HOLY DAY OBLIGATION. — By "holy day obligation" (p. f.) is understood the duty to sanctify Sundays and holy days of obligation by attending Mass and abstaining from certain kinds of work.
I. ORIGIN, FOUNDATION, VALUE, AND JUSTIFICATION
The obligation is included in the Decalogue: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8-11; cf. Deut. 5:12-15).The obligation has both individual and social value; it concerns not only individuals and families but also the community, all Israel as a nation (cf. Ex. 31:12-17). Observance of the law ensures the return of political and social prosperity to Israel (Is. 58:12ff.), while its violation, which brings distress, famine, and misery (Jer. 17:21-27; cf. Ex. 20:12-32; 23:8), is punished by death (Num. 15:32-36). On the sabbath day, not only must rest be observed, but sacrifices must also be offered to God (Ex. 46:4); the Jews gathered in synagogues to pray and to hear the word of God (Acts 15:21; 13:27).
In the New Testament, the ceremonial aspect of the sabbath has been abrogated. Christ indeed emphasizes worship of the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23), corrects Pharisaic casuistry, affirming that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mark 2:27). St. Paul reproaches the Galatians, converts to Christianity, for observing, according to the Mosaic law, days, months, times, and years (Gal. 4:10) and warns the Colossians that the obligation to observe new moons and sabbaths no longer holds (Col. 2:16). The Apostles and early Christians, though for a time they gathered with the Jews on the sabbath to praise God (Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:12; 21:26), soon had their own assemblies for prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist (Acts 2:42), thus introducing the custom of sanctifying the day following the sabbath, since Christ rose on the morning after the sabbath. The exact date of the substitution of Sunday for the sabbath cannot be precisely determined. However, it is undisputed that by the time the First Letter to the Corinthians was written (A.D. 56) and the Acts of the Apostles composed (ca. A.D. 63), Christian liturgical gatherings were held on Sunday (1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 20:7), and this usage was constant and universal by the end of the 1st and during the 2nd century (Rev. 1:10; *Didache*, ch. 14; *Epistle of Barnabas*, ch. 15; St. Ignatius of Antioch, *Ad Magn.*, ch. 9; St. Justin, *Apol.*, 1, 67; PG 6, 420; St. Dionysius of Corinth [d. ca. 180], in the letter to the Romans reported by Eusebius of Caesarea, *Hist. Eccl.*, IV, ch. 23; PG 20, 390; Tertullian, *Apol.*, ch. 16; PL 1, 371).
Sanctification of Sunday entailed attendance at Mass (cf. Council of Elvira [A.D. 306], can. 21; Hefele-Leclercq, I, 233; Council of Sardica [A.D. 343], can. 11; ibid., 7, 792; Council of Agde [A.D. 506], can. 21, 64; ibid., 11, 990, 1002; Council of Orléans [A.D. 541], can. 3; ibid., 11, 1014; Council of Clermont [A.D. 535], can. 15; ibid., 11, 1141-42; Council of Orléans [A.D. 541], can. 3; ibid., 11, 1166; Sermons of St. Caesarius of Arles, 280-81, among the works of St. Augustine: PL 39, 2274ff., etc.) and observance of rest (cf. *Apostolic Constitutions*, 8, 33; PG 1, 579ff.; Tertullian, *Apol.*, ch. 16; *Ad Nationes*, 1, 13; PL 1, 371 and 579; C. 11, 12, *de feriis*; Council of Mâcon [A.D. 585], can. 2; Hefele-Leclercq, ibid., 11, 209; Council of Mainz [A.D. 813], can. 36; ibid., 11, 1141; Council of Meaux [A.D. 845], can. 77; ibid., 11, 125; Council of Cloveshoe II [A.D. 747], can. 14; ibid., 11, 908; Council of Anham [A.D. 1009], can. 15; Mansi, XIX, 297). Besides Sunday, various other holy days were established over the centuries in different dioceses. When they became numerous, efforts were first made to reduce servile work according to the classification of feasts (cf., e.g., the Council of Oxford of 1222; Mansi, XXII, 1153), until Urban VIII (with the constitution *Universa* of 13 Sept. 1642) fixed the number of holy days at 36, besides Sundays. Pius X reduced them to only 8 (*motu proprio Supremi disciplinae*, 2 July 1911; AAS, 3 [1911], p. 305). Today, according to can. 1274 of the *Code of Canon Law*, besides Sundays there are 10 holy days of obligation: Christmas, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph, SS. Peter and Paul, and All Saints. By special provisions, this number is reduced in some countries; thus, besides Sundays, there are six holy days of obligation in the United States of America and four in France.
