I also enjoy the Saturday vigil and would prefer attending that Mass over Sundays. There's something especially beautiful about the church in the evening hours. If it weren't for my kids being enrolled in Sunday school, we'd probably attend the vigil regularly.

I’ve been a Saturday Vigil person all my life. My family nearly always went - except for the years I was in the children’s choir which sang on Sundays. DH and I always attend the Saturday Vigil - except for the years our kids sang in the children’s choir on Sundays haha!

Growing up there were a lot of older people that would go to Saturday evening Mass then out to an early dinner. Our priest took him mom out for dinner every Saturday after Mass. There were also a lot of families with teens so we didn’t have to wake up early Sunday morning. It’s also great for people with Sunday morning athletic games.

The wedding issue is real -/ our church had confession before mass so you had to be out before 4 and then no weddings until 7. So either really early or really late!

Saturday night Masses are some of my favorites during the winter. I love the peace and beauty of the church amidst the cold and darkness of the night.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a couple of Catholic friends who attend mass daily except in extraordinary circumstances. Some Catholics still do that, including Saturday and Sunday masses.

Wow, that is super rare. I know of one person who does that who isn't a monk.

You don’t know enough of the right Catholics. It is not rare at all. Some churches (the Shrine, for example) have multiple well-attended daily Masses.

I wish I could go daily!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Sunday obligation is satisfied by a Mass occurring from 4:00 pm Saturday to Sundown Sunday.

In the past we would attend Saturday Mass and then go to dinner as a family and enjoy Sunday at home. Now we’ll hit up Saturday if busy on Sunday or if needed. There are lots of regular Saturday evening families at most parishes.

In years past we would host on behalf of our children’s school the official end of year grade-wide party on the Saturday afternoon immediately after school let out for summer. We would then request a priest from the school stick around and say the Saturday Mass in our home after the party for any families that wanted to attend and simultaneously address the Sunday obligation. About twenty or so families would stick around for the Mass in our living room.

I’m just curious, do most families that do Saturday evening Mass do it most weeks or do most families switch between Sat and Sun based on availability and scheduling? Like are there lots of Saturday families and that is their routine every week?

I’m wondering if this local church’s Saturday Mass appeared unusually busy because it’s a waterfront destination town, plus holiday weekend, so vacationing families are more likely to prefer Saturday evening Mass?

There are people that consistently go to the Saturday Mass in lieu of Sundays. I find the Saturday Mass to be slightly more laid back. Rarely see people in jeans on Sunday morning but common on Saturdays. Saturday Mass is also sort of a not-well-kept secret in the sense that you typically find ONLY committed, regularly attending Catholics at that Mass. much less likely to get the once-a-month church goer there on Saturdays.

We would some times use it as a convenience. E.g., our child had a school sports competition on campus at a different parish at 3:00 pm. We would stick around for the 5 pm Mass there.

My favorite, though, are the NFL dads. During football season they are there every Saturday night so they can watch football uninterrupted on Sundays.

Once last nugget, on Saturdays you do miss out on the socialization of Sunday morning Mass. no pancake breakfast or donuts or kids running around the playground or courtyard on Saturdays. That’s the primary reason we switched back to Sundays when kids were young.