A few questions about the Sunday obligation

[Tommy999]

I am curious as to when the Sunday obligation for Catholics originated as part of the rules of the Church. Did it start with the Early Church Fathers or did it originate later in history?

Is it a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass?

Does a Saturday afternoon (5:00pm) count as part of the obligation?

Background info:
In my job, one weekend a month I have to work the night shift when I am on-call, including all night on Saturday and up to 4:00am or 5:00am in the morning on Sunday mornings. It’s just part of the job. It pays well but the hours are not the best, so I sometimes miss church one Sunday out of the month, although sometimes I attend anyway and feel like a zombie and nod off during church, which is not a good Christian witness to those around me, despite a few well-placed elbows by my wife.

I also occasionally get called and have to leave to go into work if the problem at work is serious, and once in a while I have had to leave a church service right in the middle of it when I get paged (not often, thank goodness).

If I were Catholic. I was wondering whether I would be in constant grave sin because of my job situation or whether there are provisions made for this sort of thing.

Note: When I am not on-call, I attend church regularly and love to be in the house of the Lord.

Thanks for helping to clarify,
Tommy

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I am curious as to when the Sunday obligation for Catholics originated as part of the rules of the Church. Did it start with the Early Church Fathers or did it originate later in history?

Is it a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass?

Does a Saturday afternoon (5:00pm) count as part of the obligation?

I’m not sure when it began being referred to as an obligation. In the Catechism section about Sunday it says:

2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful “not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another " (Heb 10:25)

There are three elements required to commit a mortal sin: grave matter, knowledge, and consent. In my opinion this falls under the category of grave matter. Then the questions become are you aware that this is required and do you willingly ignore it?

Yes, a Saturday afternoon Mass “counts” for the obligation. You can fulfill the obligation on the day itself or the previous evening. There’s a long explanation, but liturgically Sunday begins on Saturday evening just as the Jewish sabbath begins the evening before. And to make it as easy as possible for people to attend Mass, it doesn’t end on Sunday evening but goes through midnight. So a Mass Saturday at 5pm, Sunday at 9am, or Sunday at 10pm would all fulfill the obligation. (And around college campuses there are often late Sunday Masses.)

So those are the rules. Then we get more into opinion. First of all, all any of us can do is the best we can do. Second, I think what’s important is what’s in the heart. It’s one thing if someone says “I want to be free to relax on Sunday and don’t care if I get to Mass or not.” It’s something else if someone says “I make the best effort I can but sometimes my job prevents me from getting there.”

The Church puts a premium on attending Mass because she describes the Eucharist as “the source and summit of Christian life.” If the Eucharist is the high point, then being in a place to receive it is vital. So I see it not only as an obligation, but also as a great privilege, and something that I want to be able to participate in.

I guess the positive take is go to Mass and receive a tremendous gift. The negative take is go to Mass or else. And either way, the bottom line is to make a strong effort to get there.

I hope that helps.

 

[St_Francis]

WRT the Masses that you miss, the best thing to do is to explain your situation to a priest. He will know what questions to ask you to understand the situation fully and to be able to advise you.

In general, the obligation for Mass is lifted if there is a grave reason for one to be unable to attend, such as caring for a sick person whom one cannot leave.

Needing to work is generally considered to be a reasonable reason to miss Mass.

I assume because of your mentioning that you are occasionally called out of Mass that you are in the type of work where when you are needed, the need is very urgent, like fire-fighting or in an ER. I know that a doctor in our church has that happen to him, and it is perfectly ok to leave.

The one thing that the priest may advise you to do is to know all the Mass times around where you work and/or live, to see if you can get to Mass in a way that fits in with your schedule.

All the information I have given is *very general *and from a random layperson on the internet. Your priest is the best one to sort out your individual situation.

 

[Jon_S_1]

I am curious as to when the Sunday obligation for Catholics originated as part of the rules of the Church. Did it start with the Early Church Fathers or did it originate later in history?

Really it originates in the beginning. God rested on the 7th Day and as catholics we hold to all the Ten Commandments. One of them is to keep a day set aside for the Lord. That is right there next to murder and adultery on Gods list so we take it just as serious.

Is it a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass?

It is Grave matter. If done knowingly and deliberately, it is mortal sin.

Does a Saturday afternoon (5:00pm) count as part of the obligation?

