Using our "Questions About Catholicism" form, Margaret Elizabeth writes:
It is promised that all shall be forgiven if we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday. What if we receive Reconciliation and Holy Communion at the Saturday vigil Mass?
Margaret is referring to the plenary indulgence attached to Divine Mercy Sunday. (For more information, see the final item in my discussion of Divine Mercy Devotions.) As with all plenary indulgences attached to a particular feast, the person who wishes to obtain it must receive Communion and go to Confession within eight days before or after attending Mass on the feast. So receiving Communion and going to Confession the day before Divine Mercy Sunday, even at a regular Saturday Mass (that is, not a vigil Mass), would satisfy those conditions.
The heart of Margaret's question, therefore, concerns doing the work of the indulgence—that is, attending Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday. Here, the answer is equally simple: Saturday vigil Masses always fulfill your Sunday obligation. It doesn't matter what feast, in any, is being celebrated on that Sunday; if you attend a Saturday vigil Mass, it is as if you have attended Mass on Sunday.
If you have a question that you would like to be featured as part of our Reader Questions series, you can use our submission form. If you would like the question answered privately, please send me an e-mail. Be sure to put "QUESTION" in the subject line, and please note whether you'd like me to address it privately or on the Catholicism blog.