Is missing mass on Sunday a mortal sin in every situation?

[cristyd]

I am an IT specialist and all the jobs that i had untill now were on shifts:day shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts. And i can’t change it since ussually the IT jobs, especially IT support like mine means 24/7 support. That is why there are Sunday or other Holidays when i just can’t go to the Church because i have to work. I even worked on Christmas Eve the whole night and then in the morning after the shift was over I went dirrectly to Church for the Christmas mass.
Is this really a mortal sin? I am thinking that there are other people like me: doctors, bus drivers, shop assistens, policemen and other people that provide us with heating, electricity, water etc.

 

[Melissa]

No, if it is not possible, it is not possible. (And before someone says it: there are some jobs in which you cannot simply “change your schedule” to allow for attendance at Mass and jeopardizing one’s job [by taking off when not allowed by the workplace] is neither prudent nor required.) You should, of course, make every effort to request a schedule that will allow attendance at a Mass on Sundays or (if workplace rules permit) trade with a co-worker for a different schedule that day. Reality is, however, that requesting Sundays off or Sunday start-times late enough in the day to accommodate Mass attendance does not mean getting those requests granted (nor is it always possible to find someone who will trade off).

 

[ChrisCrop]

My work schedule interferes with my mass attendance too. Some times it
is simply not possible to get to mass.

 

[3DOCTORS]

IMO, it is tragic how corporations have things set up that a person can’t practice their religion. I can understand doctors and transportation workers and so on, emergency personnel.

But if it’s just about not being flexible, I think the employers are wrong not to set the system up from the get-go so these situations don’t have to be. This happens to retail workers and all kinds of people, and I think it’s because employers either are cheap, or unwilling to “think outside the box” about such things.

OP, be assured I’m not in any way blaming you. I feel bad for you. Secularization has gotten a stranglehold on our society.

 

[sshek]

Most parish also have Sunday Mass on Saturday night or early evening for those that cannot be there in the morning. There are some parish also have late Sunday Mass that is around 4:00 to 5:00 pm and some time even 6:00 pm. Look around and you might be surprised.

God Bless
Steve

 

[kmuestwin]

Missing mass is not a sin when it is absolutely impossible for you to go. I would recommend making a list of churches and mass times in your area and trying to keep track of your options and adjust your mass times accordingly. Remember you can go to mass Saturday evening and it counts as your Sunday obligation.

Where I live there is a Sunday mass at 7:00 pm. I always use it as a backup for when I miss morning mass.

 

[Barbkw]

Saturday evening Mass attendance counts for Sunday worship. Attend on Saturday or ask your boss for flex time on Sunday to attend Mass and then work an hour later or earlier to make up time.

 

[cristyd]

I used to do this. Change the shift with people from other religions or other people. But in my company there are now mostly Catholics and nobody wants to change his Christmas or his weekends. Then my shift is 12 hours, from 7 to 7 day and night. So you can imagine that one shift until 7 in the morning then i go home and sleep and then in the evening at 7 again I am at work.Or a day shift from 7 to 7 and next morning at 7 again at work.Imagine 3-4 shifts like this and if you can do anything else during those days.

Also i don’t believe that my company is mean or doesn’t want to let me practice my religion. They need us there. The devices that we support are providing connectivity to a lot of institutions. If one device goes down a whole institution or more looses the connectivity and their activity is disrupted.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I am an IT specialist and all the jobs that i had untill now were on shifts:day shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts. And i can’t change it since ussually the IT jobs, especially IT support like mine means 24/7 support. That is why there are Sunday or other Holidays when i just can’t go to the Church because i have to work. I even worked on Christmas Eve the whole night and then in the morning after the shift was over I went dirrectly to Church for the Christmas mass.
Is this really a mortal sin? I am thinking that there are other people like me: doctors, bus drivers, shop assistens, policemen and other people that provide us with heating, electricity, water etc.

The Church does not expect the impossible. Since this is not sickness or emergency and you can somewhat forsee it, discuss it with your parish priest and ask for a dispensation if you think you cannot attend Mass. Tell him of your situation.

 

[Hiskid1973]

I think sometimes we can tend to be legalistic and forget that Jesus knows our situations…
Christ looks at our motivations and sees the attitude of the heart…Gathering together is meant for our good…We should be motivated to go out of our love for Him and not feel like it is and obligation…I haven’t been to church for months…I have heath problems stemming from a work accident…Every week my wife tells me all who miss me…My pastor even brought a recliner for me to be in when I come.He would come anytime I ask for communion or prayer…But I understand my situation, the Lord knows it too…I watch church on tv… I go to Baptist, Methodist and even Catholc masses on TV…I have praise and worship tapes and have many
great times of fellowship with the Lord with my arms lifted in praise and tears fr lowing down…

It’s all about your heart’s attitude and motives…

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Sounds like you need a law in US that we have in UK where you can opt out of working on Sundays.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Sounds like you need a law in US that we have in UK where you can opt out of working on Sundays.

Here in Canada they can’t force you to work for religious reasons. But given Mass isn’t the entire day, they may just schedule around a Mass, at least it gives you the chance to go to Mass.

Isn’t it discrimination if you are prevented from practicing your faith? But given how Americans seems to be averse to everything religious, I highly doubt they’d work around your religious worship schedule.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Isn’t it discrimination if you are prevented from practicing your faith?

It is here in the UK. Everyone can opt out of working Sunday. I may be mistaken but I don’t even think you have to prove that you’re a practising Christian; all you have to do is give your employer three months notice in writing.

