How old do you have to be to stop attending Mass?

[kbentley]

Is there an age when older folks are not obligated to attend Mass? My parents are 82 and 88, and they live in Florida. They do attend Mass almost every Sunday, but there are times when they just do not feel up to it. I think I read somewhere that after a certain age you are not obligated to attend Mass. Is this true?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

"kbentley:

I think I read somewhere that after a certain age you are not obligated to attend Mass. Is this true?

No. There is no upper-age limit on the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

My parents are 82 and 88, and they live in Florida. They do attend Mass almost every Sunday, but there are times when they just do not feel up to it.

What do you mean when you say your parents “just do not feel up to it”? If you are referring to a genuine illness or a weakness of body that physically inhibits them from going to Mass, then true illness and/or authentic physical frailty constitute just reason to miss Mass on Sundays/holy days. But if you are talking about the senior citizen’s version of the teenage whine, “I just don’t feeeeeel like it!” then no, that is not just reason to miss Mass.