Too Late For Mass?

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Angel7

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I took a bit more Time to prepare For Mass Today, and I came a few minutes late.
Then when I was there, I didn’t enter right away because I was looking for family.
I was also distracted at multiple times.
Did I fullfill my Sunday Obligation?
 
It is not for us to judge you, but a priest said that if you arrive after the Gospel, you can’t be really said to have attended Mass while still another said that if you arrived after the consecration of the sacred Body and Blood then you cannot possibly say you did (I’m guessing that this is because you would not have attended what makes the Mass the Mass).

I hope this helps. I’m sorry I don’t have any authoritative documents to point to. Any takers?

Paul R. Viola
 
angelic06 said:
It is not for us to judge you, but a priest said that if you arrive after the Gospel, you can’t be really said to have attended Mass while still another said that if you arrived after the consecration of the sacred Body and Blood then you cannot possibly say you did (I’m guessing that this is because you would not have attended what makes the Mass the Mass).

I hope this helps. I’m sorry I don’t have any authoritative documents to point to. Any takers?

Paul R. Viola
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Yep!
 
angelic06 said:
It is not for us to judge you, but a priest said that if you arrive after the Gospel, you can’t be really said to have attended Mass while still another said that if you arrived after the consecration of the sacred Body and Blood then you cannot possibly say you did (I’m guessing that this is because you would not have attended what makes the Mass the Mass).

I hope this helps. I’m sorry I don’t have any authoritative documents to point to. Any takers?

Paul R. Viola
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The reason why there is no authoritative documents is because there is none. There is no document that give guidelines of how late you can be. Imagine how it would affect churchgoers nowadays. Each priest has his own rule of thumb.

The approach should be if you arrive after the priest’s initial sign of cross, that means you are late already. Saying that you could arrive just before the Gospel, means you would miss the Penitential Act, and Gloria, both are as important as any other part of the mass (eg. final blessing and dismissal). The mass should be looked at as a whole and participation should be in the totality of the mass.

The best approach is to actually arrive some time before the mass and pray to get ready for the mass.

Saying that, it does not mean that once you are late you cannot attend the mass or does not fulfill your Sunday obligation. Like Paul Viola said it is not up to anyone but you and God to judge.

In closing please consider the following quotes:
1 Cor 11:27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.
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From Dei Verbum: A person should not approach the table of the Bread of the Lord without having first been at the table of His Word
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God Bless
 
i’ve heard differing opinions on this, even from priests

although one priest i heard in the past said that every portion of the mass is of equal importance, meaning that you should be there for the ENTIRE mass, from opening prayer to final blessing

some would say as long as you partake in the Eucharist

some would say as long as you’re in time for the Homily

i too would like to know what the official ruling on this is

but i do believe the priest i mentioned, you should be there for the entirety of a mass. but even if by your best effort you weren’t, whats the acceptable lateness?
 
choy said:
i’ve heard differing opinions on this, even from priests

some would say as long as you partake in the Eucharist
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It can’t be this, because we are not required to receive the Eucharist at every Mass.
 
In general, it “counts” as long as you are there during part of the Liturgy of the Word, and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist up until Communion. Generally you should hear at least some of the Gospel; but technically, you’re okay even if you’re there before the Offertory. Technically.

The other thing that you can do is, if you get to Mass during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, you’re allowed to attend the Liturgy of the Word at another Mass. Again, this is not ideal; but it’s technically okay.

You don’t have to be seated in a pew to be attending Mass. You really shouldn’t be outside the church building (unless there’s an overflow event, or unless you’re out there caring for a child, sick family member, etc.), but it’s okay to be out in the vestibule, etc.

In general, the Church is very very lenient about this stuff, because weird stuff does happen. But again, there’s a big difference between “I didn’t know if my mother would be able to find the place if I didn’t stand outside” or “little Jimmy was busy throwing up”, and “every week I stand outside church and call people on my cellphone and play videogames all the time while Mass is going on, because I don’t really want to go”. 🙂
 
its pretty common in the Philippines to be attending mass outside of the church
not because the people doesn’t want to be inside, there’s just that many people

but most churches that commonly experience overflow would equip speakers outside for these people

and no, they can’t add more masses. these churches already start at 5 or 6am and have hourly masses 'til noon, then start again at 4 or 5 'til about 8. one parish i know has a 9pm mass on Sunday
 
choy said:
its pretty common in the Philippines to be attending mass outside of the church
not because the people doesn’t want to be inside, there’s just that many people

but most churches that commonly experience overflow would equip speakers outside for these people

and no, they can’t add more masses. these churches already start at 5 or 6am and have hourly masses 'til noon, then start again at 4 or 5 'til about 8. one parish i know has a 9pm mass on Sunday
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That is AMAZING!!! :extrahappy:
 
choy said:
its pretty common in the Philippines to be attending mass outside of the church
not because the people doesn’t want to be inside, there’s just that many people

but most churches that commonly experience overflow would equip speakers outside for these people

and no, they can’t add more masses. these churches already start at 5 or 6am and have hourly masses 'til noon, then start again at 4 or 5 'til about 8. one parish i know has a 9pm mass on Sunday
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My parents migrated from the Philippines----I’ve been to Mass there when I was visiting and when I was young. I don’t remember how packed it was, but this type of scenery is something I would like to see here in the U.S. (No, not the part about there being not enough seats in the temple proper, but there being people who have such a strong desire to attend divine (Catholic) worship that they will flock to the church.) I remember that they had a Corpus Christi procession at the village church, the only one on the island if I recall correctly. I do not know how prevalent said processions are here in the U.S.

