Vida Sacerdotal, by Pedro María Reyes Vizcaíno: For centuries, the Church has prescribed the obligation to hear the entire Mass on Sundays and some more important feasts (the so-called holy days of obligation ).
The purpose of this article is to explain the scope and legal obligations arising from this precept, as well as to offer some pastoral considerations. Those who wish to delve deeper into the Christian meaning of the Sunday precept may read the Apostolic Letter Dies Domini , by John Paul II, of May 31, 1998.
In current law, canon 1247 establishes this obligation:
Canon 1247 : On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in Mass; and they are to abstain from those labors and activities which hinder them from giving worship to God, from enjoying the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, or from enjoying due rest of mind and body.
The holy days of obligation are indicated in canon 1246:
Canon 1246 § 1. Sunday, on which the Paschal Mystery is celebrated, is to be observed throughout the Church, by apostolic tradition, as a holy day of obligation. Likewise, the following days are to be observed: Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Mary Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception and Assumption, Saint Joseph, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and All Saints.
§ 2. However, the Episcopal Conference, with the prior approval of the Apostolic See, may suppress or transfer to Sunday some of the holy days of obligation.
This obligation also appears in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in no. 1389 and no. 2181. We will see in this article the scope of this precept.
Holy Days
It is a precept of natural law to dedicate a day to rest and the worship of God , although the specific day of this precept varies. Under the Old Testament, that day was Saturday, but since the time of the apostles, in the Church it has been observed on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday, which is why it received this name ( dies dominicus , the Lord’s Day).
In addition to Sunday, there are other holy days of obligation , which are the ten listed in canon 1246 § 1, already cited. However, as indicated in § 2 of the same canon, Episcopal Conferences can suppress or transfer some of these feasts to Sunday. In fact, most Episcopal Conferences have suppressed or transferred several of these feasts. It should be noted that religious obligations do not always coincide with civil holidays or festivals. Readers who wish to know whether a particular feast is a holy day of obligation in a specific location can consult their parish priest.
A particular question arises if, due to the requirements of the liturgical calendar, a solemnity of obligation is transferred to the first day off. This can happen, for example, with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), which, if it falls on a Sunday, is transferred to Monday, December 9. In these cases, as the Dicastery for Divine Worship clarifies in a note , the solemnity is transferred, not the obligation . The faithful are therefore not obliged to fulfill the obligation of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9.
The precept for these days (Sundays and holy days) is observed by fulfilling two obligations : rest and worship of God. The latter is fulfilled by attending Mass according to the guidelines we will see below.
The obligation to hear Mass
The faithful are obliged to attend Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation, an obligation that entails grave sin if not fulfilled. Paragraph 2181 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that “the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on holy days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (e.g., sickness, caring for infants) or dispensed by their own pastor (cf. CIC can. 1245). Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”
Who is obligated
The obligation to hear Mass applies to all Catholic faithful from the age of reason who are not legitimately impeded or have not received a dispensation.
Therefore, it is binding on Catholic faithful ; non-Catholics are not obligated to attend Mass. However, it should be remembered that they have an obligation to worship God, as this is a matter of natural law.
It is binding from the age of seven : Canon 11 establishes that purely ecclesiastical laws bind the faithful “provided they have sufficient use of reason and, if the law does not expressly provide otherwise, have completed seven years of age.”
Note that there is no upper age limit beyond which people are no longer obligated to attend Mass, as is the case with the obligation to fast . Therefore, the elderly are obliged to attend Mass, and age is not considered an excuse, although they may often be legitimately prevented from doing so due to illnesses and infirmities that come with old age.
It does not oblige those who are legitimately prevented . The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that “the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on holy days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, caring for infants)” (n. 2181). Other examples would be those who legitimately work on Sunday (police officers, doctors, etc.) or those who live in a place where Mass is not celebrated. In these cases, canon 1248 § 2 states:
Canon 1248 § 2 : When the sacred minister is lacking or some other grave cause makes participation in the Eucharistic celebration impossible, it is strongly recommended that the faithful participate in the Liturgy of the Word, if it is celebrated in the parish church or in some other sacred place as prescribed by the diocesan Bishop, or remain in prayer for the required time personally, in their families, or, if appropriate, in family groups.
