Q. Is it ‘worse’ to go to a vigil Mass on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning?
A. Saturday evening does not exist in the Catholic Church. At least liturgically.
This is most clearly seen in the Liturgy of the Hours in which there is no Saturday evening. Instead, there is Sunday Evening I and Sunday Night I, celebrated on Saturday, and Sunday Evening II and Sunday Night II, celebrated on Sunday.
This practice has its origins in Judaism. When celebrating the Sabbath (which begins at sunset the day before), Jews enter into a sacred time in which secular time is suspended for a 24-hour period in which they enter into communion with God through specific rituals and with their family through worship of God and staying home together as a family. This idea of a “suspension” of secular time was carried over into the liturgy of the Church. Holy Days all begin the evening before with First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) and “Consequently, the liturgy of what is sometimes called the “Vigil Mass” is in effect the “festive” Mass of Sunday.” (Dies Domini 49). Therefore, attending an anticipated Mass on Saturday evening is liturgically no different from attending Mass on Sunday.
The initial permission granted to an ordinary (a diocesan bishop or those equivalent in law to the diocesan bishop) to allow the faithful to satisfy their Sunday obligation by attending Mass on Saturday evening was granted to “enable the Christians of today to celebrate more easily the day of the resurrection of the Lord.” (Eucharisticum Mysterium, 28). With the 1983 Code of Canon Law this became universal law and was no longer contingent upon the permission of the ordinary. Thus, a person who attends an anticipated Mass on Saturday is exercising their right given to them by the law of the Church.
This then leads to the issue of whether doing so is “worse” than attending on Sunday. The claim is often made that those who attend Mass on Saturday evening are just “trying to get it out of the way.” While I have no doubt that there are some Catholics who have this mentality, to assign it to every person who attends an anticipated Mass on Saturdays is simply unjust. A similar sentiment is at times expressed about those who attend evening Masses on Sundays, that they are “last-chancers” or “waiting till the last possible minute to go” and are somehow less Catholic than those that go Sunday morning.
There are a multitude of reasons people choose to go to Mass when they do and to assign a negative motivation to everyone who attends Mass outside of Sunday morning is wrong. If the Church determines that legitimate options exist, then those options are legitimate, and we are free to choose the option that is best for our spiritual well-being.
We would be better served examining within our own hearts our motivations for attending Sunday Mass, regardless of when we go. Has it become simple duty? Am I just going out of habit? Do I strive to enter into the Mass or am I just there for the sake of being there? Everyone (even priests) can fall into these traps. We can all of us benefit from asking ourselves these questions and, if we do not like our answers, we can invite our Lord into this discomfort and ask Him to help us understand why we are feeling this way and how we can rekindle the flame of love for the Mass in our hearts.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