From what has been said and according to common doctrine, the obligation of the holy day rests on natural, positive, and divine law, but its determination (the choice of Sunday in place of the sabbath and the special manner of its sanctification) comes from ecclesiastical law. Consequently, a universal abrogation of this obligation is inconceivable; particular dispensations are possible instead. The obligation of the holy day is grave (cf. Denz.-U., 1069) and concerns all the faithful who have reached the age of reason. The purpose and importance of the holy day obligation are evident from the fact that it facilitates both internal and external, individual and social worship owed to God by natural, positive, and divine law (cf. Matt. 4:10; John 4:23-24; *Summa Theologiae*, II-II, q. 124) and that it brings many physical, economic, moral, cultural, and religious benefits to man (cf. allocution of Pius XII, 7 Sept. 1947: AAS, 39 [1947], p. 427).
II. ATTENDANCE AT MASS
To fulfill the obligation of attending Mass, the following conditions are required:1. Devout attendance
The intention to attend Mass is sufficient; it is not necessary to intend to fulfill the holy day obligation, since the obligation does not depend on one’s own will. External attention, consisting in refraining from actions incompatible with internal attention, is sufficient. Thus, one fulfills the obligation by playing the organ, singing prayers, collecting alms, reciting the Rosary, reading a book, going to confession, etc. It is advisable to follow the Mass with a missal.2. Bodily presence
Bodily presence requires moral union with the priest so that, whether inside or outside the church, one can see and hear the celebrant or at least follow the Mass from the gestures of the participants. One does not fulfill the obligation by listening to Mass broadcast by radio, although this is a good work.3. Attendance at the entire Mass
The entire Mass must be attended. In this regard, note the difference between the dogmatic and juridical aspects of the Mass. From the juridical point of view, by "Mass" is meant the entire liturgical part, which begins (with the *Iudica* psalm) and continues until the blessing given at the end, before the Gospel of St. John. Therefore, juridically speaking, whoever omits any liturgical part does not perfectly fulfill the holy day obligation. Moral theology, however, distinguishes between grave and light matter. One who omits an essential part (the Consecration and Communion) or a substantial part does not fulfill the obligation; one who omits only a minor part sins venially but still fulfills the obligation.A "parte notevole" refers to the portion of the Mass from its beginning up to and including the Offertory; the essential parts of the Mass (the Consecration and Communion) and probably the section of the Canon preceding the Consecration, or everything preceding the Gospel together with what follows Communion. Anyone who omits a "parte notevole" is under grave obligation to make it up at another Mass on the same day. One does not satisfy the precept by listening to two or more parts of Mass celebrated simultaneously by two or more priests (Denz.-U., 1203); however, one does satisfy it by listening to the parts successively, provided that in a single Mass the Consecration and Communion take place, because one thereby hears an integral Mass in its substantial parts and makes up the rest.
4. Prescribed place
One satisfies the precept by attending Mass in any Catholic rite, whether outdoors, in a public or semi-public church or oratory (cf. cann. 1188 § 1-2, nn. 1-2; 1180; 1189; 1249), or in the private chapels of cemeteries erected by families or private individuals for their burial. In a private oratory (a domestic chapel), only those to whom an indult has been granted satisfy the precept, as well as their blood relatives and in-laws up to the fourth degree living together, their guests, and the necessary household staff who serve the master or the celebrating priest during Mass or are occupied in the home even on feast days. The conditions of the indult specify the limits of time and persons.Since this is a law whose determination is purely ecclesiastical, any grave cause, that is, any notable harm to oneself or another, may excuse one from II.
