Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Saturday Mass for Sunday
ROME, NOV. 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
We received numerous e-mails from readers on the topic of Saturday evening celebrations of Sunday Mass. Although I responded from a pastoral rather than a canonical stance (see Oct. 21 column), several correspondents offered valuable canonical pointers that serve to complement and in part correct some of my assertions.
Several readers pointed out that most canonists, based on Pope Pius XII's apostolic constitution "Christus Dominus" and the Code of Canon Law, No. 1248.1, which speaks of Saturday evening ("vespere") Mass, say that 4 p.m., and not 5 p.m. as I affirmed, is the recognized time after which Sunday Masses may be celebrated.
This canon also states that Catholics may fulfill their Sunday and holy-day obligations by assisting at any Catholic Mass after this time. Therefore, if a Catholic were to attend a wedding at this time, even if the ceremony lacked the elements proper to a Sunday Mass, he or she would be fulfilling the Sunday precept.
This would also be the case if a holy day of obligation fell on a Saturday or Monday. A Catholic who assisted at morning and evening Mass on either Saturday or Sunday would fulfill both holy-day precepts, even if the Mass formulas were of the same day. It would always be required to go to Mass twice though, so there is no "killing two birds with one stone," as the saying goes.
To be clear, I am merely stating the minimum legal requirements and am not recommending this as a practice, which I believe would often be pastorally and spiritually detrimental to the faithful.
Therefore a pastor should do all that he can to assure that a Saturday evening wedding has all the elements of Sunday Mass as well as inculcate the faithful to fulfill their calling to glorify God and celebrate the fullness of the liturgical year.
Finally, due to an oversight of mine, in an earlier follow-up regarding the celebration of the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on Jan. 3, I failed to offer the simplest and most obvious solution to finding the texts: that is, the use of the already approved texts from the votive Mass of the Holy Name. These texts are already found in the missal and basically correspond to those of the feast day.
On this matter a reader informed me of the existence of a 2004 supplement to the Sacramentary that can be looked up here.
We received numerous e-mails from readers on the topic of Saturday evening celebrations of Sunday Mass. Although I responded from a pastoral rather than a canonical stance (see Oct. 21 column), several correspondents offered valuable canonical pointers that serve to complement and in part correct some of my assertions.
Several readers pointed out that most canonists, based on Pope Pius XII's apostolic constitution "Christus Dominus" and the Code of Canon Law, No. 1248.1, which speaks of Saturday evening ("vespere") Mass, say that 4 p.m., and not 5 p.m. as I affirmed, is the recognized time after which Sunday Masses may be celebrated.
This canon also states that Catholics may fulfill their Sunday and holy-day obligations by assisting at any Catholic Mass after this time. Therefore, if a Catholic were to attend a wedding at this time, even if the ceremony lacked the elements proper to a Sunday Mass, he or she would be fulfilling the Sunday precept.
This would also be the case if a holy day of obligation fell on a Saturday or Monday. A Catholic who assisted at morning and evening Mass on either Saturday or Sunday would fulfill both holy-day precepts, even if the Mass formulas were of the same day. It would always be required to go to Mass twice though, so there is no "killing two birds with one stone," as the saying goes.
To be clear, I am merely stating the minimum legal requirements and am not recommending this as a practice, which I believe would often be pastorally and spiritually detrimental to the faithful.
Therefore a pastor should do all that he can to assure that a Saturday evening wedding has all the elements of Sunday Mass as well as inculcate the faithful to fulfill their calling to glorify God and celebrate the fullness of the liturgical year.
Finally, due to an oversight of mine, in an earlier follow-up regarding the celebration of the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on Jan. 3, I failed to offer the simplest and most obvious solution to finding the texts: that is, the use of the already approved texts from the votive Mass of the Holy Name. These texts are already found in the missal and basically correspond to those of the feast day.
On this matter a reader informed me of the existence of a 2004 supplement to the Sacramentary that can be looked up here.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
4:31 PM
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