Q: I am assisting at a wedding Mass this weekend, and it seems that there may have been a misunderstanding about the way to choose the readings. For a 1:00 pm Saturday wedding they have chosen to use the readings for Sunday. Is this really a Sunday Mass during which a wedding is celebrated? I wouldn’t think so because we don’t anticipate a Sunday Mass at 1:00 on Saturday. Wouldn’t it more properly be a Ritual Mass, with selections made from that lectionary?
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A: You are correct. Choosing Sunday readings doesn’t mean that the mass fulfills the obligation. The day and time determine that question. In fact, in Ordinary Time, a Saturday night wedding mass that uses the wedding readings DOES count for Sunday – because of the day and time.
That being said, in Spain the custom is that ANY mass after NOON counts for Sunday. So, there are places in the world where they accept this without batting an eyelash. But here in the US, most dioceses have a custom that the Saturday evening mass for Sunday doesn’t begin earlier than 4 or so.