Those who are legitimately prevented from attending Mass are not obliged to do so, although it is recommended that the faithful who are regularly in one of these circumstances attend Mass on another day of the week, given the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of a Christian. As already stated, this is a recommendation, not a precept, but they do have the obligation to worship God, as it is a matter of natural law.
It does not bind those who are legitimately dispensed. Canon 1245 states:
Canon 1245 : Without prejudice to the right of diocesan Bishops contained in canon 87, with a just cause and according to the prescriptions of the diocesan Bishop, the pastor may, in particular cases, grant a dispensation from the obligation to observe a feast day or penance, or commute it for other pious works; and the Superior of a religious institute or of a society of apostolic life, if they are clerical of pontifical right, may do the same with respect to his own subjects and others who live day and night in the house.
Bishops often grant dispensations from the obligation to attend Mass on holy days of obligation that are not civil holidays. If any member of the faithful has a question about a specific case, it is recommended that they inquire at their parish.
When is the obligation to attend Mass fulfilled?
This obligation is fulfilled by the faithful who attend Mass on Sunday. Furthermore, the Church, in consideration of the circumstances of the modern world, has established that the obligation to attend Mass is fulfilled by going to Mass the day before.
Canon 1248 § 1 : The precept of participating in the Mass is fulfilled by anyone who attends it, wherever it is celebrated in a Catholic rite, both on the feast day and on the preceding evening.
A particular problem arises if there are two consecutive holy days of obligation (for example, if Monday is a holy day of obligation). It may happen that the Vigil Mass is celebrated on Sunday afternoon in accordance with liturgical norms. In these cases, the faithful who attend Mass on Sunday afternoon fulfill the Sunday obligation, if they had not yet attended Mass, and must also fulfill the Monday obligation. And the faithful who had already attended Mass that Sunday fulfill the obligation of the following day. Therefore, that Mass fulfills the obligation of either holy day, and the faithful who attend that Mass only fulfill one obligation, not both.
When does Sunday vigil begin ? This is a question that is often difficult to answer. By vigil, we certainly mean the afternoon of the preceding day; but it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when that afternoon begins. Sometimes Sunday Masses are found very early on Saturday afternoon, even immediately after noon.
John Paul II offers a criterion that helps clarify the matter. According to him, “the valid time for the observance of the obligation begins on Saturday evening, coinciding with First Vespers of Sunday. Indeed, with them the liturgical feast day begins” (Apostolic Letter Dies Domini , no. 49). Therefore, Evening Mass can be celebrated when Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours can be prayed, thus recalling that the eve, for these purposes as well, is a canonical hour. For its part, the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours indicates that “Vespers are celebrated in the evening, when the day is drawing to a close” (no. 39). That is, one must wait until the day is drawing to a close. This moment depends on the time of sunset, which varies throughout the year.
Given that in the canonical hours Vespers are preceded by Sext (midday, when the sun is at its zenith) and None (the first part of the afternoon), it seems excessive to bring forward the Vespers Mass to twelve o’clock, and even four or five in the afternoon would be too early, although to fully affirm this, the places and times of the year must be taken into account.
In some places, the Bishop has established the rule that, for the purposes of celebrating the evening Mass, the vigil begins at four o’clock in the afternoon throughout the year. This rule is obligatory in those dioceses and may serve as a criterion and interpretation by analogy in other places in the same region.
Hear the entire Mass
To fulfill the precept, the entire service must be heard. That is, from the moment the priest leaves until he gives the final blessing and dismisses the people. But many ask if a delay causes them to break the precept. Or rather, when is the delay significant enough to prevent them from fulfilling the precept?
