Do you really believe its a mortal sin to miss mass on Sunday and make sure you go to confession

[omgriley]

that was a pathetic response. The Sabbath was set aside at creation.

Seriously? The Sabbath was not instituted at creation. That’s simply not true.

I’ll reiterate, the Sabbath was set up for Jews, not Christians. It was a day of prayer commanded in the Mosaic law. The Mosaic Law is is fulfilled in Christ and is not binding on Christians. If it were, every single Christian (regardless of denomination) would have to go to a Jewish synagogue every Saturday afternoon in order to fulfill the Sabbath obligation.

Fact is there is no sabbath obligation. There is no sabbath because the Jewish religion is over. Christ has instituted the “new and everlasting covenant.”

And you should really reread my response as it was nothing derogatory against yor church.

Oh really?

You said…

To claim authority to alter what God has ordained seems more of a mortal sin.

You’re outright claiming the Church is involved in manifest mortal sin because She does not command the faithful to observe Jewish prayer practices. This all goes back to lack of understand of what the Sabbath is and what the Mass is and what a Christian’s obligation to God is.

 

[lilypadrees]

Do you really believe its a mortal sin to miss mass on Sunday and make sure you go to confession on that issue alone?

Or do you figure out a way its not a mortal sin that time for you?

As Patrick said, it’s always a Mortal sin without good reason (health, old age, weather). I’m a caregiver so can’t always get to Mass. When you’re a caregiver and there’s no one else who can come in and relieve you, you can’t just neglect the person you’re taking care of to go to Mass (even when you love Mass as much as I do).

Thankfully, all of our priests are aware of our situation since one of them is the priest at the Catholic hospital we’ve been patients at when ill. So if we can’t get to them at our parish or at the hospital, one of them comes to us. That way, we can have our Confessions heard and receive the Eucharist. Thanks to EWTN, we can view Mass that way too.

 

[omgriley]

No I don’t believe this - sorry. Attendance at Mass to me is time spent in the presence of God. It is a chance for healing, reorientation. It should be done as often as possible for this reason - it strengthens you for dealing with the world. That said, if you cannot go to Mass for some good reason - and I am pretty open here - sick, (nonreligious) visitors, other obligations, hiking trip, etc. God understands and is with you. He doesn’t want you paralyzed with this kind of anxiety. If you have to miss, miss. Maybe pray about it. I would. Don’t make it a habit. I would say it is ok to miss maybe every 6 weeks, something like that? More than that would be an issue to me. I think that is quite lenient really. I am talking about situations where you are missing for a particular (good) reason, not just not going. Not going when you are able is a problem for someone who professes the Christian faith and membership in the Church.

If you reject the Church’s authoritative teaching on anything, then the virtue of Faith in your soul is corrupted and you are no longer a Catholic in the proper sense.

You cannot be a Catholic and deny any single aspect of the Faith. It is not up to us to determine what we are going to believe. That is determined by the Church, and we either accept everything She teaches, or lose it all. There is no picking and choosing.

The Church specifically teaches that it is gravely sinful to miss Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation without a serious reason. These reasons include reasonable ability to physically get to a church, permitting weather, health.

Your weekend plans with friends are never by any means a justifiable reason to miss mass. Hiking? Really? No.

And hanging out with non-religious friends instead of going to Mass at best amounts to lax faith and at worst amounts to denying Christ in front of others, which in itself is a grave offense to God. Your friends will have to wait.

“I would say it is ok to miss maybe every 6 weeks, something like that?” This is a flatly un-Catholic way of life. The Church has always taught that you must always attend Sunday mass unless a grave cause prevents you. Then again, your post seems to indicate that you don’t very much care what the Church teaches.

 

[nearlycatholic]

Genesis 2:3 the seventh day blessed and sanctified. Simply the truth. Not a Jew around. Jesus words, The Sabbath was made for man.

Given to Moses as Commandment #4 written by God’s own finger along with nine others which are still binding today. World would be much better if they were obeyed.

Discarding God’s commandments in favor of our tradition is wrong according to Jesus. They accused Him of breaking the law when He did not.

