Is missing Mass on Sunday no longer a mortal sin?

[sistermouse]

Missing Mass without a good excuse, like being sick, being a caregiver to a sick person, work schedule that can’t be changed, etc. is still a mortal sin, isn’t it?? A friend, in a RCIA class, was told it wasn’t a mortal sin!! Have they changed the rules of the game while I was away??

 

[Burdensome1]

Missing Mass without a serious reason is still a serious matter. Always was, always will be. For any serious sin to be mortal, you have to know it is serious and you have to definitely choose to do it (as opposed to missing Mass because you accidentally forgot the time, or something).

 

[Faithdancer]

Missing Mass without a good excuse, like being sick, being a caregiver to a sick person, work schedule that can’t be changed, etc. is still a mortal sin, isn’t it?? A friend, in a RCIA class, was told it wasn’t a mortal sin!! Have they changed the rules of the game while I was away??

Missing Mass for anything other than a compelling reason is a mortal sin, absolutely. Unfortunately there are many Catholics who think its okay to bend the rules on this and other matters such as voting for an anti-life candidate, supporting gay “marriage,” etc. etc.

 

[Saints_Alive]

Then there is that Commandment…

"Remember to keep holy the Lord’s day "

 

[R_C]

It is, and ever shall be. Nobody can understand what Holy Mass on the Lord’s Day truly is, at least not in this present life.

As for RCIA, I pray to God from the depths of my heart that Holy Church does something very bold about it, because it is definitely needed.

 

[Georgia]

So few people seem to believe intentionally missing Mass is a big deal anymore, but it most certainly is. If most Catholics believed it to be a mortal sin, attendance would be pretty much the same no matter the holy day.

I would guess most in my area who consider themselves Catholic are doing other things on most Sundays. On Christmas Eve, we have a double schedule with Mass running at the church and in a high school gym each time at 4:00 pm, 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm. If you aren’t at there an hour early, you are asking for trouble. It will be SRO pretty quickly. It’s the same for the adjacent parishes too. Well, you have to wonder why that is never an issue other weekends and holy days.

 

[katcecelia]

The reason it is a mortal sin is

1. We are commanded by God to keep the Lord’s day holy
2. We are placing something (whatever we miss mass for) above God (idolotry)
3. We are commanded by Jesus to participate in the Eucharistic celebration - “Do this in memory of me”
4. We miss out on the graces, which are the life of our spirit and relationship with God

None of this has ever changed since day one of the Church

It is a sad state that our churches are empty most Sundays, although I see more people at mass now than when I was growing up in the 80s. My older sister is married to an atheist and so struggles to get herself and their three children to mass each week, but she makes it a priority and succeeds in attending more often than not. My younger sister, who is married to a lukewarm convert, is lucky to get herself to mass on Christmas and Easter. She also has three kids, 5 years apart, so they have used having a poorly behaved child as an excuse. We have been praying for them, and it seems my brother in law finally got the message and is going to make an effort to get them all to mass each week. Here’s praying in hope

 

[catholictiger]

yes missing mass on sunday for no good reason is a mortal sin

also if you have something that prevents you from going to sunday mass at all you need to reconsider your priorities and try to fix your schedule to include mass. Missing one time with a legit reason isn’t bad, missing every week for the same reason isn’t good.

 

[MissRose73]

It is a mortal sin. But so many people do not realize that it is. I would say you are not committing a mortal sin if you miss due to caring for infants, a sick family member, if you are ill yourself, your employer refuses to give some time off to go to Mass (Saturday evening or Sunday morning), or your car breaks down with no alternate means of transport available to you as examples. Simply not going because you don’t wish to is sinful, and I’ve repented that sin from my past as I had my times of being away.

 

[thistle]

Missing Mass without a good excuse, like being sick, being a caregiver to a sick person, work schedule that can’t be changed, etc. is still a mortal sin, isn’t it?? A friend, in a RCIA class, was told it wasn’t a mortal sin!! Have they changed the rules of the game while I was away??

Deliberately missing Mass without good reason is a sin of grave matter. It is only a mortal sin if the person knows it is a sin of grave matter and decides to skip Mass anyway.

 

[odile53]

Actually, missing Mass on a Sunday as long as there is a valid and serious reason for missing is not a sin at all. In addition to personal illness, taking care of a dependent when you can’t find someone to cover for you, there are also such things as transportation issues and severe weather, particularly if the weather would pose a grave danger to driving. I once confessed being unable to get to Mass because of a heavy snowstorm, and was told by the priest that the Church does not expect its members to endanger themselves to attend Mass on Sundays.

But yes, missing Mass because there is an activity you’d prefer to do instead is a mortal sin.

 

[1ke]

Missing Mass without a good excuse, like being sick, being a caregiver to a sick person, work schedule that can’t be changed, etc. is still a mortal sin, isn’t it?? A friend, in a RCIA class, was told it wasn’t a mortal sin!! Have they changed the rules of the game while I was away??

This is quite serious. Your friend needs to bring the grievous error to the attention of the parish priest. People need to be taught the truth regarding their sacred obligations.

