ARTICLE I: On the Requisites for Hearing Mass

Those who assist at the sacred rite are judged to sacrifice together with the celebrant; whence there are required: presence of body, religious assistance, and due place; in other words: material and formal assistance in a due place is required.

The hearing of Mass is imposed primarily; the due place only secondarily. Therefore he who could not hear Mass except in a private oratory would certainly be held to this, as is established from the doctrine set forth in n. 224 and 634. Whence the S. C. de Prop. Fid., on 17 Aug. 1914, for the Greek-Ruthenians in America, established these things: "The Ruthenian faithful are held to frequent their own churches ...; nevertheless in regions where churches and priests of their own rite are lacking, and where because of the distance of their church they cannot go to it without grave inconvenience, it is necessary for them to hear Mass in a Catholic church of another rite" (A. A. S., VI, p. 461).

671. Principles. I. Presence or assistance must be human and moral. This is considered to be had if someone: a) is in such a place where the sacred rite is performed that he can be said to be joined to those who are in sight of the altar; b) or from external signs can gather what is being done by the priest, even if by accident he sees or hears nothing.

Hence: 1. Deaf-mutes, if they are also blind, are not obliged to hear Mass, unless, which happens very rarely, they are sufficiently instructed and admonished (III, 271).

2. He satisfies the precept who stands in the choir, behind the altar, behind a column or wall of the church, or at a window which opens into the church, even if he does not see the priest: provided that from the signs of those assisting, the sound of the little bell, etc., he can advert to what is being done by the celebrant. Likewise, he who is in the sacristy with the door open,¹ or outside the church, provided he is united with the people who are within it, although a greater distance is present.

3. Nor improbably does he satisfy who is in a neighboring house, from which through a window or door he sees the altar, although a road intervenes, provided the distance is small. Lugo (disp. 22, n. 21) with others judges a distance of 30 paces to be small. Yet this opinion does not please St. Alphonsus (III, 312).

Note. Attend to this, that for absolution St. Alphonsus requires (VI, n. 429; ed. G., III, p. 423) a distance at most of about 20 paces. There he adds: a lesser distance is required in confession than for a sermon and Mass.

672. II. Presence must be continuous, that is, through the entire Mass; so that he sins gravely who omits a part of it notable either by duration or by dignity. For the Church commands assistance not only at those parts in which the essence of the sacrifice consists, but at the whole sacred ceremony (III, 310, q. 2).

Hence: 1. It is grave to omit everything from the beginning up to the offertory inclusively. Likewise, to omit the canon from the consecration up to the Pater noster exclusively; because it is a notable part by duration and dignity. Likewise, to omit the consecration and communion, indeed even the consecration alone; because it is an altogether essential part. And the same is more probably to be said of communion alone; because either it itself more probably pertains to the essence of the sacrifice (cf. n. 1589), or at least it is a part notable by dignity and inseparable from the sacrifice. He also sins gravely who at the same time omits both the things which precede the Gospel and the things which follow communion; for he omits a part notable by duration (H. Ap., VI, 33).

2. But it would be a light sin to omit the offertory alone, or the Creed alone, or the preface alone, or a small part of the canon, or everything before the epistle, or everything after communion, or even, more probably, these last two together. Nor is it improbable that one coming before the offertory sins only lightly; because formerly, as St. Isidore testifies, only then did Mass begin. But the Gospel of St. John at the end probably is not a part of the Mass; because before it the people are already dismissed by the blessing (cf. H. Ap., l. c.; Inst. Cat., P. I, c. 3).

673. Note. Since assistance must last through the entire Mass, authors resolve particular cases thus:

1. He who hears two halved Masses simultaneously does not satisfy the precept. This is established from the 53rd proposition condemned by Innocent XI.

2. He who hears two halved Masses successively, so that he hears the Mass of one priest up to the consecration exclusively, but the rest in the Mass of another, although he sins venially if he does this without cause, nevertheless probably satisfies. The reason: all things essentially required for the sacrifice were heard in one Mass. But he would not satisfy if he behaved otherwise, namely by assisting in one Mass up to the consecration inclusively, but at the other parts in another.

3. He who arrives when the consecration has already been made is held to assist at the other parts of the Mass, because, whatever authors hold concerning the essence of the sacrifice of Mass, a notable part of the public worship prescribed by the Church must be heard. - For the rest, it is by no means improbable that communion pertains to the essence of the Mass, with consecration. Therefore he who comes after the consecration is held to assist up to the end: for the precept here possesses (H. Ap., VI, 33).

4. He who omits a small part of the Mass, more probably, according to some, is held under light obligation to supply it; except if some reason excuses (cf. Salmant., tr. 5, c. 6, n. 15). - Others think that he is held to nothing, because the precept was fulfilled in the greater and substantial part. Nevertheless he is altogether held to supply who omits a part notable by dignity, for example the consecration, although this does not happen from his fault (III, 310, q. 3). The contrary opinion, namely that of Suarez (de Euch., q. 88, s. 2, n. 6), would be reasonable if someone from sudden necessity were forced to withdraw; for then union with those standing by would still morally endure.

This is placed in the intention of hearing Mass, and at the same time in attention of mind.

674. Principles. I. There is required an intention, at least implicit, of worshiping God. For the Church commands a human act of religion, by participating in the sacrifice, which cannot even be conceived without the will of worshiping God.

Hence, he who should be present at Mass for this sole end, that he might observe the beauty of the church, or that he might wait for a friend, or because he was violently detained there, would not satisfy the precept. Nevertheless he would satisfy if he were present because of fear alone of father, mother, or master; although from another head he would sin, namely from the depraved will of omitting the sacred rite, if he could. But the intention of satisfying the precept is not required, as is already established from what was said (n. 212, 213). Cf. St. Alph., I, 163; H. Ap., VI, 27.

675. II. Attention of mind is required. Attention in general is defined: Application of the mind to that which is being done. It is a) EXTERNAL, when no action is posited which is incompatible with the intention of worshiping God, as to chat, to write, to cast one's eyes here and there, etc.; b) INTERNAL, when attention is given either to the words and actions of the celebrant, or to the mysteries signified by the words and actions of the celebrant, especially to the mysteries of the Passion and death of Christ, or, generally, to God Himself, to be praised and prayed to through prayers, meditations, and pious affections (III, 313; IV, 177).

These things having been premised: 1. It is certain that external attention is required for hearing Mass, according to the precept of the Church; because the defect of it would be a mockery of God and of the Church.

Hence, he does not satisfy who during the time of Mass writes, paints, reads profane books, or sacred ones indeed, but for the sole cause of erudition, curiosity, or study. Nor does he satisfy who for a notable time converses, attentively considers images, reads inscriptions, etc. (H. Ap., VI, 28).

2. It is certain, from the virtue of religion, that some internal attention is required, at least under venial sin. For the reverence which we owe to God and to the sacred mysteries requires attention of this kind.

But whether this internal attention is required under grave obligation for fulfilling the precept of the Church is disputed. Some deny it, led chiefly by this reason, that an act of religion, as regards its substance, can subsist without internal attention; nor is it established from another source that anything else is prescribed by the Church. - But others, more commonly, affirm it, and although they do not require actual or intense attention, nevertheless they require internal attention which is remiss, and which extends to the principal parts of the Mass. The reason of these is that the Church commands an act by which God is worshiped; but God is not worshiped if someone is only physically present at the sacred rite, internal attention having been omitted. "I think," says St. Alphonsus, "this second opinion to be more probable and indeed to be advised. But I do not judge the contrary improbable; at least, with the authority standing of so many doctors who defend it, the matter is rendered very doubtful, whether there is present this law of the Church obliging the faithful to assistance at Mass with internal attention" (H. Ap., l. c.).

Therefore after the fact resolve thus: It suffices that someone had the general intention of worshiping God, and so conducted himself that he could have been a witness of those things which were done at the altar. Cf. Vermeersch, o. c., n. 113.

676. From these things conclude with St. Alphonsus (III, n. 315 seq.; ed. G., p. 579):

1. Those satisfy the precept who, within Mass, recite the breviary or rosary; musicians, organists, those collecting alms;¹ those meditating, reading some spiritual book, examining their conscience; provided that from the beginning they had the due intention and did not revoke it, and in some way advert to the rite of the Mass.

2. More probably also he satisfies who suffers ecstasy; for ecstasy does not take away free choice; indeed, during ecstasy attention to God is present in a more perfect way than in others.

3. Similarly he satisfies, or at least does not sin gravely, who sometimes dozes during the time of the sacred rite, provided he in some way adverts to the words and action of the priest.

4. All those satisfy who have distractions which do not impede them from following the action of the priest with the mind of worshiping God.

Otherwise, those who are so distracted that they in no way attend to Mass. Otherwise also the drunk, or those given over to sleep through the whole Mass.

5. Finally, those satisfy who confess their sins, provided the confession is easy and brief, and is not made during the time of consecration. For in a long and difficult confession, on the part of the penitent, the required external attention to the oblation would be lacking (III, 314). Croix with Lessius wishes servants who are in need of confessing at this time to be held excused (III, l. c.). Cf. Vind. Alph., P. III, q. 11. The reason is the presumed connivance of the Church.

Indeed the holy Doctor (III, 332) concedes with Lessius (in Auct., v. Mass, cas. 2) and others that those are excused who omit Mass so that they may confess, lest they remain for some time in the state of mortal sin. The reason is an immense gain of the soul, which otherwise would be lost. Cf. Ami du Cl., 1913, p. 689.

677. Principle. By common law, Mass can be heard in any public church or in any public or semi-public oratory, for fulfilling the ecclesiastical law. The precept formerly in force of assisting at parochial Mass has been abrogated by contrary custom. But recently Leo XIII, in the Decree of the S. R. C., 23 Jan. 1899 (n. 4007), discussing semi-public oratories, declared: "In these, as by authority of the Ordinary the most holy sacrifice of Mass can be offered, so all who are present at the same can satisfy the precept of hearing the sacred rite." From which declaration it is sufficiently and more than sufficiently manifest that the Bishop cannot command his subjects to present themselves at parochial Mass.² Nevertheless the faithful are to be induced that on Sundays and feasts they be present at this Mass, because, besides the fact that such assistance is of good example, Mass is applied for the parishioners, and therefore a richer fruit is perceived from it (III, 322; VI, 424).

We have said: by common law; for, by privilege, all the faithful satisfy the precept who assist at the Mass which Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church or Bishops, whether diocesan or titular, celebrate in any place, or cause to be celebrated for their convenience (S. R. C., 8 Jun. 1896, n. 3906). Likewise those who enjoy the Indult of a private oratory, as we shall see below. As regards Regulars, if it is a question of the principal oratory, the question must be solved from common law; if of other secondary oratories, cf. n. 680, q. 1.

But what public, semi-public, and private oratories are, the Decree of 23 Jan. 1899 authentically defines.

678. 1. PUBLIC oratories are those "which, by authority of the Ordinary, dedicated perpetually to the public worship of God, blessed, or even solemnly consecrated, have a door on the road, or from the public road open free entrance to the faithful universally." Therefore it matters nothing whether the oratory has been built in the houses of private persons or in the midst of fields, provided that from the public road an altogether free access lies open to it, through the court of the house or through an area.

2. SEMI-PUBLIC oratories are those "which, although in some manner in a private place, or in one not absolutely public, have been erected by authority of the Ordinary; nevertheless they serve the convenience not of all the faithful nor of only a private person or family, but of some community or group of persons. In these, as by authority of the Ordinary the most holy sacrifice of Mass can be offered, so all who are present at the same can satisfy the precept of hearing the sacred rite. Of this kind are the oratories which pertain to Seminaries and Ecclesiastical Colleges; to pious Institutes and Societies of simple vows, and other Communities under a rule or statutes at least approved by the Ordinary; to Houses devoted to spiritual exercises; to boarding-houses and hospices destined for youth to be instructed in letters, sciences, or arts; to Hospitals, Orphanages, and also to Fortresses and Prisons; and similar oratories, in which by institution some group of the Christian faithful is accustomed to convene for hearing Mass. To these must be joined Chapels duly erected in a Cemetery, provided that in the celebration of Mass access lies open not only to those to whom they pertain, but also to other faithful." A semi-public oratory therefore serves primarily for the uses of the Community, secondarily for the convenience of outsiders.

Noldin (III, n. 198) notes the following: An oratory does not become public precisely from this, that it has a door on the road, but because the faithful possess a strict right that free access not be impeded. That right imposes on the owner the burden of preserving free access. If the owner is not pressed by that burden, the oratory, whatever may be the case about the door, will remain semi-public. Thus also clearly Many, de Locis sacr., tit. 2, n. 65 seqq., where there are old responses of the Sacred Congregations; and Wernz, Jus Decr., III, n. 449, indicates the same.

679. PRIVATE oratories in the strict sense are called those "which in private buildings have been erected for the convenience of some person, or family, from an Indult of the Holy See," for sacrificing there.³ The Ordinary, beforehand, can and must visit it, so that he may inspect whether all things have been duly ordered; not likewise afterward, unless something against the reverence of the place should occur. His license is needed so that baptism, penance, and matrimony can be administered in it. But the reception of the Holy Eucharist, from the declaration of the S. R. C., 8 May 1907 (A. S. S., vol. 40, p. 589), is always included in the concession of a private oratory, saving parochial rights. Therefore Easter communion, as also viaticum, are excepted. For the rest, the privilege of a private oratory is regularly personal, and therefore to be interpreted strictly, as derogating from common law; and when the one to whom it was granted has died, it vanishes by the law itself. For some religious families there is given a privilege of a private oratory which is rather local; whence also secular priests can there celebrate duly, and the faithful can satisfy the precept of Mass (Angelus a SS. Corde Jesu, Man. Reg., II, n. 919).

1. The PRIVILEGE of hearing Mass of precept in private oratories, from the customary tenor of the pontifical Indult, is granted "to the lord, his children and domestics, or blood-relatives and relatives by affinity living with him, servants actually devoted to his service, and noble guests, that is, in whatever way noble and more worthy." - But those who are not of the household, and domestics not actually necessary, are excluded by force of the customary clause: "But we will that domestics of your service who at the said time, namely of Mass, are not actually necessary, being present there at Mass of this kind, are by no means to be judged free from the obligation of hearing Mass in a church on feast days of precept." Nor does the minister satisfy who assists the celebrant, unless he himself is necessary, that is, unless another is lacking who can and wishes to serve (Ferraris, v. Oratory, n. 64).

2. The CONDITIONS and EXCEPTIONS of the Indult must be observed, for example: a) that on individual days only one Mass be celebrated; b) that it not be celebrated except in the presence of the principally privileged person, namely to whom the Brief was directed; c) that the days of Easter, Pentecost, the Nativity of the Lord, and other more solemn feasts be excepted, namely Epiphany, Thursday in the Supper of the Lord, the feasts of the Ascension, Assumption, SS. Peter and Paul, All Saints. See other things below, n. 1627.

Nevertheless the privileged person is not bound by these exceptions if the Indult was granted by reason of infirmity (III, n. 319, claus. 8; ed. G., I, p. 584; VI, n. 359; ed. G., III, p. 349). Cf. Decree of 2 Apr. 1913, S. C. de Sacr. (A. A. S., V, p. 183), in which it is said that on the feasts of St. Joseph (solemn Commemoration), the Annunciation, Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Trinity, St. John the Baptist, and the Patron of the place, Mass can be celebrated in private oratories.

He who has received an ordinary Indult, in which namely the mentioned exceptions are indicated, in the case where difficulties arise, should approach the Bishop so that the private oratory may be erected as semi-public. For the right of erecting semi-public oratories, so that, at least on days of obligation, they may be open to all, has not been diminished for the Ordinary. Ami du Cl., 1910, p. 111.

680. Questions. QUES. 1. Whether secondary oratories, sometimes erected in houses of Regulars, are to be held as private or semi-public?

Resp. 1. We call secondary oratories those which, from an Indult or privilege of the Holy See, are erected besides the principal oratory, whether on account of the number of priests so that Mass can be said by all, or in favor of the sick, who cannot go to the chapel or principal oratory. S. R. C., 8 Mar. 1879, n. 3484, ad 2.

2. It can be disputed; for, strictly speaking, the definition of an oratory strictly private, nor the definition of a semi-public one, agrees with those oratories (Genicot, I, 342). Private letters of a certain Most Reverend Consultor of the S. R. C., sent to us long ago, affirm the mind of the Sacred Congregation to be that they are equated with private ones, and therefore that only Members, but not other faithful, satisfy the precept of Mass in these oratories. The matter needs an authentic declaration. Cf. Ami du Cl., 1914, p. 590, and the things we noted above n. 679.

QUES. 2. Whether an Indultary is held to use the privilege, if he cannot go to a church?

Resp. Affirmatively, more probably, according to St. Alphonsus, III, 324, if he can have a priest gratis or with a light stipend. And both the lord himself and his household are held to this, not indeed by force of the privilege, because no one is held to a privilege as such; but by force of the precept, which obliges all those to hearing Mass who are able to fulfill it without grave inconvenience (cf. also III, 319, dub. 3).

Lehmkuhl, Noldin, and others contradict. But let it be weighed whether the axiom praised by all has more weight: he who is held to the law is held to the easy means by which he can observe the law. Cf. what was said n. 670, fin.