The traditional answer was that the essential part of the Mass is the Eucharistic liturgy (the part that begins with the offertory), so whoever misses it breaks the obligation and must attend another entire Mass. Currently, the answer must take into account, as the Second Vatican Council states, that “the two parts [Liturgy of the Word and Eucharistic liturgy] are so closely linked that they constitute a single act of worship” (Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium , 56), so one cannot be excused from grave sin for omitting one of the two parts entirely.
Even so, the doubt remains. I think the question is when is there sufficient integrity, that is, which parts are so essential that without them there is no complete Mass. The homily or the Creed are not essential, because they are missing from many Masses. The Gospel would certainly be essential. Even so, the complete answer to this question should introduce the subjective element. The same answer should not be given, for example, to a father or mother who arrives late because they have young children at home (who are often very difficult to get out on time) as to one who arrives late because they are watching television or browsing the internet.
Furthermore, the precept is to attend the entire Mass. Whoever omits a part of it commits a sin, which will be venial if the omission is slight. Pastorally, it is important to remember that arriving late to Mass is an objective sin, although it will be venial if no essential part was missed. Many authors indicate that someone who arrives late to Mass can avoid the venial sin by attending another Mass and hearing the part of the Mass that was omitted. This is only valid if sufficient integrity was observed at the previous Mass; if it was not, the person must attend the entire Mass.
Sunday rest
As already stated, the faithful “shall abstain from those works and activities which prevent them from worshipping God, enjoying the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, or enjoying the due rest of mind and body” (canon 1247).
Note that the purpose of this precept is above all to worship God, not merely to attend to the need for rest. For further details on the profound meaning of Sunday rest, see the Apostolic Letter Dies Domini of John Paul II, dated May 31, 1998, nos. 64-68.
As has been indicated, the Sunday precept, which includes the duty to rest, is a serious obligation. Practical questions arise in the lives of the faithful, which we will attempt to clarify.
The obligation to rest covers all paid work , with the exceptions noted below. This obligation does not apply to those who work in unpaid activities, even if they involve physical effort, such as home repairs, gardening, etc.
Moralists teach that it is legitimate to work a few hours on Sundays , perhaps two hours at most. However, it would be incorrect to delve into detailed casuistry. The Lord rebuked the Pharisees for having entangled the precept of Sabbath rest with human traditions (cf. Mt 12:1-13), so we should not do the same in our time.
Those who perform essential services for the community (police officers, firefighters, on-call doctors, etc.) and those whose work allows others to rest (sports centers, museums, restaurants, etc.) may legitimately work on Sundays and holy days of obligation . These individuals should, moreover, have another day of rest during the week, which they should dedicate to the worship of God, although attendance at Mass is not obligatory, as previously mentioned.
In our time, it must be taken into account that the circumstances of many of the faithful sometimes make it very difficult to fulfill the precept of rest . The current trend is to allow shopping centers to open on Sundays: John Paul II reminds us that “it is natural for Christians to ensure that, even in the special circumstances of our time, civil legislation takes into account their duty to sanctify Sunday. In any case, it is a matter of conscience to organize Sunday rest in such a way that they can participate in the Eucharist, abstaining from work and activities incompatible with the sanctification of the Lord’s Day, with its typical joy, and with the necessary rest of mind and body”: Apostolic Letter Dies Domini , no. 67.
Currently, workers in large retail stores (and those in small businesses in commercial areas that cannot afford to miss out on weekend income) are forced to work on Sundays. Workers in summer resort areas, which attract many people for several months, also face difficulties complying with this requirement. These businesses cannot afford to close on Sundays, the days when they likely generate the most revenue. A similar problem arises in rural areas where agricultural work, such as harvesting, must be carried out for a few weeks. During these periods, work cannot be suspended for even a single day because the crops could be lost.
It is recommended that those in these circumstances speak with the parish priest . As mentioned earlier, canon 1245 authorizes the parish priest to grant a dispensation in these cases.
Prophetic Link:
“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” Great Controversy, 588.1
Comments