Yes

Background info:
In my job, one weekend a month I have to work the night shift when I am on-call, including all night on Saturday and up to 4:00am or 5:00am in the morning on Sunday mornings. It’s just part of the job. It pays well but the hours are not the best, so I sometimes miss church one Sunday out of the month, although sometimes I attend anyway and feel like a zombie and nod off during church, which is not a good Christian witness to those around me, despite a few well-placed elbows by my wife.

I also occasionally get called and have to leave to go into work if the problem at work is serious, and once in a while I have had to leave a church service right in the middle of it when I get paged (not often, thank goodness).

If I were Catholic. I was wondering whether I would be in constant grave sin because of my job situation or whether there are provisions made for this sort of thing.

Note: When I am not on-call, I attend church regularly and love to be in the house of the Lord.

Thanks for helping to clarify,
Tommy

I work as a firefighter. I work 48hour shifts that rotate through the week. This ends up meaning every six weeks I have to work from 7am Saturday morning until 7am Monday morning. Obviously this means no mass.

It is what it is, the catechism allows one to miss for things like this, but if you can avoid working Sunday (requesting different shift) or if you are an employer, you should try to allow your employees off Sunday if possible.

For me, I try not to volunteer for overtime shifts that would mean I miss Saturdsy vigil and Sunday masses, but I don’t sweat my regular shift. Like you, I love going to mass and being with the Lord. Sometimes I do go to Monday morning mass or Friday evening mass on those weeks where I miss. It doesn’t replace Sundsy mass, but it is good for me spiritually.

On those weeks you work, maybe consider a Sunday afternoon or evening mass. My parish has a 12:15 and 5:30 on Sunday’s. I think most parishes have a Sunday evening mass these days.

 

[CatholicSheila]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet that only Catholics have a Sunday obligation. Whilst it is good for those enquiring to attend mass, there is no sin if they miss even if they were able to attend.

So this isn’t a conversation that needs to be had with the Priest until one has formally entered the Church.

 

[pianistclare]

Hey Tommy!

Great answers here!
Nice to see you online friend, God bless!

 

[Tommy999]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet that only Catholics have a Sunday obligation. Whilst it is good for those enquiring to attend mass, there is no sin if they miss even if they were able to attend.

So this isn’t a conversation that needs to be had with the Priest until one has formally entered the Church.

You are correct, CatholicSheila. I am only an inquirer at this point so I am not bound by this rule, although I feel bad when I don’t attend, like last weekend.

I am a member of the Assembly of God Protestant denomination and was mainly “kicking the tires” a little bit to see if my work schedule would allow me to be a good Catholic if I were to become one. One positive aspect of Catholicism appears to be that there are more days and times to attend Mass than there are at my church.

At my church, Sunday mornings (two services) and Wednesday night are the only options.

 

[Tommy999]

Really it originates in the beginning. God rested on the 7th Day and as catholics we hold to all the Ten Commandments. One of them is to keep a day set aside for the Lord. That is right there next to murder and adultery on Gods list so we take it just as serious.

It is Grave matter. If done knowingly and deliberately, it is mortal sin.

Yes

I work as a firefighter. I work 48hour shifts that rotate through the week. This ends up meaning every six weeks I have to work from 7am Saturday morning until 7am Monday morning. Obviously this means no mass.

It is what it is, the catechism allows one to miss for things like this, but if you can avoid working Sunday (requesting different shift) or if you are an employer, you should try to allow your employees off Sunday if possible.

For me, I try not to volunteer for overtime shifts that would mean I miss Saturdsy vigil and Sunday masses, but I don’t sweat my regular shift. Like you, I love going to mass and being with the Lord. Sometimes I do go to Monday morning mass or Friday evening mass on those weeks where I miss. It doesn’t replace Sundsy mass, but it is good for me spiritually.

On those weeks you work, maybe consider a Sunday afternoon or evening mass. My parish has a 12:15 and 5:30 on Sunday’s. I think most parishes have a Sunday evening mass these days.

Hi Jon,
If I were Catholic, I think the 5:00pm Mass would be a viable option for me because most work activities start later on in the evening on Saturday. At my current AOG church, there is no Saturday opportunity – just Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

I don’t have any choice about working one Saturday night/Sunday morning a month. It’s part of my job responsibilities.

 

[MissRose73]

Yes, there are laws in most areas that employers are supposed to allow people to attend religious services but at the same time business needs for staffing in many types of work has to override that provision. I have been lucky that I have been able to attend Mass even if I have had to go to a different parish and time compared to what I prefer. Hopefully, those in professions where there has to be 24/7 staffing coverage of some kind & wish to attend Mass have the chance to do so.