If I am late for Mass, at what point have I failed to fulfil the Sunday Mass obligation? For example if I miss the Gospel, have I missed Mass?
In older manuals of moral theology, this subject was discussed extensively. In the first place, it was always stated, and remains the case today, that Catholics are under obligation to attend the whole of Mass on days of precept. The answer to the question “When am I late for Mass?” is the same then as now: “If you arrive after it has started.”
The secondary question that was asked by the manualists, and considered at length, was what omission would constitute a mortal sin rather than a venial sin. Briefly, the answer is that it is grievous matter to miss a part of the Mass that is notable either because of its length or its importance. I would rather not go into the calculation of what is “notable” because we should regard all of the parts of the Mass as important, rather than trying to rank them so that we only commit a venial sin. Nevertheless, if someone were to miss the whole of the Liturgy of the Word, they would not fulfil the obligation of attending Mass and should go to another Mass if possible unless there is a reasonable excusing cause.
A further consideration is that nowadays, most people who attend Mass receive Holy Communion. This requires something more of us than simply fulfilling the obligation of attending Mass. It is true that devout participation in the liturgy of the Mass itself is a good preparation for Holy Communion but we should also make some special preparation and thanksgiving for Holy Communion in addition to the brief opportunities provided during the course of the Mass.
Such preparation can be made at home, but this may be difficult in a busy household. It is a good practice to try to arrive at least a few minutes before Mass, and to stay for a while afterwards to give ourselves space for some private prayer to enrich our participation in the Mass and our devotion at Holy Communion.
Catholic Dilemmas column published in the Catholic Herald
Suggestions for Catholic Dilemmas are always welcome in the combox.
21 comments:
Can I pray a rosary during the Mass if the style of the celebration is too distracting (typical Novus Ordo Mass) and answering the prayers, listening to homily too attentively and watching what is happening in the sanctuary feels like torture?
(I make the sign of the cross at the beginning and the end of Mass, pray the confiteor, stand up during Gospel and cease praying during consecration and priest's communion).
I forgot to mention that I stay at the back of the church so as not to distract other people during the Mass and stand up and shake hands during the handshake of peace so my neighbours don't think I have something against them.
I thought that attendance at Mass counted as meeting ones Sunday obligation only if one arrived at or before the offertory prayers. Missing the Mass up to this point being a venial sin and missing any part of Mass after this being a mortal sin (on Sundays nor HDofO only of coyrse). This makes sense as the offertory is the start of the Mass of the Faithful whereas attendance at the Mass of the Catechumens (i.e. Liturgy of the Word) is not required to meet the Sunday obligation but strongly advised.
What if you miss the liturgy of the word because you are leading children's liturgy?
I was always taught that, as far as the obligation is concerned, you had to be there before the offertory.
Toma - Yes, you fulfil the obligation if you pray the Rosary during Mass. Blessed John Paul was known to do this ;-)
Roydosan - that is more or less what I said. Except that our obligation is to assist at Mass, not just part of it. That is why missing part of it is a venial sin.
Gungarius - As I said, we are obliged to assist at the whole of Mass. Failure in that may be a mortal or venial sin depending on how much of the Mass is missed. My father was certainly taught this at his Catholic college in 1948. It is clear in the old manuals. But not everyone makes the right distinctions.
Toma, it sounds very snobbish to turn up your nose at a NO Mass. You can say the rosary any time. You may well prefer a different type of Mass, but are you too good to follow along with the Mass? Mass is Mass is Mass -- the Body and Blood of Christ are still consecrated there no matter if it's EF or NO.
I as well always heard that, lacuna legis for the Novus Ordo, we should take it from the VO where the obligation was met before the veil was removed from the chalice. In most cases it would be before the offertory.
I usually assist two masses but if I ever arrive late for some horrendous reason I was told I may receive communion if I arrive before the offertory begins....
About the Rosary... In the Novus Ordo I´d do it only during the offertory, after I made my intentions which I unite to those of the celebrant.(remember we celebrate, albeit differently, the mass as well. Yes this is not a heresy people!)
Praying the rosary during a Novus Ordo Mass is the best solution unless you are a Star Trek fan:
We pray to the Lord.
