Is it a mortal sin to miss Mass because your mother started making dinner late?

[Tantum_ergo]

Yes. Do YOU get the fact that I probably go to mass as much as you? That I’m not a “troll” as someone charmingly put it, but that I’m just a dude who tries his best to be a good catholic. You and I might differ about wether or not it’s a “Mortal sin” to miss mass-we do differ. But we’re probably alot more similar than what you think.

Rascal. . .it’s true, all of us here I think are trying hard to be good Catholics.

But Rascal, why DON’T you think missing Mass is that important?

Did you know it’s important enough to be a precept of the Church, and mentioned in the Catechism as the First of the Five?

2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
2042 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”) requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.[82]
The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.[83]
The third precept (“You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.”) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.[84] 2043 The fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.”) completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.[85]
The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.[86]
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.[87]

---

“Requires the faithful to attend” is pretty strong language. It isn’t ‘recommended’, or ‘optional’, or even 'highly desirable"; it’s REQUIRED.

It seems as if it’s pretty important to Christian life.
As important as fast and abstinence. . .which we are very aware of right now in Lent.
Not because God would ‘frown’ at us chomping corn-fed beef this Friday because “beef is evil” (it’s not!) but because the legitimate authority He instituted has chosen to REQUIRE this OBEDIENCE from us as an important, a grave, OBLIGATION and RESPONSIBILITY.

You’re a reasonable person, Rascal. You may still feel that the thing itself is not ‘a big deal’ but you know that is your opinion based on a lot of subjective personal factors. . .and I think that in the case where your ‘opinion’ differs from the Church’s authority to teach, you would ( against your own personal ‘inclination’) abide with the Church. . .

 

[Rascalking]

Rascal. . .it’s true, all of us here I think are trying hard to be good Catholics.

But Rascal, why DON’T you think missing Mass is that important?

.

You’re a reasonable person, Rascal. You may still feel that the thing itself is not ‘a big deal’ but you know that is your opinion based on a lot of subjective personal factors. . .and I think that in the case where your ‘opinion’ differs from the Church’s authority to teach, you would ( against your own personal ‘inclination’) abide with the Church. . .

One, thanks for the kind words.

Ok, I think that’s where were there is a lack of communication. I don’t think its “no big deal” to miss mass. I think it is a big deal. I do NOT think it’s a mortal sin (in particular when there are mitigating circumstances.) I do NOT think it’s the moral equivelent to pre-meditated homicide. I think sayings like that make Catholics look bizzare at best, disturbed at worst. And yes-it does matter what other people think of us. I want more souls in this Church-people will be turned off if they hear rubbish like that.

 

[Amnagrla]

lol as a newbie here, I couldn’t stop reading this. Interesting stuff…

 

[Rascalking]

lol as a newbie here, I couldn’t stop reading this. Interesting stuff…

Well, I hope your aware now that I’m not a troll, most people here are decent, and these forums would be quite dull if we all agreed on everything.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

One, thanks for the kind words.

Ok, I think that’s where were there is a lack of communication. I don’t think its “no big deal” to miss mass. I think it is a big deal. I do NOT think it’s a mortal sin (in particular when there are mitigating circumstances.) I do NOT think it’s the moral equivelent to pre-meditated homicide. I think sayings like that make Catholics look bizzare at best, disturbed at worst. And yes-it does matter what other people think of us. I want more souls in this Church-people will be turned off if they hear rubbish like that.

You’re welcome.

It is of course not a mortal sin if all 3 conditions are not met. It is grave matter (there’s the catechism for proof, remember people are REQUIRED to attend in order to meet the MINIMUM responsibilities for their faith). . .but it is not required if there are reasons one CANNOT attend, whether it is illness, care for children/elderly/ill, traveling, weather conditions, etc.

Now here’s the thing. . .mortal sin is mortal sin. I guess it’s human nature to want to ‘rank’ things, I mean most of us think that ‘murder’ is worse than ‘theft’, that abortion is worse than fornication, that stealing $100 is worse than stealing $10.

But when it comes to saying that the mortal sin of missing Mass (and as you said, if it is known and accepted by the person that it is grave matter, he has full knowledge and he freely and deliberately doesn’t go, this you will acknowledge by definition is mortal sin, yes?) is not as ‘bad’ as the mortal sin of murder, you have made I believe a common error in logic.

Because the actions (murder, missing Mass) SEEM to be so different, the one involving killing a person and the other seeming just like a simple ‘not attending a function’, you have forgotten that the commonality they share --they are both MORTAL SINS (given the situation I outlined in the previous paragraph).

Because they are BOTH mortal sins, they both cause the same REACTION. That is, they KILL our relationship with God. Yes, even simply ‘not attending a function’ (if all three requirements for mortal sin are met) has the same reaction of killing our relationship with God as murder does.

Can a relationship that is ‘killed’ be somehow ‘more dead’ by the way it is killed?

If I kill one person by poison and another by a gun, is the person with the poison not quite so dead? Is the one with a gun 'deader"?