As stated above I would like to attend a mass. I watch them on the internet. I would however, like to go on a Sabbath.

My apologies for offending you. I am not Catholic but it is very interesting to me. Especially the Latin Mass I see on line.

 

[stpurl]

Unfortunately it seems that people (I blame poor catechesis) are looking at the catechism reference, seeing ‘grave sin’, and assuming, “Oh, it only has ‘grave matter’ in it, therefore it’s not a mortal sin unless one fully consents and knows, yadda bing”.
That, I’m sorry, is not perfectly true. It is an example of some truth in the premise that is ‘skewed’ to make the conclusion false.
Now yes, mortal sin involves three conditions: Grave matter, full knowledge, full consent.’
But grave sin --and grave sin is the term used in the catechism citation --does not mean, "sin that is ‘only grave matter’ as opposed to "mortal sin which is grave matter, full knowledge, and full consent’.
Look in the catechism again.
Sins are divided into two categories. . .venial and mortal. Not three, venial, grave, and mortal.
Grave sin is mortal sin.

Now that we know missing Mass is objective mortal sin (it is), the PJMs correct response takes the ‘skewed truth’ and puts it in proper position.
Missing Mass is a mortal sin objectively. If however one misses through no fault of one’s own, then missing is not made ‘venial’ or ‘a lesser sin’. It is never a sin at all. So people aren’t trying to ‘find excuses’, people are legitimately not in a state of sin when they are physically unable or have a valid obligation to God such as care of infants or elderly. If there are two valid obligations and one can only meet one of them, and the Church has stated through the Holy Spirit that one’s duty to those dependent for their very lives on our care must come ‘first’ at a given Sunday, then there is no sin to obey God and the Church and take up that other obligation first.

 

[omgriley]

Genesis 2:3 the seventh day blessed and sanctified. Simply the truth. Not a Jew around. Jesus words, The Sabbath was made for man.

Given to Moses as Commandment #4 written by God’s own finger along with nine others which are still binding today. World would be much better if they were obeyed.

Discarding God’s commandments in favor of our tradition is wrong according to Jesus. They accused Him of breaking the law when He did not.

As stated above I would like to attend a mass. I watch them on the internet. I would however, like to go on a Sabbath.

My apologies for offending you. I am not Catholic but it is very interesting to me. Especially the Latin Mass I see on line.

My friend, I want you to understand the teachings of the Church so that you can one day enter the Church and be fully united with the Body of Christ. From what you have said, it seems that you misunderstand some important points regarding a Christian’s obligation regarding offering worship to God.

God’s rest on the seventh day is not the institution of the Sabbath in a strict sense because the Sabbath is a Jewish observance, and as you have rightly noted, Judaism did not begin at Creation.

Take even the 10 Commandments, since you’ve mentioned them. Christians are obliged to obey the moral precepts described in the Commandments, as well as all Mosaic and Levitical laws, but we are not obliged to follow the practical directives of the laws (such as abstaining from pork, stoning homosexuals, and observing the Sabbath). Christ Himself modified the Commandments for future Believers when He said

“You have heard it said…Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife (commit adultery). But I say anyone who looks at a women with lust has already committed adultery against her.” (Matthew 5:28) in this case Christ has changed the law of the 10 Commandments, and in fact made them more strict.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and it’s observance on Sundays is not a tradition of man. The Mass itself was instituted by Christ Himself on Holy Thursday. And the Acts of the Apostles show in multiple scenes the Apostles and earliest Christians offering the Mass on Sunday.

Please, nearlycatholic, look into this subject very carefully. The resources on Catholic.com are a great start. The Mass is not the Sabbath. They’re totally different. One cannot move the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday because there’s nothing to move. They’re different things. Christ instituted the Mass and the Apostles celebrated it on Sundays and thus it is entirely a Divine and apostolic tradition.

There is no sabbath. Christ has fulfilled the old law and put an end to sabbath. If you really wanted observe the sabbath to whatever degree is possible, it would merit nothing and would be offensive to God because He has given you the means to offer worship to Him via the Mass.

God bless you, and I look forward to having you fully united to Christ’s Church.