In particular, excusing causes are: one’s own necessity (illness, even slight, if one fears its worsening by going out; loss of extraordinary profit; great distance from the church [more than an hour’s walk], considering all circumstances of persons, roads, time, etc.); another’s necessity (one who attends an invalid who cannot be left alone; one who remains at home to avoid giving others occasion to sin; one who renders aid in a fire, flood, or other grave misfortune; one who stays home to obey a father, spouse, etc., who are easily irritated by disobedience, etc.); professional duties (mothers, wet nurses, guards, soldiers, etc., in the actual exercise of their functions; domestic servants, if prevented by their masters [though one should try to find another service if possible]); custom (in some places, the following are excused: fiancées with regard to the Mass at which their marriage is announced; young brides or young mothers; widows in the first days after their husband’s death, etc.).
III. OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY REST
This is almost the prerequisite for fulfilling the positive aspect of the precept, namely, attendance at Mass. As the number of feast days increased considerably, it became opportune to reduce, before the number itself, the scope of prohibited work (cf. Council of Oxford, cited). This discipline proved highly successful and was the middle way adopted after the initial reductions made by the Roman pontiffs (cf. Benedict XIV, const. *Cum semper*, Sept. 3, 1742; const. *Inter sollicitos*, Apr. 11, 1745; Pius VI, const. *Cum sicut*, Sept. 28, 1790). The *Codex Iuris Canonici* (can. 1248), while reducing the number of feast days, also maintained the restriction on prohibited work. Therefore, at present, on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the following are prohibited:1) Servile work, that is, those tasks which in antiquity were customarily performed by slaves, which are carried out principally with physical energy and which, by their nature, pertain to the necessities of life (rural work [plowing, sowing, reaping, etc.], mechanical-industrial work [typographers, factory work, mining, industrial establishments, etc.], manual trades [the tailor’s, shoemaker’s, mason’s, blacksmith’s trade, etc.]). Such work is prohibited even if done gratuitously or for relaxation; the matter is grave, and therefore the sin is mortal when the work extends for two or three hours.
2) Judicial acts (forensic proceedings), insofar as they involve noisy apparatus and disturb public tranquility (such as issuing citations, arguing a case, hearing witnesses, interrogating parties, pronouncing sentence). It is not prohibited, however, to consult a lawyer, grant dispensations, absolve, etc. To determine the gravity of the sin in such acts, one should consider not so much the duration as the importance of the matter.
3) Public commercial business (such as fairs, markets, stock exchange transactions, public auctions, wholesale buying and selling, etc.), because they prevent the necessary tranquility and distract the mind from devotion to divine worship.
The following are not prohibited: liberal works, those carried out principally with the energies of the intellect or which, by their nature, aim at instruction or recreation, such as reading, writing, transcribing, calculating, singing, playing music, photography, etc.; and common works (e.g., traveling, hunting, playing games, etc.).
The excusing causes, which in themselves must be grave, are distinct from those excusing attendance at Mass: one’s own necessity (one who otherwise could not support oneself and one’s dependents; or who, by not working, would suffer grave inconvenience or loss; or who performs indispensable household chores, such as cooking, tending the home, caring for animals, etc.; a mother who, on weekdays, cannot mend or clean her own or her children’s clothing); another’s necessity (a tailor, blacksmith, etc., who, due to sudden necessity, must prepare garments or tools of which there is an urgent and immediate need; one engaged in extinguishing a fire or other rescue work; one performing light manual work for charitable purposes, etc.); common necessity (bakers, butchers, innkeepers, railway workers, etc.); piety (whereby it is lawful to perform those works which have an immediate relation to divine worship, such as ringing bells, carrying banners in procession, sweeping the church, decorating altars, etc.); custom, expressly admitted by the *Codex Iuris Canonici* (can. 1248), for markets, fairs, and buying and selling, may render other works lawful, such as, for example, the barber’s trade, etc.
In addition to excusing causes, dispensation may also be granted by local Ordinaries, religious superiors, or parish priests; the latter, however, only in favor of individual faithful (their own parishioners even outside his territory, strangers only within his territory) or individual families and only in individual cases (can. 1248).