All Saints' Day ...skip school?

[dconklin]

If you are taking the day, stop by your local blood bank and save a life.

Give Blood. Only takes an hour and you can give days, weeks, years of time to someone who depends on your lifesaving gift.

Great idea. For that hour and the many hours before and after you could read Lives of the Saints.

 

[bobballen_18]

And what happens when you just totally forget that it’s a Holy Day of Obligation and don’t go to Mass? I mean, I actually knew it was a Holy Day of Obligation, but for whatever reason it didn’t cross my mind this morning when I woke up that I am required to go to Mass today. Since I didn’t do it purposely, is this still considered a big sin? There is only one Mass I would have been able to make, as I will be gone for a 5 PM Mass and had an Adoration Hour during the 7:30 AM Mass - it was at 12 PM, and, as I said, I totally forgot and was out running instead.

 

[KimberlyAnn0218]

My 6th grader had basketball practice tonight during eveing mass so I looked around and found a 7 AM Mass and brought him before school. It was a struggle to get him up early and going but he did it!

 

[Cristiano]

And what happens when you just totally forget that it’s a Holy Day of Obligation and don’t go to Mass? I mean, I actually knew it was a Holy Day of Obligation, but for whatever reason it didn’t cross my mind this morning when I woke up that I am required to go to Mass today. Since I didn’t do it purposely, is this still considered a big sin? There is only one Mass I would have been able to make, as I will be gone for a 5 PM Mass and had an Adoration Hour during the 7:30 AM Mass - it was at 12 PM, and, as I said, I totally forgot and was out running instead.

I am not clear about your statement about the 5:00pm mass and so I cannot comment about it. I understand that it is grave matter not to follow the precepts of the Church; however, grave matter by itself does not make a sin mortal. If you really forgot about it and you did not have any purpose to avoid it out of lack of convenience then you did not give willful assent to the sin and so it is a venial sin. However, I think that you need to work more on your religious habits up to the point that you consider all the Holy days of Obligation on par with Sundays.Failure to do right should be also considered as an opportunity to better our relation with God. You are not the first one to make this mistake and you will not be the last one.

 

[minkymurph]

My kids attend a Catholic school so it closes on Holy Days of Obligation. So, they get a day off whether they like it or not.

However, as employers tend not to give employees parents a day off for Holy Days of Obligation, one parent ends up having to take a day off work if they don’t have someone who can take care of their children. Fine if you have an understanding employer. Not so good if you have one who isn’t and you loose a days pay if you take time off.

 

[bobballen_18]

I am not clear about your statement about the 5:00pm mass and so I cannot comment about it. I understand that it is grave matter not to follow the precepts of the Church; however, grave matter by itself does not make a sin mortal. If you really forgot about it and you did not have any purpose to avoid it out of lack of convenience then you did not give willful assent to the sin and so it is a venial sin. However, I think that you need to work more on your religious habits up to the point that you consider all the Holy days of Obligation on par with Sundays.Failure to do right should be also considered as an opportunity to better our relation with God. You are not the first one to make this mistake and you will not be the last one.

Well, it turns out I was able to go to Mass anyway - what I meant about the 5 PM Mass is that it would have been the last option for me to go to Mass that day, and I had to go off campus for a mandatory choir concert, so going to that Mass was impossible. Conveniently for me, which had not crossed my mind, the choir concert was at a Catholic Church singing a Requiem for a service for Vigil of All Souls. We got there early so we could rehearse before a Mass, which was right before the service. So instead of eating dinner, I just went to the Mass!

It’s all good now.