Sunday, July 12, 2020 –
I promised “fun facts” today. Really, it is just going to be a smattering of random questions (well, question…singular…for today) you probably never had about Holy Days of Obligation. We are going to start with the one question that has always made me “itchy:” the Good Friday issue!
Why isn’t Good Friday a Holy Day of Obligation?
This one has bugged me for years. I mean, Christ died for our sins, right!? And the Passion of the Lord is what Good Friday is all about, RiGhT!? And the Sacrifice at Calvary is what the Sacrifice of the Mass is all about, RIGHT!?
Truth is that there may be any number of reasons Good Friday was not included in the list of Holy Days. Some people think it is because Catholics should already have a firm grasp on the importance of this day and **want** to come to Church anyway. Some have argued that the day the Lord Suffered and Died on the Cross is so special and different that it just doesn’t fit on a list of other Holy Days. I have even seen some claim that this day, because of its penitential nature, simply does not fit with the “festive” nature of Holy Days.
Are any of these arguments correct? Maybe, but if you are looking for Mrs. Flusche’s answer—who, I remind you, is NOT a licensed scholar in anything—I’d hazard a guess that in part it has to do with the fact you CAN’T fulfill a Holy Day obligation on Good Friday.
Wait, WHAT!? Yeah, you heard me!
Good Friday is literally the ONLY day in the entire Church calendar that does…not…have…a…Mass. #MindBlown
I know what you are thinking, but I **know** my Church has something on Good Friday, and the Eucharist is distributed, so isn’t that Mass? Short answer: NO.
Long answer:
Here is the very first rubric you read in the Roman Missal on Good Friday: “On this and the following day, by a most ancient tradition, the Church does not celebrate the Sacraments at all, except for Penance and the Anointing of the Sick.” (Roman Missal, Rubrics for Friday of the Passion of the Lord, no. 1, p. 314)
What that means is that ONLY two out of the seven Sacraments are permitted on Good Friday: Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. Both of these also happen to be the only Sacraments of healing (i.e. the “get yourself right with the Lord” Sacraments, as I call them). The Sacrament of the Eucharist is in fact not celebrated (along with Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Holy Orders) on Good Friday. From the end of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday) to the beginning of the Easter Vigil (Saturday), there is no Mass.
But, I **CAN** receive the Eucharist on Good Friday? Yes. While Mass is not celebrated, the Eucharist, which has been reserved from Holy Thursday, **IS** distributed to the faithful during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, which happens during the third part after the Liturgy of the Word and the Adoration of the Holy Cross.
Okay, back to the question at hand: why isn’t Good Friday a Holy Day of Obligation?
Well, if no Mass is offered on Good Friday, then you cannot fulfill the obligation to attend Mass that is associated with Holy Days of Obligation. Remember back to Canon 1247, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.”
Is this the right answer as to why Good Friday is not a Holy Day of Obligation? Who knows? It is an answer, and I will leave it at that. Remember, I am not a recognized scholar by any standards.
Tomorrow I will answer a couple more “fun facts” (ahem…random questions), then we will roll right into what each of the actual Holy Days of Obligation celebrates.
Blood of Christ, which overcame the powers of darkness, save us!