 

[superblue]

whatever helps you sleep at night, nothing i said was a negative it was merely a factual statement.

I kind of find it hard to believe that Jesus told Peter to go make a new religious institution and make sure people show up Sundays at 11 am or the option for a 530 pm mass or a530 pm vigil mass. An it is obvious Jesus never implied for such a thing to happen, hence why I said what I said. Actually taking the time to research what a word means in its’ original contexts makes a world of difference.

Words can and sometimes do change meaning through out time some positive some negative.

There is nothing wrong with having religious institutions, there is a problem though demanding people to attend or else.

 

[yankeesouth]

There were many things Jesus said that were not recorded in Scripture. That is why He founded the Catholic Church. The reason we know Jesus did say such a thing is because the Catholic Church tells us. The same way that you know what books make up the Bible…because the Catholic Church compiled them. Unfortunately protestants that adhere to Bible alone are missing a good portion of God’s Word which comes to us through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching Authority of the Church that Jesus founded, the Catholic Church.

And yes following Jesus through His Church and the Sacraments He instituted for us does give one peace. Especially the Source and Summit of the Christian life…the Eucharist!

 

[Hereiam]

Consensus seems to be, its mortal if you do it, but not if I do it. Best answer to give might be, “it’s none of your concern if it applies to me, and none of my concern if it applies to you.”

 

[Horton]

That seems to be a consensus for some posters here. However it is not a grey area. The OP asked if was a mortal sin to miss Mass and some of us gave the correct answer.

 

[superblue]

yes it is blatantly obvious that there were many things Jesus didn’t say, that still does not address exactly what I have stated and which i am not going to reitterate as it is very clear to understand, all you have done is said the same thing over and over again which has no point what so ever to what I am saying, you are trying to make a rebuttle or point by just saying Jesus founded the Church, with out even trying to understand the context of the meaning.

It’s been interesting, take care.

 

[Hereiam]

Few did. The real finding of this thread is that many of the Faithful do not know the difference between grave matter and mortal sin…if the thread shows anything it’s the need for catechesis.

 

[yankeesouth]

That’s not a very good answer. It should be a concern. That is why Jesus gave us the Spiritual Works of Mercy as well as the Corporal Works of Mercy. Jesus said…neither do I condemn you (compassion), go and sin no more (conversion).

Compassion for this life, conversion for the next.

 

[Hereiam]

You’re missing the point…you seem to want a black and white definition of mortal sin…it is or it isnt…the church clearly defines mortal sin having requirements…failure to take those conditions onto account show a shallowness of understanding of Church teachings.

 

[yankeesouth]

The conditions have already been laid out earlier in thread and they are fully valid. However it still remains that missing Mass intentionaly is a mortal sin and that if we know someone who may be disobeying Jesus it behooves us to inquire of them if they are all right and if necessary counsel them.

 

[yankeesouth]

Of course judgment of the heart is not up to us but we can and should judge actions. Jesus gave as a key mission to the Catholic Church the salvation of souls. The identification and condemnation of sin is necessary in carrying out that mission.

 

[DarkLight]

One obvious thing here is that missing Mass through error also doesn’t meet the criteria for mortal sin. I have done this before - being unaware that a Mass time was changed or cancelled when I had no option to attend a later Mass that day. Or as I think has happened to me once, attempting to attend Mass in a strange town and getting hopelessly lost and not actually making it.

 

[casslean]

I do believe it’s a mortal sin, provided all the elements are present. Fortunately I’ve never had to seek absolution for that particular one. I have lots of others though.

 

[fullmetalcatholic]

I think I know you…

 

[JimG]

I was taught from my earliest days that deliberately missing Mass on Sunday was a mortal sin. I was going to say that I was taught it from first grade forward in Catholic school, but it was taught even before that by my parents. Sunday means attending Mass, as do Holy Days of Obligation.

Now having been taught that from an early age, there could be no lack of knowledge, and there could only be lack of consent if someone kept me away from Mass against my will. So I’m not sure why we need to emphasize the other factors. Knowing something is a mortal sin and doing it anyway means it’s a mortal sin.