In addition everyone is allowed up to three days off work per year in order to celebrate religious festivals.

Because I work in education most holy days of obligation here fall in vacations. There’s two that don’t Ss. Peter & Paul and All Saints. I work in a Catholic college and they don’t close for these two days. I don’t apply for these two days off. I don’t think it would go down well. There isn’t even a Mass in the college chapel on these days.

 

[cristyd]

It is here in the UK. Everyone can opt out of working Sunday. I may be mistaken but I don’t even think you have to prove that you’re a practising Christian; all you have to do is give your employer three months notice in writing.

In addition everyone is allowed up to three days off work per year in order to celebrate religious festivals.

Because I work in education most holy days of obligation here fall in vacations. There’s two that don’t Ss. Peter & Paul and All Saints. I work in a Catholic college and they don’t close for these two days. I don’t apply for these two days off. I don’t think it would go down well. There isn’t even a Mass in the college chapel on these days.

Guys I am not from America. I am somewhere in the middle of Europe. And i am glad that you have this possibility but I doubt that it can be applied to any kind of job. I doubt an emergency doctor can opt not to work on Sunday. Wouldn’t it be also discrimination for me not to work any Sunday while my colleagues work Sundays? Wouldn’t it be asking for special treatment when all my other colleagues are also Catholics. We are a Catholic country.Somebody has to do this jobs on special days also.

If everybody would opt not to work on Sunday then what would happen in the hospitals, police etc? Also we are speaking of discrimination but in case we wouldn’t have internet, water, electricity, public transport on Sunday we would call to complain. Somebody has to do this jobs on special days also.

I can’t give notice 3 moths in advance because it’s not 1 Sunday. It’s 2 weekends every moth.
I practice my religious as well as i can. I love going to Church and i go whenever i can. I go from pleasure and not obligation. I pray or read something religious on Sunday on my breaks when I’m in work.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Guys I am not from America. I am somewhere in the middle of Europe. And i am glad that you have this possibility but I doubt that it can be applied to any kind of job. I doubt an emergency doctor can opt not to work on Sunday.

There may be exceptions. I don’t know the law in detail because I’m not a lawyer.

Wouldn’t it be also discrimination for me not to work any Sunday while my colleagues work Sundays?

How can it be discrimination? They would have the same right as you to apply for this. If they opt not do so does not make it discrimination.

Wouldn’t it be asking for special treatment when all my other colleagues are also Catholics. We are a Catholic country.Somebody has to do this jobs on special days also.

Not special treatment if they have the same rights as you to apply for this.

If everybody would opt not to work on Sunday then what would happen in the hospitals, police etc? Also we are speaking of discrimination but in case we wouldn’t have internet, water, electricity, public transport on Sunday we would call to complain. Somebody has to do this jobs on special days also.

I am not saying that essential services should not be maintained. Nowadays Sundays are almost like weekdays in terms of people working. I can remember the time when most retail outlets were closed on Sundays. Now it is unusual to find a retail outlet closed on a Sunday. I believe essential services should be available but numerous people work on Sundays in non-essential services.

I can’t give notice 3 moths in advance because it’s not 1 Sunday. It’s 2 weekends every moth.

Perhaps I did not explain myself well: you don’t give three months notice to say that you do not want to work on a particular Sunday; you give three months notice to say that you do not want to work on Sundays, period.

I practice my religious as well as i can. I love going to Church and i go whenever i can. I go from pleasure and not obligation. I pray or read something religious on Sunday on my breaks when I’m in work.

I don’t believe any one has questioned your practice of the faith.

 

[cristyd]

I don’t believe any one has questioned your practice of the faith.

I didn’t say that I was just explaining my situation. I believe i work in a field where is it needed a 24/7 support as people expect our services 24/7 and not only expect it but they need it. And this is it. This is an agreed situation the moment you get hired, you are aware of it. That is why i was talking about special treatment. And you will not find very many IT jobs that doesn’t require it. I was trying to say that i am trying to make the best out of the situation. It is my career and i don’t want to change it. Not everybody in my company works 24/7, only the support.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

I didn’t say that I was just explaining my situation. I believe i work in a field where is it needed a 24/7 support as people expect our services 24/7 and not only expect it but they need it. And this is it. This is an agreed situation the moment you get hired, you are aware of it. That is why i was talking about special treatment. And you will not find very many IT jobs that doesn’t require it. I was trying to say that i am trying to make the best out of the situation. It is my career and i don’t want to change it. Not everybody in my company works 24/7, only the support.

Do you work 24/7 or are you on-call 24/7? I can’t see how anyone can sustain working 24/7 without getting ill. I can understand you being on-call 24/7 because I know IT systems can break down at anytime. I presume that you aren’t your organisation’s only IT technician and that this out-of-hours workload gets shared.

 

[corsair]

I have a friend who is a Deputy Sheriff and he hasn’t had the chance for Mass in several months due to shift work. Its a small Department with serious budget problems.

He really feels the pain of missing Mass but it can’t be helped. At least not at this point. Outlook for this year is better for him and his family.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

I have a friend who is a Deputy Sheriff and he hasn’t had the chance for Mass in several months due to shift work. Its a small Department with serious budget problems.

He really feels the pain of missing Mass but it can’t be helped. At least not at this point. Outlook for this year is better for him and his family.

Do you mean Sunday Mass or any Mass?

 

[Sir_Knight]

Your parish priest has the authority to assign another day during the week for you to attend Mass on. This should be done BEFORE and not after you have already missed mass.