Question: What is the Easter duty? Does it mean that Catholics
have to attend Mass at least on Easter Sunday?
Answer: Roman Catholics are already obligated to attend Mass on all Sundays,
including Easter Sunday, and holy days in virtue of canon 1247, with due
regard for various exceptions depending on circumstances.
The so-called Easter Duty is different. It is contained
in canon 920 and generally requires all Catholics who have made first
Eucharist to receive Holy Communion annually, usually around Easter.
In the United States, with papal approval, this period runs from the
first Sunday of Lent (March 12, 2000) to Trinity Sunday (June 18, 2000).
Although there is not a canonical requirement to confess all sins once
per year (canon 989 speaks only of the requirement to confess "grave" sins
annually), one should be properly disposed before receiving the Eucharist,
and therefore sacramental reconciliation during the weeks around Easter
should be considered. Most parishes offer extra opportunities for sacramental
reconciliation during Lent with this thought in mind.
— Edward Peters |
