Do I need to confess to missing Mass when I wasn't Catholic?

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Also, if you knew you should attend Mass as person becoming a Catholic then it have to be confessed.
If you are not a Catholic then you cannot sin by not attending mass. If you are not a Catholic, the priest cannot absolve your sins in the sacrament of confession.
 
Why then should I as a non-Catholic attend Mass anymore before becoming Catholic?
I actually do no trust people on this forum.
This forum think Mass attendance or not has to do with a law book. Too simple for me.
I do not trust people with opinions.
 
Why then should I as a non-Catholic attend Mass anymore before becoming Catholic?
Because it is good for you to do so. Because it helps to ingrain the habit within you to make it easier for you to adhere to the law once you are bound to it. Because you want to. All these and more are good reasons to attend Mass while in the process of converting to Catholicism.

No one is saying that you should not go. What has been said is that you do not fail to fulfill the obligation to go if you don’t, because that obligation does not yet apply to you. This is not an opinion. It is a fact. Non-Catholics are not bound to canon law.

There is a difference between advising catechumens to attend Sunday Mass and ordering them to do it. It may not be a good idea not to heed such advice, but it’s not a sin either. Even if it were an order, it would not be a sin not to go because no one, not even a priest, can require more of anyone than the Church herself does.

You yourself said that you were instructed/advised, not ordered. You choose to follow that instruction/advice, and this is good 🙂👍 But catechumens who don’t aren’t sinning.
 
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UpUpAndAway answered it already and in a better way than I would have.
 
Ok.
I say this. This is a personal question and if I need Mass in order not sin then I should go.
Other non-Catholics have a different situation.
You guys do not know my situation.
It is my responsibilty to find what helps me to stop sinning and if Mass helps me then I shouod attend Mass. We are all judge by God looking at our personal situations.
 
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I say this. This is a personal question and if I need Mass in order not sin then I should go.
Other non-Catholics have a different situation.
You guys do not know my situation.
It is my responsibilty to find what helps me to stop sinning and if Mass helps me then I shouod attend Mass. We are all judge by God looking at our personal situations.
Unless I missed it, absolutely nobody in this thread has said that you should not go to Mass, only that as a catechumen you do not have an obligation to.
 
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Why then should I as a non-Catholic attend Mass anymore before becoming Catholic?
I actually do no trust people on this forum.
This forum think Mass attendance or not has to do with a law book. Too simple for me.
I do not trust people with opinions.
Of course you are encouraged and welcome to attend Mass. But I think if you asked your priest about this idea that it’s a sin for a person who is not yet Catholic to miss Mass, he’d agree with what we’ve said.
 
Well yes but…he should follow the advice of the wise Priest, right?
Following advice is not the same as being obligated. There is no sin in not following advice of a priest.
Or should only Catholics follow the advice the Priests give them???
You are confusing two different things. If a priest gives me advice I may or may not take it. And there isn’t any sin in not taking that advice.
If a Priest give me a good advice then I must listen. Jesus is speaking.
Um, no, I’m not sure where you got that idea.
Also, if you knew you should attend Mass as person becoming a Catholic then it have to be confessed.
Nope. Not a sin for a person who IS NOT Catholic to miss mass.

Knowing you will be required to do things after you become Catholic is not the same as being required to do them now.

A non-Catholic inquiring into the Church is NOT bound by the ecclesial laws of the Church.
 
You do not need to confess it, because the precept does not bind non-Catholics; only Catholics.
 
Thoughts and opinions here only, from a former RCIA candidate…

If you’re not baptised then you won’t need to confess until after you are and any sin you may or may not have committed by way of failure to attend Mass would be cleansed at baptism.
However, if you are already baptised, consider your reason(s) for missing Masses. You aren’t committing a mortal sin due to your obligation not yet being ‘in place’ until reception…but are you sinning against the First Commandment if the reason falls more to the ‘can’t be bothered today’ side of the coin? If so then that would be an appropriate venial thing to confess at your first confession IMO (if you have time after the more serious stuff of the past).

You could still consider your current approach / attitude to missing Mass in light of the first commandment even if unbaptised of course.

Just for info, our RCIA calendar said we were ‘Expected’ to attend Sunday Mass.
 
I see what you are saying and you people are right. I was bassically just saying that certain people like myself often stay home for the wrong reasons. That could be a sin. Not the missing of Mass. But staying home when God is giving you opertunitues to meet friends and other people is a sin.
 
I see what you are saying and you people are right. I was bassically just saying that certain people like myself often stay home for the wrong reasons. That could be a sin. Not the missing of Mass. But staying home when God is giving you opertunitues to meet friends and other people is a sin.
It seems to me that someone has given you a very skewed idea of what is sin.

And even (not going to happen) that not taking ‘opportunities to meet friends and other people’ is defined as a sin, it wouldn’t be a mortal sin.

Can I ask, are your ideas what you have decided on by yourself, or has someone been telling you these things?
 
Then staying home and sinning is ok?
You know nothing about my situation at all!
 
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And even (not going to happen) that not taking ‘opportunities to meet friends and other people’ is defined as a sin, it wouldn’t be a mortal sin.
It could be a mortal sin.
I am not made to say no to the graces God gives me. Yoy are talking too much about things in general rather than looking at particular situations.
My situation is a specific situations and you know nothing about it.
You are somewhat saying that I need no friends at church. If you are ok with being a loner then that’s you. I need to meet other Catholics. It is hard for me to meet other people so if I do not go to church and meet my Catholic friends it is bad for me. Sure, I can stay home of I do not have enough energy to go to church but otherwise I am just not dealing with liee they way I need.
People have different situations.
 
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