For several decades, when the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) fell on a Sunday, the feast was transferred to the following day, Monday, December 9. While the Solemnity was still observed, the obligation to attend Mass on that day was abrogated, or removed. As it turns out, that practice was actually incorrect. The Holy See recently clarified that in a case like this, even though the feast day is moved, the obligation still remains, thus having this coming Monday, December 9, be a Holy Day of Obligation.
Before I comment on the importance of this feast day, especially for us here at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, let me give you some specifics on how you might approach fulfilling two Mass obligations – one for the Second Sunday of Advent, and one for the Immaculate Conception:
- Attending any Mass from 4:00 pm on Saturday, December 7, through midnight on Sunday, December 8, fulfills the obligation for the Second Sunday of Advent.
- Attending any Mass from 4:00 pm on Sunday, December 8, through midnight on Monday, December 9, fulfills the obligation for the Immaculate Conception.
- Attending ONLY the 5:00 PM Mass on Sunday, December 8 does NOT fulfill both obligations, it would only fulfill the Sunday obligation, so you would need to attend one of the three Masses on Monday, December 9 (7:00 am, 12:05 pm, or 5:15 pm)
Admittedly, this can be a little confusing, but the main point is we are to go to Mass two times between Saturday evening and Monday evening. The interesting thing is that at the Sunday 5:00 pm Mass, the prayers and readings will all be for the Second Sunday of Advent, but if you already went to Mass on Saturday evening or on Sunday morning, that 5:00 pm Mass would still count for your Immaculate Conception obligation. And to anticipate a possible question, it is permissible to receive Holy Communion twice on the same day, so long as the second time is in the context of attending Mass (which this would be).
Since our Cathedral is under the patronage of Mary as the Immaculate Conception, we have an additional blessing available to us. The Handbook of Indulgences states that a “A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who visit, and there devoutly recite and Our Father and the Creed, the cathedral church on the solemnity of its Titular.” (no. 33, pg. 101) Titular is a fancy name for the patronal feast day. What an opportunity we have! Not only do we get to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist twice in two days, but we can also gain a plenary indulgence, either for ourselves or for the faithful departed. The other normal conditions apply for gaining a plenary indulgence, namely, praying for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary can suffice), going to confessions within 20 days before or after, and a detachment from sin.
Let us see this not so much with the somewhat negative view that is carried with the word “obligation”, but see it through the positive lens of being an amazing “opportunity” for us to celebrate this feast in honor of Our Blessed Mother who has a special care for us here in the church under her patronage. Let us ask her to intercede for us that the remainder of our Advent journey will be filled with an eager longing for the celebration of her Son’s birth at Christmas.
Father Alford