Did I meet my Sunday obligation?

[Veronica97]

Last night I took a prescription tranquilizer. Even late this afternoon I was still feeling tired and a little bit “out of it”. My husband wanted to go to Saturday (Sunday vigil) Mass this evening, and I thought that would be fine. But once Mass started, I started thinking that maybe because I was so tired/sleepy that I might not be meeting my Sunday Mass obligation. I found it difficult to concentrate on the Mass, but I tried. It just seemed like sometimes I would forget the words I just sang/said, and I found it was harder than usual to grasp the readings, etc. I did try though and I do remember a lot that occurred. Should I try to go to Sunday Mass again tomorrow, or have I met my Sunday Mass obligation?

 

[juno24]

The obligation is to attend Mass. You did that, and thus your obligation has been met. It never hurts to attend Mass again, so go tomorrow if you like. Just know that you are not obligated to go again.

 

[jmcrae]

Last night I took a prescription tranquilizer. Even late this afternoon I was still feeling tired and a little bit “out of it”. My husband wanted to go to Saturday (Sunday vigil) Mass this evening, and I thought that would be fine. But once Mass started, I started thinking that maybe because I was so tired/sleepy that I might not be meeting my Sunday Mass obligation. I found it difficult to concentrate on the Mass, but I tried. It just seemed like sometimes I would forget the words I just sang/said, and I found it was harder than usual to grasp the readings, etc. I did try though and I do remember a lot that occurred. Should I try to go to Sunday Mass again tomorrow, or have I met my Sunday Mass obligation?

The requirement is to be there. With regard to your mental state, you were not being deliberately inattentive; it was a side effect of necessary medication.

 

[grasscutter]

I agree with the above posts. And, if you require this medication for your health reasons, it would be entirely appropriate for your Priest to give you a dispensation from your obligation. However, if you can attend - regardless of your ability to concentrate - I would imagine that it is still spiritually nourishing and should not be avoided out of fear that you have to participate exactly properly.

 

[Veronica97]

The requirement is to be there. With regard to your mental state, you were not being deliberately inattentive; it was a side effect of necessary medication.

I think I know what happened now. I hadn’t taken the prescripton tranquilizer for about 6 weeks, but I took one last night and the night before because I’ve been experiencing a terrible flare-up in anxiety/ocd/scruples. And I’ve been experimenting with one of my herbal supplements too (my doctor knows I take this supplement, but I had decreased the dosage and then noticed my ocd had flared, so I recently increased it to a level I had been taking several months ago); plus, I had added a new supplement recently after researching it thoroughly but I hadn’t thought to tell my doctor about it (I know–I should have). I think it was the combo of everything. But, given that it’s my fault I was so drowsy, did I still meet my obligation to attend Mass?

 

[thequeen]

Hey don’t worry about it you met your obligation.