attending a non-catholic church for convienance?

[Hiskid1973]

I’m sure you would also agree that obedience to those whom God has set up over us in authority is the first step in breaking our self-will and conforming ourselves to the obedience of Christ on the Cross.

Yes, I hear good preaching every week, I love how the uses the greek to explain things… Like phileo, eros and agape where love is used and what was meant…Our Bishop over India and Nepal was over right after our church’s were attacked in the Orissa state a few years ago…They burned churches, killed believers and one Catholic church there had a nun gang raped…really brings into perspective what is important in this life…Their responsibility is to teach us out of the word, it is our place to allow the Holy Spirit to use it to change us into His image…Hey if your church added that to there rules and regulations then by all means follow that…

 

[JohnAlexander]

i expected to attend a 6:30pm Catholic mass today.
i did remember untill after the morning masses were over that I need to be at a school event by 7 to set up.
the 6:30pm is the only catholic mass left that i am in walking distance of (no car).
i think i am going to attend a 5:30 mass at the episcopal church;
does this fullfill my sunday obligation?
should i confess not attending catholic mass before i recieve again?

If you are troubled at all then just go to confession. Your conscience is telling you something.

I think it is better to not go to any service at all than to go to an Episcopal service instead. The Episcopal Church the American version of the Anglican church which broke away from the Catholic Church because the King wanted to be in charge of the church. Also a bunch of people wanted the Church property and money. By attending their service instead of a Catholic mass you are implying that somehow they are interchangeable. They aren’t. An Episcopal service is just a bunch of people getting together (not necessarily bad - “wherever two or more gather in my name, there am i” said Jesus) but that is all it is. It isn’t a Mass.

It’s not like you planned to miss Church or didn’t go because you just didn’t feel like it. I do not think you commit a sin by missing Mass that one time. Only you know if your other obligation was a real obligation or not. Would you still go to your school if you weren’t feeling well? Any other reasons you would blow off your commitment to the school? If you would blow it off for any light reason then you absolutely should have done so to attend Mass! Now if you know that there were a lot of people counting on you and would go to the school if you were really sick but could still walk then I think it is ok to miss Mass.

I think going to a non Catholic service instead of a Catholic service is a sin but not if you don’t know it.

Now if this is a habitual thing then you have a problem. For example I only missed mass once in the past 20 years (it was a Holy Day and the hustle and bustle of work, family life, etc. totally swamped me, Neither me nor my wife realized we forgot until a few days later). This includes when we have gone on vacation. I don’t say this to brag in any way. What I mean by this is you must arrange your life so that you don’t miss Mass. If Mass on Sundays and Holy Days becomes a focal point in your life you will not forget. Have you ever forgotten to go to sleep? Have you ever forgotten to eat?

If you habitually miss Mass due to scheduling conflicts then you have a problem. Your priorities are messed up. I think it better to not be a Catholic at all than to be a part time Catholic.

The wrongness of missing mass is also age dependent. I am assuming that you are young (high school?, College?). That make a huge difference. But you have learned a good lesson. Very often If you don’t make mistakes then you don’t learn. From now on structure your life so you don’t miss mass.

• You know what time mass starts and how long it take to get there, don’t be late.
• Don’t get a job that will make you miss mass on Sundays.
• Don’t live in a place with no Catholic Churches. Once you put down roots somewhere it is hard to move. Don’t put down roots in a non Catholic area (this is actually very difficult to do in the USA)
• Don’t go on vacation if there is no Catholic Church where you are going.

I always like going to new Churches when I am on vacation. I do not feel like a stranger in any Church. Every Church I step into is my Church. I find it strange when local parishioners treat me like I am a foreigner! Imagine if you go to your parents house and your brother who happens to live there treats you like you are an outsider.

 

[JohnAlexander]

One of my problems with the Church. All Catholics are not obligated to do the same things to obey in order to avoid mortal sin. It depends in part on where you live.

The mortal sin does not depend in part on where you live. What makes it a sin is that you feel that you know better than the Church what you should do. You are saying “MY WILL BE DONE”. One of the ways in which we show that we are willing to follow God’s will and not our own is to follow the Church rules even if they are arbitrary.

The sin of disobeying is very similar to Adam & Eve’s original sin. They thought they knew better, that they could decide fro themselves what was right and what was wrong. That was the sin, not the scrumping.

 

[Doodler]

That interesting…I can see where people would go just to fulfill it yet have a heart far from Christ…My wife and I attend our church because we want to be with our bothers and sisters in Christ and to minister to one another…And be taught from the word…I have many times in the past skipped a service to help someone move or do a house or car repair…Never felt any conviction from the Holy Spirit that I was doing wrong…I actually seen God’'s hand in the situation and an opportunity to minister in Christ’s name…Scriptures tell us not to forsake assembly, but it’s not in a legalistic way where we can’t break a routine or it’s a sin…peace to you…

No doubt this can and does happen. However they are there out of their obedience to Christ and His Church and I believe God honors that small act of obedience *even if *that IS all they can manage to do in their spiritual lives at this time in their journey with God. Perhaps our small efforts when it is most difficult and distasteful to our nature are the most pleasing to the Lord?

Helping friends move or doing car repair are commendable ways to minister in Christ’s name to be sure. But where Mass is concerned, we’re talking about an hour out of a week, and in most parishes, Saturday evening is also an option. That leaves a large chunk of time to do other things.

Having been in an evangelical church for 30 years I DO understand where you are coming from. I always felt that Catholic’s were guilted into all sorts of things under the penalty of sin. However, now that I am Catholic I see that the Church asks these things of us out of love, care and concern, not to place a heavy burden on us. Just as parents know what is best for the physical care of our children, the Church understands what souls need to grow and develop and be strengthened.

 

[Hiskid1973]

Having been in an evangelical church for 30 years I DO understand where you are coming from. I always felt that Catholic’s were guilted into all sorts of things under the penalty of sin. However, now that I am Catholic I see that the Church asks these things of us out of love, care and concern, not to place a heavy burden on us. Just as parents know what is best for the physical care of our children, the Church understands what souls need to grow and develop and be strengthened.

Thanks for the nice comments…Thank God He looks into the heart…We just see the outward and are quick to give comment…Peace of Christ to you…

 

[LilyM]

I know plenty who were doing there own thing when the Holy Spirit got a hold of them…Peter’s first sermon added 3,000 to the church in one day…How glad are the feet of those who bring the good news to others(you and I)…The Holy Spirit works in and outside the church…Even used a cute blonde with a chick tract with bible verses to get my attention…I bet you will be surprised in heaven of all those who came to Christ outside a church setting…

If I remember correctly, the reason those 3,000 were there in the first place - from all parts of the world rather than just being locals - and thus ABLE to hear Peter, was because Pentecost was a mandated Jewish holy day, and they were in Jerusalem to celebrate it.

Where would THEY have been if they’d said to themselves ‘yes, God says we should be in Jerusalem to celebrate this particular holy day, but I’m really not feeling it this year, so I just won’t bother going’? They’d have missed out on hearing Peter altogether!