Going to church on Sunday

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AlessandraRose

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I am in a bind. I cannot afford to go to Sunday Mass right now.
I live in the middle of the bible belt with Baptist Churches everywhere and the only catholic church is 15 mile away. It may not seem far but we are on a strict budget due to gas prices. DH works and I am a FT grad student. He fills both cars with gas and then we have 50.00 left over a week for food and personal products. I called the church and there is no one who lives out where I am; as most members are from the military base on the other side of the county.
No city transit either.
I will be getting my grad money in mid June but I am worried about the next for weeks.
Any suggestions? Or should I just not go?
 
I apologize if my suggestion might sound crass or stupid but I just thought of it. What about an old bicycle? I see posts from a lot of people with similar problems. When I read your email I started to think that if you really want you could walk but it is about 15 min/mile and so going two ways takes too long. With a bike you should cover 15 miles in one hour without pushing it, maybe that could be a solution.
 
AlessandraRose said:
I am in a bind. I cannot afford to go to Sunday Mass right now.
I live in the middle of the bible belt with Baptist Churches everywhere and the only catholic church is 15 mile away. It may not seem far but we are on a strict budget due to gas prices. DH works and I am a FT grad student. He fills both cars with gas and then we have 50.00 left over a week for food and personal products. I called the church and there is no one who lives out where I am; as most members are from the military base on the other side of the county.
No city transit either.
I will be getting my grad money in mid June but I am worried about the next for weeks.
Any suggestions? Or should I just not go?
Click to expand...
The other possibility would be since you have to convert that other 50.00 into food somehow. Go grocery shopping on late Saturday afternoon/evening either before or after Mass.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
The other possibility would be since you have to convert that other 50.00 into food somehow. Go grocery shopping on late Saturday afternoon/evening either before or after Mass.
Click to expand...
Great idea. What about also using only one car during the week? Do you live near school so you could walk/ride a bike? It might be well worth your money to get rid of one car if this is a possibility because it would free up some money being spent on car insurance. I do understand if this isn’t a possibility - we have five vehicles and four drivers in our house, we all go different directions so sharing a vehicle is out of the question and there is no such thing as Mass Transit in this city without driving to get to a Park-n-Ride (and that is new). Our fifth vehicle is a 23 yo truck that is used maybe three or four times in the year but my husband refuses to get rid of it because he needs something to haul things in (like people he knows who can’t manage to pay for their rent regularly so they get kicked out often and “live on the street” but need someplace to store what little they have, yep, I live in a nice suburb and my truck is sitting in our side yard full of this guys stuff!)

Brenda V.
 
If you **cannot **go, there is no obligation.

Some good suggestions have been given regarding errands in conjunction with Mass, using one car, etc. But, they may not be options for you.

No one here can tell you what is possible or not possible for you.

Call your priest and discuss this with him.
 
The best option would be to contact your parish - they could probably locate fellow parishioners for you who live near you who may be willing to give you a lift.

Offer to pay your share of the petrol costs if you end up getting a lift.
 
Speak with your Priest.

He may know that there IS a Church Van that will give you a ride, or, agree that there is no way on earth you can come up with an extra $6.50 per week (cost for a car that gets 20 MPG and gas is $4 per gallon) and give you dispensation.

If it were me, I’d skip lunch for a day or two during the week and use that $6.50 for gas to get to Mass.
 
I’m sorry there is no one for you to carpool with. Call your pastor and ask for advice. Maybe some good soul will come pick you up, if they know.

Also, mid-June is four or five weeks. Can you borrow the money from someone?

Good luck!
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
The other possibility would be since you have to convert that other 50.00 into food somehow. Go grocery shopping on late Saturday afternoon/evening either before or after Mass.
Click to expand...
That is a really good idea! But we dont shop in the city the church is in as it is too far for 50.00 worth of food.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I will not attend this week but i will try to save 10.00 out of the food money next week. (bi weely pay)
🤷
 
1ke said:
If you **cannot **go, there is no obligation.

Some good suggestions have been given regarding errands in conjunction with Mass, using one car, etc. But, they may not be options for you.

No one here can tell you what is possible or not possible for you.

Call your priest and discuss this with him.
Click to expand...
Already done! Thanks!
 
You might be able to cut some $$ off the grocery bill by using Angel Food Ministries. A google search will show you what is nearby.
 
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