 

[Catholic_Wife]

Missing Mass without a good excuse, like being sick, being a caregiver to a sick person, work schedule that can’t be changed, etc. is still a mortal sin, isn’t it?? A friend, in a RCIA class, was told it wasn’t a mortal sin!! Have they changed the rules of the game while I was away??

Missing Mass without a good reason IS a mortal sin.

Your friend in RCIA was told correctly if they were told that missing Mass because of things beyond their control (such as being sick, being a caregiver when no one else is available, a work schedule that cannot be changed) is NOT a mortal sin - but you should get clarification from your priest.

If I’m truly sick, I’m going to stay home rather than infect my entire parish by going to Mass. I am a paramedic, and there has been more than one occasion when I worked a 24-hour shift on Saturday (can’t go to Mass) and then be held over on Sunday because someone called in sick (can’t go to Mass), or I have been obligated to work during the day on both Saturday and Sunday (7am-7pm) and can’t find coverage for a couple of hours so I can go to Mass. In those situations, I talk to my priest about a dispensation. What can he say? That I should call in for one of those days, risking my job? That I should quit my job altogether, even though jobs in the medical field are also somewhat difficult to come by?

 

[Joannm]

Perhaps the RCIA person was telling the candidate that since they are not yet Catholic it is not a mortal sin for them yet since they have not fully embraced the faith. But they should have been encouraged to attend weekly in preparation for their baptism.

 

[Petergee]

Missing Mass without a serious reason is still a serious matter. Always was, always will be.

No the most you can say is that it probably always will be. This is a law of the Church which could in theory be changed. Many people claim it HAS been changed in the past 50 years. It has not.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Perhaps the RCIA person was telling the candidate that since they are not yet Catholic it is not a mortal sin for them yet since they have not fully embraced the faith. But they should have been encouraged to attend weekly in preparation for their baptism.

This is very likely what happened. In RCIA while people begin to adjust their minds and schedules to being Catholic, they are encouraged to attend Mass every Sunday, but are not obligated.

We have had several threads here at CAF of folks in RCIA who are travelling for holidays, family events, etc atare concerened that they will not be able to make Mass. While we encourage them, we also tell them that it is not yet a sin *for them *to miss Mass.

To the OP, I suggest you talk to your friend again and clarify (for you and for him) exactly what was said. If it is just that the instructors were reassuring those travelling to family for Thanksgiving or Christmas that they do not (yet) need to figure out how to get to a Mass when their family will want to attend a different service, then all is well.

If the instructors were saying that after reception into the Church they still don’t need to worry about making Mass each week, then there is a very BIG problem that the pastor of that parish needs to correct with the RCIA instructors and the class.

 

[pageois]

Missing Mass for anything other than a compelling reason is a mortal sin, absolutely. Unfortunately there are many Catholics who think its okay to bend the rules on this and other matters such as voting for an anti-life candidate, supporting gay “marriage,” etc. etc.

Yes, not to mention those who also bend the rules by voting for a candidate who opposes health care for the poor. Or a candidate who resists policies designed to help people who are like Mary, Joseph and Jesus as they fled Herod’s persecution - refugees. Or a candidate who opposes tax reforms which makes society more equitable by reducing the gap between rich and poor. Or a candidate who seems to believe that life ends at birth by opposing abortion but supporting the killing of prisoners. Or a candidate who supports laws which take away the voting power of the poor and disadvantaged so that the rich and powerful can regain electoral victory. Or a candidate who opposes even the smallest raise in the minimum hourly rate of pay for the poorest workers.

Yes, unfortunately there are increasing numbers of Catholics who bend the rules by voting for candidates who eschew the central message of the Gospels.

And Jesus weeps.

 

[pageois]

Missing Mass without a good reason IS a mortal sin.

Your friend in RCIA was told correctly if they were told that missing Mass because of things beyond their control (such as being sick, being a caregiver when no one else is available, a work schedule that cannot be changed) is NOT a mortal sin - but you should get clarification from your priest.

If I’m truly sick, I’m going to stay home rather than infect my entire parish by going to Mass. I am a paramedic, and there has been more than one occasion when I worked a 24-hour shift on Saturday (can’t go to Mass) and then be held over on Sunday because someone called in sick (can’t go to Mass), or I have been obligated to work during the day on both Saturday and Sunday (7am-7pm) and can’t find coverage for a couple of hours so I can go to Mass. In those situations, I talk to my priest about a dispensation. What can he say? That I should call in for one of those days, risking my job? That I should quit my job altogether, even though jobs in the medical field are also somewhat difficult to come by?

Tell your friend that God judges if someone commits a mortal sin or not, not other men. He knows what is in your heart. Not other men. Jesus said that when you pray, do so in private (‘Go to your room and close the door and pray to your father in Heaven who is unseen etc’). His message was that you don’t have to go through another human to speak to God. Which is why the Jewish religious authorities hated him so much. He threatened their self-proclaimed monopoly on access to God.

Some things apparently haven’t changed.