How about if I kill a person by injecting a vein with air? It’s actually causing heart failure and it looks like and feels like death by heart failure as opposed to the retching and agony of poison and the impact of a bullet on bone and blood and sinew. . . Is that person less dead?

No, it doesn’t matter if I kill you by having you eat cupcakes until you go into a diabetic coma or aspirate by vomiting (delicious death so to speak). . you’re as dead as if I did ye old English ‘draw-and-quartering’ even though you ‘suffered’ much less in dying. You’re still just as dead. The end result of death is the same no matter how you ‘came about dying.’

The mortal sin of missing Mass kills your relationship with God just as much as if you had murdered, had engaged in adultery, had lied and caused another person to be sent to prison for life, etc.

It is the end RESULT (the killing of the relationship) which is the crux (so to speak) of the matter.

We need to stop the habit of ‘graduating sins’ or thinking that one mortal sin is ‘worse’ than another. All mortal sins are equal in their action of killing our relationship with God. Unrepented mortal sin will separate us from God eternally. That’s what we need to focus on.

I hope that in shining the focus where it needs to be --on what HAPPENS due to a mortal sin as opposed to all the different ways we can sin mortally, some of which ‘appear’ to be ‘worse’ than others but all of which have exactly the same end result of killing our relationship–neither killing it ‘more’ nor ‘less’ than another mortal sin–will make it clear that yes, any mortal sin whether it looks more ‘serious’ than another or not is EQUALLY mortal in the effect it has on our relationship with God.

Just as whether I were to kill you with kindness and cupcakes or with a chainsaw would have the end result of having you ‘just as dead’ either way.

Not that I would ever kill ANYBODY!

 

[Rascalking]

Now here’s the thing. . .mortal sin is mortal sin. I guess it’s human nature to want to ‘rank’ things, I mean most of us think that ‘murder’ is worse than ‘theft’, that abortion is worse than fornication, that stealing $100 is worse than stealing $10.
!

And that’s is where we disagree.I believe those sins are different and ranked by a sane and just God. Now, I’m not going to change your mind, your not going to change mine. I think your wrong, you think I’m wrong. We can run around in circles for hourse and nothing will change. I’ll still think your wrong, you’ll still think I’m wrong.

Now let’s just move on to arguing about other stuff.

Actually, let me edit this-I’ll argue some more tommorow. I’m going to bed now.

 

[Amnagrla]

Well, I hope your aware now that I’m not a troll, most people here are decent, and these forums would be quite dull if we all agreed on everything.

haha yes. I know this is dorky and not at all the same as CAF but I used to be on a tropical fish forum… (laugh now) for my fish-keeping hobby. So that experience taught me exactly what you said!

 

[Tantum_ergo]

And that’s is where we disagree.I believe those sins are different and ranked by a sane and just God. Now, I’m not going to change your mind, your not going to change mine. I think your wrong, you think I’m wrong. We can run around in circles for hourse and nothing will change. I’ll still think your wrong, you’ll still think I’m wrong.

Now let’s just move on to arguing about other stuff.

Ok.

 

[SwizzleStick]

…Did you know it’s important enough to be a precept of the Church, and mentioned in the Catechism as the First of the Five?

2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
2042 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”) requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.[82] "…

This is absolutely correct. In support of your comments, I offer excerpts from commentary from Archbishop Carlson from the “St. Louis Review,” our local Catholic newspaper.

"…Too many Catholics ignore their solemn obligation to attend Mass every Sunday. Parents who fail to bring their children to Mass on the Lord’s Day sin twice — by failing in their Sunday obligation and by being a source of scandal for their children.

“This is a serious problem for individuals, families, parish communities and for the whole Church. Sunday Mass is not optional. It is an essential requirement for all of us, and unless we have a serious reason, there is simply no excuse for missing Mass on the Lord’s Day. If through your own fault you miss Mass on Sunday, you are committing a serious sin. You should not receive holy Communion until you have gone to confession.”

The First Precept (law or commandment) of the Catholic Church is to attend Mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation and to keep the Lord’s Day holy by avoiding work or other activities that could prevent us from recognizing the sacredness of this time. …
…
Mass attendance is not the only requirement for being a good Catholic, but it is the first and most basic precept or law of the Church. This First Precept makes it clear that attendance at Mass on Sundays, keeping the Lord’s Day holy, is not an option or an ideal. It is a basic requirement. If we follow this precept faithfully, God’s blessings will sustain us in our efforts to live our faith more fully. - Archbishop Robert Carlson"

Source: stlouisreview.com/article/2011-03-02/cross-go-mass-sunday

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Missing Mass for a heart attack isn’t the same as missing Mass to eat supper. The Catechism permits people to miss Mass on Sunday if they’re too sick. Obviously, a heart attack qualifies under that.

And with that said,

DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!

checks Love Divine’s post count

checks Rascalking’s post count

fondly remembers some of Rascalking’s over the past couple years

Oh, yes. Rascalking is such a troll.