Is My Sunday Obligation Fulfilled
by Watching Mass on TV?

Dear TIA,

I have a high school friend who says he fulfills his Sunday obligation by watching a Mass on television. So far, I haven’t found anything in writing to prove him wrong. It’s not in Canon Law or the Baltimore Catechism, but I know we are obligated to assist in person.

Can you help?

    Thank you,

    T.P.D.


TIA responds:

Dear T. P. D.,

The question that you pose is one that is a sad result of the modern technological age. When the Code of Canon Law was codified by St. Pius X in 1917, television and the ability to live-stream had not been developed, so the scenario that you mentioned was not addressed. According to Canon 1248 of that Code of Canon Law:

"On feast days of precept, Mass is to be heard; there is an abstinence from servile work, legal acts, and likewise, unless there is a special indult or legitimate customs provide otherwise, from public trade, shopping, and other public buying and selling."

Canon 1249 specifies that, "The law of hearing the Sacred [rites] is satisfied wherever Mass is celebrated in a Catholic rite under the sky or in any church or public or semi-public oratory and in the little building of a private cemetery mentioned in Canon 1190, but not in other private oratories, unless this privilege has been granted by the Apostolic See."

From these, we can see that the perennial Magisterium on fulfilling the Sunday obligation was to hear Mass. Hearing Mass consists of being present at a Mass that is said at a church or (as is the case in the crisis in which we currently find ourselves) in a room or other location in which a Catholic rite is celebrated. As a side note, we mention here that we are of the opinion that since the Novus Ordo Missae has a flavor of Protestantism it should not be attended as it is opposed to the perennial Magisterium. See the following articles here, here, and here to understand our position.

In The Precept of Hearing Mass by John Joseph Guiniven, C.SS.R., clarifications are made on what the obligation to hear Mass entails according to the doctors of Canon Law. In Chapter X, Article II, he states that,

"The precept of hearing Mass is an ecclesiastical law the direct purpose of which is the sanctification of the individual through the public external worship of God. Therefore, in order that its purpose be attained, the subject must hear Mass humano modo. Since the subject is composed of body and will and intellect, each of these must be associated in some way with the hearing of Mass before it can truly be said to be heard in a human manner." (p. 103)

Further on under this article, he specifies what it means to be bodily present and emphasizes the necessity for the person to be present publicly and present with the rest of the faithful for the obligation to be fulfilled. He concludes by saying:

"It is evident that those who hear Mass over the radio or assist at it by observing the priest or the congregation through a telescope from a great distance, have not the required moral bodily presence and consequently do not fulfill the obligation." (p. 105)

At the time this book was published, live streaming had not been developed, but the same conclusion would be drawn for a televised Mass. If your friend is still skeptical, he ought to read thoroughly Chapter X of the above mentioned book to understand what the Church has always taught.

Someone could say that Pope Francis during the Covid pandemic allowed Catholics to fulfill their Sunday obligation by watching a streaming Mass. Yes, he did, but as soon as the pandemic was over that permission was duly revoked by the Congregation of Divine Worship. Therefore, that precedent cannot be applied to the normal life of a Catholic.

Watching a televised Mass could be acceptable as an act of devotion when one is unable to attend Mass due to sickness, or another impediment, but it in no way is equal to assisting at the Mass in person.

In Catholic Practice at Church and at Home, we can see the just causes for missing Mass:

"Just reasons for missing Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation may be, for instance:

• Sickness, such as confines the patient to the house, or such as is not so serious, but which exposure to the weather would probably aggravate so as to render it dangerous.
  
  
• The necessity for someone to remain at home, to watch the house, wait on the sick, prepare the food and the like.
  
  
• Minding children on the part of mothers and nurses when they have no one to take their place. The husband is ordinarily obliged to mind the baby whilst the wife hears Mass, unless the child is sick or unusually cross.
  
  
• Great distance, that is, several miles from the church for those who are obliged to walk when the roads are bad. A great distance, likewise, for those who have to ride, when the weather and the roads are very bad, even for vehicles.
  
  
• Not sufficient riding-accommodation, so that some are obliged to remain at home when the others go to church ; in which case, however, the members of the family are obliged to go in turns.
  
  
• Inability to leave off one's occupation, with danger of losing one's position.
  
  
• Great repugnance arising from modesty if one will be exposed to public notice and comment under unavoidable circumstances.
  
  
• The lack of sufficient and decent clothing in time of great poverty." (p. 134)

If none of these apply to your friend, then he must physically attend Mass on Sundays if he wishes to abide by the perennial teachings of the Magisterium and give honor to God.

Sundays are for the honor and glory of God and if this thought were to be uppermost in your friend's mind, he would think not so much of his own comfort, but what action gives greater glory to God, especially in a world that multiplies its blasphemies every day.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk