How Late May I Be for Mass?
Answered by Fr Thomas Plastow SJ
Question: If I arrive at church after Mass has begun, how late may I be before I am not allowed to receive Holy Communion?
Answer: There was a time when people were taught that you were late for Mass only if you arrived at church after the Gloria. Others were told that you were allowed to receive Holy Communion as long as you had heard the proclamation of the Gospel.
I think we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and have a greater integrity. If we are not in our places, recollected and attentive, before the opening hymn and procession, then we are late for Mass! Allow me to explain.
The liturgy is not something that is performed by clergy and lay ministers while the congregation looks on, as an audience does in the theatre or opera house. The liturgy is meant to be the prayer of the entire people assembled together. Although one person presides and others carry out the various ministries, all have a role to play. No baptised person should ever be reduced to a mere spectator. The congregation prays as a collective: standing, sitting, kneeling, responding, singing and gesturing together.
If, therefore, a minority of members is absent at the beginning, we are all impoverished. If individuals are squeezing in or pushing past at regular intervals during the Liturgy of the Word, they have misunderstood their role at Mass and they prevent others from entering into what is happening.
Of course, there will be times when things are beyond our control. If the car breaks down, you are trying to get a grumpy teenager up and dressed, or the baby needs a nappy-change just as you arrive at church, you are going to be delayed and you may feel terribly guilty. If you have genuinely done your best to be on time, don’t think twice about going up to receive Communion. The Lord feeds us so as to make us stronger.
Nevertheless, let’s not get into bad habits, or be too ready to make excuses. Each of us has a role to play in making up the assembly of believers. We are supposed to be the People of God at prayer. The more regular and more enthusiastic our attendance, the more the congregation will grow into a vibrant body that lends support to each member.
Asked and answered in the July 2022 issue of The Southern Cross magazine
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