Friend thinks Mass is a Waste of Time

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lisahiku

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My friend who is a catholic, skips mass often. I asked him if he was going to church this weekend and he said,“Nah,got better things to do with my time. Going to mass wastes my morning”.

How can I convince him that Mass is important?
 
Ask him if he believes in the Real Presence.

Then ask him if he thinks he would keep his girlfriend waiting for a pre-arranged date. When he says he surely won’t, ask him why it would then be okay to keep Christ waiting.
 
Sounds like he doesn’t understand what the mass is really about. How old is he?
 
lisahiku said:
How can I convince him that Mass is important?
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Before you can convince him that Mass is important to him, you need to convince (or at least show) him that Mass is important to you.

How is Mass not a waste of time for you? Find a way of sharing that with your friend. Help him to see that Mass is meaningful to you.
 
Mass is the only important thing that happens in the world each day. A miracle occurs at every Mass. That must mean that your friend doesn’t think miracles are worth his time.

If he doesn’t have time for God, he can’t expect that God will have time for him at the end of life. Maybe he thinks he’ll live forever.

The only thing you can do is to live the Faith; be a role model. Know your faith. Be able to defend it.
 
Jim_Dandy said:
That must mean that your friend doesn’t think miracles are worth his time. If he doesn’t have time for God, he can’t expect that God will have time for him at the end of life. Maybe he thinks he’ll live forever.
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I don’t think this sort of attitude helps. We don’t know the OP, and we don’t know the OP’s friend. Let’s not make wild assumptions. Instead of going on the attack (“You must not think miracles are worth your time. You must not have time for God. You must think you’ll live forever.”) we should instead give a reason for the hope that is within us.
 
From a Catholic Truth Publications leaflet:

THE VALUE OF HOLY MASS

At the Hour of death the Mases you have heard will be your greatest consolation.

Every Mass will go with you to judement and plead for pardon.

At every Mass you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins, more or less according to your fervor.

Assisting devoutly at Mass, you render to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord the greatest homage.

He supplies for many of your negligences and omissions.

He forgives you all the venial sins which you are determined to avoid.

He forgives you all your unknown sins which you never confessed.

The power of Satan over you is diminished.

You afford the souls in Purgatory the greatest possible relief.

One Mass, heard furing your life, will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death.

You are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which would otherwise have befallen you.

You shorten your Purgatory by every Mass.

Every Mass wins for you a higher degree of glory in Heaven. You receive the Priest’s
blessing which Our Lord ratifies in Heaven.

You kneel amidst a multitude of holy Angels, who are present at the adorable sacrifice with reverential awe.

You are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.

When we hear Mass and offer the Holy Sacrifice in honor of any particular Saint or Angel, thank God for the favor He bestowed on him, etc., we afford him a new degree of honor, joy and happiness and draw his special love and protection on us.

Everytime we assist at Mass we should, besides the other intentions, offer it in honor of the Saint of the day.

Imprimatur:
+John J. Glennond
Archbishop, St. Louis, 1909
​

Try getting him to go to a Mass in the EF for a few months, see if that helps.
 
Japhy is giving you good advice. Show him the reason for the hope that is in you. Show him with actions why Mass is the most important thing you do all week.

I go to daily Mass. My CCD teenagers were amazed and wanted to know why. I told them that God was calling me to be there with him. Where else can we go worship God in such a perfect way, and end up by receiving Him into our very selves?

Keep it positive, not accusatory. He may not yet have your faith, or your belief in the Real presence, or your understanding of Catholic teaching. The only thing he has is you, modeling Christian discipleship. Be that model, positive and firm in your faith.
 
GwenL said:
Keep it positive, not accusatory. He may not yet have your faith, or your belief in the Real presence, or your understanding of Catholic teaching. The only thing he has is you, modeling Christian discipleship. Be that model, positive and firm in your faith.
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Amen! 👍
 
Why should I encourage teh EF mass? It is no BETTER than the ordinary form.
 
it sounds like your friend doesn’t understand the Catholic faith fully or is going through a dry spell that happens to so many of us at that age.

it is easy to say we have better things to do and once you say it once, it is easy to say it the second time and the third time and before you know it, you haven’t been to Mass for months. faith is something that you have to practice daily. it sounds like he is distracted by other things and doesn’t realize the importance of the Mass or the Eucharist. do you by any chance have Perpetual Adoration at your parish? if so, perhaps you can talk him into joining you during an hour of Adoration once or twice a week. he must learn that we need to focus on Christ every hour of each day - not just Sunday.
perhaps he is struggling with issues of Catholic teaching that he does not agree with.
maybe you can talk him into making an appointment to talk to the priest.
good luck and i hope that your friend will one day find the beauty in the Mass and how important it is to go.
 
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