Posted on 01/16/2007 7:10:42 PM PST by NYer
ROME, JAN. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: What is the position now on people not going to Sunday Mass in their own parishes? I know hundreds of people in this situation, yet always advise that, despite the horrors that they sometimes witness in their parishes, they should go. -- J.F., Manchester, England
A: This theme is dealt with in Canons 1247-1248 of the Code of Canon Law:
"Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass ....
"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."
Thus, unlike the former code, the faithful are no longer obliged by law to attend Mass at their parishes on Sundays and holy days of obligations.
But this does not mean that they may be indifferent to the life of their local parishes. While speaking about the rights and duties of the faithful, canon law says:
"Can. 209 §1. The Christian faithful, even in their own manner of acting, are always obliged to maintain communion with the Church.
"§2. With great diligence they are to fulfill the duties which they owe to the universal Church and the particular church to which they belong according to the prescripts of the law.
"Can. 210 All the Christian faithful must direct their efforts to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and its continual sanctification, according to their own condition."
While a detailed commentary on these canons is beyond the scope of this column, they do imply that Catholics should, as far as possible, strive to be in full communion with their local parishes and support their pastors.
Some Catholics do not belong to territorial parishes but to so-called personal parishes whose jurisdiction is not so much tied to where they live but to other factors such as language, nationality, occupation, or particular rite. In these cases they should support this parish.
On the other hand, the faithful have a corresponding right to receive from their pastors authentic Catholic liturgy and doctrine and to develop their own spiritual life. To this the code says:
"Can. 213 The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the word of God and the sacraments.
"Can. 214 The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescripts of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church and to follow their own form of spiritual life so long as it is consonant with the doctrine of the Church."
Therefore, Catholics should habitually support and participate at Mass at their own parish. This is the best way to form an authentic Christian community as charity toward others is a fruit of the Eucharist and of prayer.
Our reader also suggested that Catholics should attend their parishes in spite of defective practice and doctrine.
Certainly, one can do little to remedy possible limitations by remaining outside and complaining. Many times these errors continue more out of force of habit than out of bad faith, and change might be brought about by gentle persuasion.
Once more, canon law declares that the faithful have the right, and often the duty, to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on what pertains to the good of the Church (cf. Canon 212.3).
If nothing changes in spite of charitable efforts, then the following of this advice to remain would depend above all on the objective gravity of these defects.
If the objective defects constitute a danger to the Christian's faith, or to that of his or her children, or cause serious spiritual turbulence, then the person would be more than justified in worshipping somewhere else.
Subjective elements such as personal taste and religious sensibility are less weighty and might sometimes need to be sacrificed for the good of the community. However, some people might need a different religious atmosphere from that found in their parish in order to be able to worship.
If, however, they decide to attend Mass elsewhere for good practical or spiritual reasons, then they should still attempt to participate in the life of the parish as much as possible by sharing in other activities organized by the community.
For the first time in all the years that Fr. McNamara has posted his comments to Zenit News Agency, I have found a topic worthy of pursuing the question of my particular situation - a Roman Catholic practicing my faith in a Maronite Catholic Church. Should Father respond, I promise to post his response to this thread.
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In my hometown I would go to one of the nearby Ukrainian Catholic churches about half the time. I knew several other Romans who registered as parishoners at a Ukie church, and a couple who formally switched rites. I toyed with the idea of formally switching rites, but felt a stronger need to stay in the Roman rite and fight for the restoration of the Traditional Mass.
Met many great Ukrainian priests.
Cardinal Arinze while speaking in Detroit said to go to the parish that makes you comfortable. Should your territorial parish be Abuse central, move on.
I'm listening to the Cardinal.
There's no problem with attending Mass in another parish or even another rite. The only problem is if you want other Sacraments - for example, if you want to get married in that rite, if you have children and want them baptized in that rite, etc. Then, if nobody involved is of that rite, you might have to change rites.
To my knowledge now, this is a little harder to do than it used to be, since so many people were fleeing the Latin Rite after the imposition of the Novus Ordo and the weirdness that the rather vengeful authorities decided to plug that escape route. However, it can still be done, and if you want to do it, what you have to have is a track record of attending the liturgy of that rite and being involved in the church of that rite. All of which it seems to me you have :-)
I have a question about this topic. I grew up as about one of the only Protestants in a heavily Catholic area outside of Detroit. At that time (late 50s, early 60s), I remember that the parish my friends attended was determined by the neighborhood in which they lived. Except for special occasions, they weren't supposed to go to Mass in other parishes. When did this change and why? Curious...
"What the heck does that mean? What "horrors" in their parishes? What "horrors" in any parish?"
I believe hootnanny music, dancing girls, comedian wannabe padres, other sundry forms of irreverence and disregard of Christian Tradition at Mass would qualify as horrors.
One question I would have about this is: how do you find out the boundaries of a parish? I live in a very rural area, and I don't know that I'm even in a parish. I drive 16 miles to go to the most practical place for my family to assist at Mass, but it is in a different state, so it's clearly not my territorial parish.
If you live in these United States (or just about any other civilised country), you're in a Parish. Your diocesan bureaucracy can tell you which one ... and you can probably find it on their website.
My problem is that I cannot stand the syruppy "contemporary" musical dreck that one gets in almost all the parishes near me. I have to confess that a travel a few towns over to sing in choir in a parish that has some half way decent music and more traditional hymns. I do sometimes go to my local parish and donate to them, but to me, reverence and appropriate music in the liturgy is very important.
My daughter left the parish down the block from her home and moved to a parish one town over. This was after the priest (from somewhere in Africa) pushed her over the edge, lecturing from the altar that Jesus HATES the United States.
No. Father and I discussed it and both reached the same conclusion. "Catholic is catholic" - why switch rites? We have several Melkite families in the parish. They have no plans to switch rites either. When asked by Roman Catholics about the Maronite liturgy, Father has a good response: "same faith, different flavor".
The only problem is if you want other Sacraments
The only Sacrament I have not yet received is Annointing of the Sick. That shouldn't make a difference, should it?
if you want to do it, what you have to have is a track record of attending the liturgy of that rite and being involved in the church of that rite. All of which it seems to me you have :-)
Absolutely :-) I'm curious though to see how Fr. McNamara responds.
Like so many other aspects of our faith, this never changed, as evidenced by the article written by Father McNamara. Prior to VCII, the Latin Mass was the same regardless of which parish one attended. Post VCII, Catholics soon discovered that, depending on the pastor, some parishes applied more innovation to the celebration of the Novus Ordo Mass, than others. Frustrated by these 'novelties', Catholics began shopping around, looking for a parish that suited their worship style. This has resulted in certain parishes having a larger congregation than others.
My local parish is ok. The priest is good, but I'm not crazy about the bizarre need for every old lady to be up on the altar during Mass, nor can I figure out why there are no children at the largest parish in my hometown.
So I drive to another state to attend Mass. Have been doing so for more than 20 years. Well, actually my parents were driving me across the border for most of those years. Now that I have children, I strongly believe that I would be failing them spiritually if I didn't taken them to the parish that shows the upmost respect for the Eucharist, the necessity of confession and has children coming out its ears.
I could understand attending my local parish before my children were born. But now, there's too much at stake.
We go to church to worship God. If you find that another parish provides reverence for that worship, then you follow your heart and go there. When attending Sunday Mass turns into a penance, it is time to look for another parish. ;-)
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