A reader writes:
Christmas Day is a holy day of obligation. The 25th is on a Saturday. Can you explain the breakdown of the mass schedule over the weekend? Here is my confusion.
If we go to mass on the 24th(Friday) does it fulfill the 25th’s (Saturday) obligation? example Saturday night mass fulfills Sunday’s obligation.
It is my understanding that we still need to fulfill Sunday’s obligation as well.
Is there a certain time on the eve of a holy day that is the cut-off time. For example any mass after 12:00 noon on Saturday fulfills the Sunday obligation. Any mass prior to 12:00 noon does not.
Is this all correct?
The way the law is written, you’re articulating something that would seem possible at first glance. Here is what the Code of Canon Law says:
Can. 1248
§1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated
anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of
the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.
That’s all. No further restrictions.
Given that, it would appear that if a holy day of
obligation on the day before a Sunday that going to a Mass on Saturday
evening fulfills the holy day obligation under the blue clause while
simultaneously fulfilling the Sunday obligation under the red clause.
But that ain’t what it means.
Canonical opinion is almost universally agreed that there are two distinct obligations to attend Mass and they cannot be fulfilled by attending a single Mass. What we appear to have, then, is a drafting problem in the law that could (and hopefully will) be cleared up by an authentic interpretation from Rome.
UPDATE: As pointed out by a kind reader down yonder, I misread the question! Though he was asking one thing when he was asking another. (That’ll learn me to skim a question too quickly!)
The correct answer is that this year a Friday evening Mass will satisfy for the Christmas obligation but then you do have to go to an additional Mass (either Saturday evening or Sunday) to fulfill the Sunday obligation.
As to what counts as evening, this is unclear. Noon is a leading contender as the law does not specify when evening begins. Some hold other positions, but I have yet been able to find a legal text that is in force that backs them up. MORE HERE.
As always, the readings of the Mass have nothing at all to do with whether it satisfies the obligation.
What is the definitition of “evening” that they are using?
post noon?
post 5:00pm?
A priest told me that the official rule is that the mass has to be at or after 4:00 PM to qualify as an eve. He stated that the issue often came up with weddings.
Wait a minute…
It seems the reader is complicating the issue by trying to use Friday mass to satisfy Sunday’s mass obligation. Thus, getting two “ticket punches” for two days on which he did NOT attend mass.
However, couldn’t one attend SATURDAY EVENING, and satisfy Saturday and Sunday’s obligation?
All the parishes in my area have canceled their Saturday evening Mass on the 25th.
Jimmy,
If you could further clarify…
At some point I was told the Church decided to move to a Jewish understanding of days, e.g. Saturday begins at dusk on Friday and ends at dusk on Saturday.
Just b/c it made sense at the time, I didn’t question it at the time. The priest explained to me: Since dusk happens at different times given different lattitudes around the world and varying seasons, it was agreed for consistency sake that 4:00 would be considered part of the next day.
Is this just an urban legend?
I don’t think that’ll work Michael because Sunday evening masses still count for Sunday, not Monday.
However, couldn’t one attend SATURDAY EVENING, and satisfy Saturday and Sunday’s obligation?
In 2002 I went to confession on Saturday, December 8. I casually asked the priest what time Masses were being celebrated that day, keeping in mind that I had not yet fulfilled my obligation for that feast and that evening Masses were common on Holy Days of Obligation. He told me that the Mass to be celebrated that evening was the vigil Mass for the following Sunday and couldn’t be used to fulfill the Immaculate Conception obligation. I remember thinking that his statement didn’t sound quite right, but I would like to know for certain. (I did assist at Mass later that evening at another parish and it was the Mass of the Immaculate Conception.)
I don’t think that’ll work Michael because Sunday evening masses still count for Sunday, not Monday.
But what if Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation? 😉
But what if Monday is a Holy Day of Obligation? 😉
Oh dear.
I think the powers that be need to clear up all this confusion. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
The document the Norms of the Liturgical Year and of the Calendar detail the rank of each of the liturgical days and clear up many of the questions that are being thrown around. As Jimmy points out, that document says that the day runs from midnight to midnight. For Sundays and certain feasts and solemnities, the celebration can begin in the evening before. But the rank is important in the question. From my reading of the document, for Christmas day this year, it outranks the next day which is a Sunday of Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Family. So a vigil could not be held on Saturday (Christmas) for the Sunday because Christmas is a higher ranking day. This would hold for the Immaculate Conception when it was on a Saturday. The Sundays of Advent rank higher so a vigil for the Sunday can be held in the evening of the Immaculate Conception. This is my take on this situation.
The Sundays of Advent rank higher so a vigil for the Sunday can be held in the evening of the Immaculate Conception. This is my take on this situation.
It’s a good take and it seems logical; however, it still doesn’t explain why the vigil Mass for the First Sunday of Advent wouldn’t fulfill the obligation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception if the latter falls on Saturday, or why an evening Mass celebrated on Christmas and using the office of Christmas might not fulfill the obligation for the following Sunday if Christmas falls on a Saturday. As Jimmy has written, fulfilling the Mass obligation does not depend on the readings used at Mass, or the office that is celebrated. The whole situation really is confusing almost to the point of hopelessness (at least for me); luckily, it doesn’t happen very often and, truthfully, I don’t assist at vigil Masses in any case since I never feel like I’ve actually fulfilled my obligation when I do.
There are two obligations for back to back days of obligation. I think we all agree on that. The question comes down to when can you fulfill that obligation. For normal Sundays and Solemnities that are seperated by more than one day there is no issue. The days are clearly distinct. What is difficult is when there is overlap. For Immaculate Conception on Saturday, the normal arrangement would be Friday evening to Saturday night to fulfill the obligation. The Sunday mass would be Saturday evening to Sunday night. So Saturday evening is overlapped between the two. What do you do? That is where I think the rank of the feast comes in (Norms of the Liturgical Year and the Calendar) so the Immaculate Conception would be restricted to Friday evening to just before Saturday evening and the Sunday mass would have the normal Saturday evening to Sunday night. For Christmas on a Saturday, the opposite is true. Christmas is a higher rank and so it would go Friday evening to Saturday night and Sunday would be restricted to Sunday morning to Sunday night. Again, this is my interpretation of the document in conjunction with the canon law norm that Jimmy cited.
Christmas is on a Sunday this year. Is midnight mass on Saturday considered a fullfillment for Christmas day. Do I have to attend both Masses? I need to know so I don’t commit a mortal sin.
When the Holy Day of Obligation falls on the Sunday, any mass that fulfills one obligation fulfills them both.