Reader William Kenny, writing in to our submission form, asks:
In 2009, will going to Mass on Saturday evening to satisfy our Sunday obligation also satisfy our All Saints Day obligation?
The simple answer is yes, but do you know why?
As long as Mr. Kenny is speaking of a Saturday vigil Mass—that is, a Mass that anticipates the Sunday celebration, and uses the prescribed prayers and readings for the Sunday—then both our Sunday Duty and our requirement to attend Mass on a holy day of obligation will be satisfied. (That would not be true of a regular Saturday Mass offered earlier in the day.)
Since All Saints Day falls on a Sunday in 2009, the Mass for All Saints Day will take precedence over the Mass that would normally be offered on that Sunday. And that means that the readings and prayers at the Saturday vigil Mass will be the ones for All Saints Day.
However, having said all of that, the readings and prayers themselves are not the reason why both obligations would be satisfied. Rather, anyone attending a Saturday vigil Mass on October 31 would satisfy his Sunday obligation because it is a Saturday vigil Mass, but he would also satisfy his holy day obligation because it's the vigil of All Saints Day as well.
That may seem like something of an artificial distinction, but think of it this way: When All Saints Day falls on, say, a Wednesday, many churches will offer a vigil Mass on Tuesday evening. It's the same in this situation: The Saturday vigil Mass anticipates both Sunday and All Saints Day.
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