This "All Saint's Day" stills day of rest?

[onegirlinchrist]

Hello all,

I read that since this All Saint’s Day falls on a Saturday, there is no requirement to attend mass. However, is it still considered a holy day of obligation in the sense that we should refrain from unnecessary servile labor, as on Sunday?

Thank you!

 

[z_0101]

Solemnity of All Saints
Is still just that, a Solemnity… just in this case, we are not obligated to attend the Holy Mass. As a solemnity, I would think it fitting to abstain from unnecessary work and I think I saw a sign in the local Catholic bookstore that they would be closed… but they close for all Solemnities and Holy Days… wish my job would do so!

 

[dans0622]

This is a good question. Usually, I’ve heard it said that when a day of obligation is “suppressed” that the entirety of the obligation is relaxed (see c. 1246.2, which doesn’t distinguish between the two aspects of Mass and rest). So, I tend to think that a person is not obliged to attend Mass and does not have to refrain from work.

The USCCB, however, seems quite specific in saying “Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.” (emphasis mine). They said nothing about the precept of rest.

To speak of an “obligation” to “refrain from work” is itself counterintuitive.

Dan

 

[onegirlinchrist]

Thank you both very much for your replies. While at RCIA, I asked this question and they said I did not have to refrain from work this Saturday. On the flip side, they said Holy Days of obligation do not have the same precept to rest as do Sundays. That didn’t seem quite right, but a Monsignor was present and backed them up…

Thank you for clarifying that there is no distinction between mass attendance and resting. For what it’s worth, in my parish misal, it said that this Saturday is not a holy day of obligation. The publisher obviously interpreted no precept to attend mass as no holy day of obligation. I have seen this reasoning elsewhere.

I think we are safe to assume that if the precept to attend mass is abrogated, then the entirety of the obligation is relaxed. If it was extremely incorrect, I think there would be more clarity and uniformity on the issue!