.

So am I expected to confess the fact that I did not go to mass on a holy day of obligation? In my particular case one of these rules of the church seems to invalidate the other.
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The Church excuses on the grounds of physical or moral impossibility. That’s where the full-time job exception comes in.

If it’s impossible, then it’s impossible.
 
Oh alright I thought the workday rule was just related to the prohibition of working on normal holy days (ie Sunday). Thanks.
 
There isn’t an absolute prohibition on working on Sundays. We’re not Orthodox Jews. If your job requires you to work on Sundays, you can work on Sundays. You should still make the effort to attend Mass if you can. You should still make the effort to set aside some time for prayer and rest. But the Church doesn’t ask the impossible. If it’s necessary to work on Sundays, work on Sundays.
 
The general rule is that on a Holy Day of Obligation (including all Sundays of the year) you should:

1: Refrain from doing servile work.
2: Attend Mass

The rules for Sunday and other Holy Days of Obligation are the same. Therefore the exceptions are the same. 😉
 
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The general rule is that you should. But if it is impossible for you to do so, you are not obligated to. The law is interpreted through the principle of charity.
 
Oh yeah I understand that, prohibition might have been a strong word to use.
 
I was lucky to be have a say in the planning of my previous job. My experience is that many job managers/ bosses will be reasonable, if you explain why you can’t work 8-10 days a year, and granted that you give the dates in advance.
 
TheMortenBay said:
The general rule is that on a Holy Day of Obligation (including all Sundays of the year) you should:

1: Refrain from doing servile work.
2: Attend Mass

The rules for Sunday and other Holy Days of Obligation are the same. Therefore the exceptions are the same. 😉
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Since the term “servile work” does not appear in the current Code of Canon Law, how can this be the “general rule?”
 
Does it say “physical labour” or “hard, physical work” now or something? I forget, but that’s still the gist of the current Code of Canon Law.
 
You could ask your parish if it is possible to have a Vigil mass on the evening before. Vigils are very common in our part of the world.
 
Hmm. This is a good idea. My church has vigil masses for Easter and Christmas, maybe they’d be open to that too.

But they routinely have 7pm mass on Sundays, so I think they’ll be open to having that same mass on obligation days. I’ve been meaning to ask about it.
 
There are only two holy days of obligation in Canada and both fall on secular star holidays… so it’s a non-issue for most people.
 
The HDO Mass schedules, in my experience, are based on a combination of “what we’ve always done around here” and what the pastor believes will best serve the people who bother to come without overtaxing the pastoral/liturgical staff. Maybe they used to not have anyone showing up for Mass in the evenings, but if your priest knows there’s interest, he’ll reconsider (presuming logistics allow).
 
TheMortenBay said:
Does it say “physical labour” or “hard, physical work” now or something? I forget, but that’s still the gist of the current Code of Canon Law.
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The current law says we “are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body” so it is more broad and generally demanding than a prohibition on only servile work (the old law also forbade buying/selling/trading/shopping and legal acts).

So, I would say that the point of the current law is the same as the old (Sunday/days of obligation are dedicated to God and people need the opportunity to worship Him) but the specific terms of the law are different. Less specific, yes, but more all encompassing.

Dan
 
At our parish Church people have little excuse for missing Mass as every Sunday we have 10 Masses and this schedule also applies on other Holy Days of Obligation.
 
My parish has five time options for Holy Days, including a Vigil, morning, afternoon and evening (and people still complain about inconvenience) so we are lucky.
 
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