Lord hear our prayer.
My mind is in neutral.
We pray to the Lord.
Resistance is futile.
Lord hear our prayer...
My own understanding -- which, of course, could be wrong or ill-informed -- was that one had fulfilled one's obligation to attend Holy Mass if he had attended AT LEAST from the beginning of the reading of the Holy Gospel until the Priest's "completion" of the Sacrifice by his own consumption of Christ's Body and Blood.
Of course, we should remember the example of Jesus Who had very stern words about pharisaical wranglings over the observation of the Sabbath. Nor, should we forget that mercy triumphs over judgment, as St. James says in his Epistle.
I am a community health worker. My schedule is such that I work every other Sunday. Our Parish has an Anticipatory Mass at 4PM os Saturday night and until recently all masses were on Sunday Morning, During those days, I had asked to have a dispensation if I were unable to attend Mass on those days. I was asked to communicate with the Priest each time to let him know that I was unable to attend. BUT, thee were often time when my work was such that I was able to get to Church on Sunday morning, but usually just after the Gospel, sometimes after the Homily. I have always been of the mind that if you ask permission for legitimate reasons and that you take responsibility and always act out of obedience, you are in the "good books " with the Lord! In oboedientia, Pax! Our Clergy are not prone to having Low Masses on a 6AM time for those whose duty it is to look after the sick and shut in in the community. Seems a shame, but there you are.
Matthew - that is the common "shorthand". The purpose of my article is to show that it is misleading. Our obligation is to attend Mass. The question of the offertory, the gospel or whatever is simply a question of whether the matter of the sin is grave or light. We should try not to commit sin at all.
Your comment about pharisaical approach to the law is to the point and thank you for that. Phariseeism is usually used just as an insult regarding hypocrisy. Here we are dealing with a genuinely misleading approach to law which empties its real content.
Rodinkasjoy - you have certainly very conscientiously in asking the priest about this. I would not personally have required you to ask each time and I think that you are not bound by this.
If you genuinely cannot attend Sunday Mass (or Saturday pm Mass) because of your work, you are not under any obligation - neither God nor the Church asks the impossible. In some cases, a person might do well to look at whether they are required to work on a Sunday or whether they could make different arrangements (not always possible and provision for a family would be an over-riding reason to continue.)
In your case, community health work has to be done on a Sunday and I don't think that you need to change things.
Of course it would be a virtuous thing and good for your spiritual life to come to Mass on a weekday when you cannot make it on a Sunday. (I guess that you may already do this.) But again this is not of obligation.
Perhaps the addition of the Leonine prayers might keep people from slipping-out early?
It seems to me the NOM, subsequent to the distribution of Communion, hastens to a rapid, indeed, car-crash of an end. In the TLM there is given time, prior to the Blessing, to make a reasonable thanksgiving.
Hi Father,
Could you cite specifically the manual texts you mention in general? I'm interested in looking up the texts myself.
Thanks,
Andrew
Sorry, it is late now and I need to go to the CCC Colloquium tomorrow. Any standard moral manual will have this in the section on the 3rd commandment. HJ Davies would have it in English.
Sixupman - hmmm. In general yes. But I have the leonine prayers after weekday Mass in the Novus Ordo. I get distracted by the swish of the door behind me ....
Hoist by my own petard, I think! One can only assume those leaving are on errands of mercy?
Fr. Tim, my daughter is a nurse, and her hospital requires her to work 4 weekend days every four weeks, which means that if she wants to have a free weekend, she has to schedule at least one weekend where she works both Sat. and Sun. She is only allowed to work the 7am-7pm shift, and realistically, she isn't finished working till at least 7:30pm, but the last mass in her city that starts at 7:30 is 20 minutes away from her. A priest advised her that she basically will not be able to choose to have a free weekend because it would almost certainly mean missing mass on the weekend that she would have to work on both Sat. and Sun. She is very upset by this, and I am stumped, as her Mom, as to what to do. Like your earlier reader, there does not seem to be any interest in having earlier services for health care workers.
JS I think that advice is a little strict. Having a weekend off is reasonable.
However, she will not be working this shift pattern for ever and will get other days off, so it is not entirely disastrous to make this sacrifice for the time being.
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