Give us young ones (I’m 26 years old, not really that much older than the average Life Teen attendee----I can remember high school graduation in 2002 as if it were yesterday) reverent worship and you’ll soon find churches that are overflowing. (I realize that this is not what the OP was addressing, but I decided that this may be an opportune time to add my piece on this affair.) One priest was quoted in Sacred Music (published by the CMAA) as saying that liturgy and liturgical music must be reverent so as not to offend God, dignified so as not to offend us. Give us reverent worship so that we will not prefer to be elsewhere on Sunday, as well as solid Catholic preaching, so that we will delight in coming to the church of His Majesty our God and King to worship and to hear what the Lord has to say through his ministers and the appointed lessons much like the Israelites gathered to hear what God said through Moses and Aaron so as to do His divine will. Absent such emergencies as that of the OP and that in important occupations (healthcare, public safety, etc.), people will no longer be trying to see how “late they can come” to Mass (and the accompanying phenomena, leaving right after receiving Holy Communion) and still have it “count” for their attendance requirements.

Give us so-so liturgies (in some cases, quite wretched with clown Masses—never been to make, Deo gratias—and the like) with the accompanying homilies (in some places, I hear these are downright heterodox) and people will try to see how much they can scoop out while counting toward their “requirements” (once again, I’m not encouraging lateness, much less downright absenteeism).

Paul R, Viola
 
Angel7 said:
I took a bit more Time to prepare For Mass Today, and I came a few minutes late.
Then when I was there, I didn’t enter right away because I was looking for family.
I was also distracted at multiple times.
Did I fullfill my Sunday Obligation?
Click to expand...
It sounds like you did. I don’t think a hard and fast rule have ever been set down as to when is too late to arrive. It sounds like altogether you were perhaps 10 minutes late, not like you missed the entire Liturgy of the Word.

And if being occasionally distracted means one hasn’t fulfilled the Sunday obligation than we are ALL in trouble! 😉
 
I just took to long at home to get ready to go out.
I then had to use The Church’s bathroom before, and after that spent a few more minutes looking for my parents so I didn’t sit alone.
And then i was distracted in the beggining, so I missed maybe 10-15 minutes
I hope it’s nothing bad.
 
I was taught early on that for a Mass to be valid, it must at a minimum include an Offertory, Consecration and Communion (of the priest). If you are present for at least these three parts, you have attended Mass. Missing other parts does not render that Mass invalid but under normal circumstances is certainly not lawful or desirable.
 
From Dei Verbum: A person should not approach
the table of the Bread of the Lord without having first been at the table of His Word

wondering where I can find this quote?? (where can I find Dei Verbum?) anyway, this is news to me. I have heard that one can be VERY late for Mass, with good reason, and then permitted to receive the Eucharist (if one is properly disposed).
 
blaskoman said:
From Dei Verbum: A person should not approach
the table of the Bread of the Lord without having first been at the table of His Word

wondering where I can find this quote?? (where can I find Dei Verbum?) anyway, this is news to me. I have heard that one can be VERY late for Mass, with good reason, and then permitted to receive the Eucharist (if one is properly disposed).
Click to expand...
Here’s a good source for documents: papalencyclicals.net/all.htm

The quote itself is a reference to both Dei Verbum #21 (adoremus.org/DeiVerbum.html) and Sacrosanctum Concilium #56 (adoremus.org/SacrosanctumConcilium.html)

I believe the quote itself is originally from Inaestimabile Donum #1
(papalencyclicals.net/JP02/JP2inaest.htm)

See also Dies Domini #42 (vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html)

A Catholic may receive Communion at “any” time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that “any” time is always an appropriate one. So, if a priest can administer Communion to a Catholic who has not attended any Mass (that day), he can likewise administer Communion to one who is late for that particular Mass. To put that another way, if a person may miss the “whole” Mass and still receive Communion, then a person may miss “part of the whole” of the Mass and still receive. But please do understand that I’m not saying that a person who is late for Mass must be admitted to Communion, only that one may be admitted to Communion.

Although the Church has never outright defined a specific moment of the Mass at which one “must be there” in order to fulfill the Sunday obligation, (not that I’m aware of, at least, and this is a frequently visited topic, not just on CAF) being there to hear the Gospel is the typical moment. Although this is not quite a direct answer, the Church has said that priests can hear confessions in the same Church where Mass is being celebrated, but that Confessions must stop at least in time for the Gospel (I can’t find the references for that at the moment though). That gives us at least an indication that being there to hear the Gospel is a good criteria to apply.
 
FrDavid,

in my experience in the Philippines, the confessions only end shortly before communion

but again given my earlier example, there is usually a long line for confession, even if the priest would mean to end before the Gospel. and usually the priest is in the booth before the mass starts. and sometimes the only reason he’ll leave before communion is because he’ll assist in distributing communion or he’s the one saying the next mass and has to prepare

i guess being there for the gospel is a common belief for most people. and like you said, there’s no rule from the Church, so its an unofficial rule thats accepted by most
 
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