Can my child miss Mass to attend an athletics academy?

[shaina11]

My son has been accepted into a gifted students’ athletics academy. Training for the academy is two Sundays a month, on Saturday and Sunday from 12 PM - 4:30 PM. I myself do volunteer work every Sunday in the community, looking after the elderly between 9 AM - 2:30 PM. It would not be possible to attend Mass after the academy training as we would not get back on time; however we will be able to attend Mass on the other two Sundays of the month. If I ask my priest for permission for my child to attend the academy, would he grant permission if he believes that there would be regular Mass attendance if it were not for my child attending the academy? Your help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Perhaps you should ask yourself a question about what you want for your child. Do you want to raise him to be a gifted athlete, or do you want to raise him to be a devout Catholic? Keep in mind that the rewards of being a gifted athlete are limited not only to this life, but also to perhaps a decade or two of the adult life, if the athlete manages to avoid career-ending injury. The rewards of being a devout Catholic are infinite and eternal.

This isn’t to say that devout Catholics cannot also be gifted athletes. It’s simply to say that perhaps you need to reconsider your priorities for your child. If you can find a way to work in your child’s athletic training around his (and your) Catholic obligations, that is perfectly fine. But you should not be seeking to work in your child’s (and your) Catholic obligations around your child’s athletic training schedule.

Rather than asking your priest to dispense you and your child from your Mass obligation, perhaps you should ask the director of this academy for assistance in accommodating your son’s Catholic obligation to go to Mass on Saturday evenings or Sundays.