Well we are back from Spring Break, well rested, and ready to begin Holy Week!  This edition of The Catholic Mailbag will be shorter than normal, hopefully we will be answering more of your questions by the end of the week.  So get any questions you may have to us, Easter related or not, in here on the parish website, to [email protected], or tweet us @ht_mailbag!

In the meantime, now is a good time to answer a question sent to us from Carol:

A question I have to ask- most people don't answer because they are not sure- Is going to Mass on Easter Eve fulfilling your Easter obligation- Would appreciate the answer to this- Thank you

This is a common question for sure.  Any other week, attending the vigil mass fulfills your Sunday obligation.  However, the Easter Vigil is far more than just a normal Saturday night mass.  According to the main document governing the celebrations connected with Easter, Paschales Solemnitatis:

77. According to a most ancient tradition, this night is “one of vigil for the Lord,” [79] and the Vigil celebrated during it, to commemorate that holy night when the Lord rose from the dead, is regarded as the “mother of all holy vigils.”[80] For in that night, the Church keeps vigil, waiting for the resurrection of the Lord, and celebrates the sacraments of Christian initiation

It is the culmination of the Paschal Triduum. Now, this is not to say that Easter Sunday is not important; however, it is on the night of the Easter Vigil that we hear the Gospel account of the Resurrection story.

In my opinion, it is one of the most, if not, the most, beautiful liturgies of the year. It also completes the Paschal Triduum. The whole three Days are to be taken as one complete liturgy that begins on Holy Thursday, the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Friday, and ends with the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. That is why you don’t have a concluding rite on Holy Thursday and you proceed in unbroken silence to Good Friday. Good Friday has no concluding rite and you go forth to the Easter Vigil.

Also, mass is not permitted on Holy Saturday, so the Vigil cannot be a Mass of the preceding day.  Easter Sunday begins during the night (after dark) on the evening before, as the Church keeps the night watch of the Resurrection.  Which for us is why mass begins at 8:00, not at the normal Saturday evening times. The Easter Vigil is the first Mass of Easter, and therefore counts as a Mass of Easter. So, in a very long answer to your question, one's obligation is met by attending the Easter Vigil!