Is missing Mass really a Mortal Sin?

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Bezant said:
Technically, if you’re not seriously ill or weak, if you’re not a caretaker for someone who ordinarily can’t go to Mass, if you’re within reasonable distance of a church and the weather permits – the Church teaches it’s a grave sin to miss mass. Tiredness doesn’t count.

IMO the idea that someone who skips mass could POTENTIALLY be in the same state of hell as a murderer or a rapist sounds rather paranoid.

However, it’s important to attend church regularly, although it sounds we agree on that.

But if you miss one or two in months…don’t stress over it. All sins are called to be repented. That’s why God made the Sacrament of Penance.
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Dangerous advice and certainly not Eastern in any way.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Have you considered that its not just about being in Mass but also getting to Mass? One who is tired and sleepy and driving on the road is as bad as one who is driving drunk.
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And this is where aligning priorities comes in. Why would you be sleepy on a Sunday morning? Because you stayed out late at a party on Saturday? Because you had to work the midnight shift? Because your child was up all night crying? There are several reasons. And several ways of handling the issue. Obviously, coming home sooner from the party is a no brainier. Possibly swapping schedules to work the midnight shift on Sunday? A sick child may mean you can’t get to Mass anyway, because you won’t be able to bring the child out.

I suspect that the OPs situation doesn’t involve sick children or 3rd shift work, but merely the desire to sleep in occasionally after a late night.

To the OP, check you diocesan website for Mass times at nearby parishes. There are very likely Sunday Masses from 7 am Sunday morning to 5pm Sunday afternoon, and some Saturday evening. Even if you get up at noon, you will very probably still be able to get to a Mass.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
Now earlier I gave you a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Precepts of the Church. Not “throwing commandments” at you; this is right from the catechism, where most people will go to see what the Church teaches and why. Did it help?
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Even though the Commandments are also in the CCC.

**Part Three
Life In Christ
Section Two
The Ten Commandments
**
Chapter One
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”

Article 3
The Third Commandment

Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath

2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord’s Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.​

And to Lisa, I apologize if my replies were not helpful to you. I will try better in the future.

I would ask that you pray for me and know that I am praying for you.
 
Man, the misinterpretation on this thread amazes me! I never said the rule is silly, I said the REPLIES on this THREAD were silly!

But now I will say I do not htink missing mass** occasionally** is a mortal

sin. I failed to mention I do NOT have unlimites available mass times like alot of people do.

peace,
lisa
Debrah,thanks for listening.
 
Yes, it is a mortal sin. The Bible even tells us not to forsake meeting with each other which is a reference to attending Mass.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
(Hebrews 10:23-25 RSV)
 
lisahiku said:
You suspected wrong.
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Well, a little more information would have limited some of the “silly” replies. The answer is that we should go to Mass every Sunday. Illness, lack of the means to get there, and other serious impediement like the need to work, limit our obligation. Choice does not. The response about going to Mass because we WANT to is the best one.
 
lisahiku said:
Man, the misinterpretation on this thread amazes me! I never said the rule is silly, I said the REPLIES on this THREAD were silly!

But now I will say I do not htink missing mass** occasionally** is a mortal

sin. I failed to mention I do NOT have unlimites available mass times like alot of people do.

peace,
lisa
Debrah,thanks for listening.
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I’m sorry to be blunt, but you’re reacting like a troll.

If you ask a question, people assume you really would like to know the answer. Now, you may not agree with the responses, but missing mass for no good reason is a mortal sin and that is church teaching. You may not understand or agree with it, but it is what it is.

Calling people’s responses silly is just plain rude.
 
lisahiku said:
Man, the misinterpretation on this thread amazes me! I never said the rule is silly, I said the REPLIES on this THREAD were silly!

But now I will say I do not htink missing mass** occasionally** is a mortal

sin. I failed to mention I do NOT have unlimites available mass times like alot of people do.

peace,
lisa
Debrah,thanks for listening.
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If I kill someone, but only occasionally, is it really mortal sin? How about if I, during my 24 years married to my wife cheat on her only twice spread out within thise years and just a one night stand either time, I don’t think this occasional promiscuity is mortal sin, right.

Well what about taking things from my employer, but only when “they owe me”, that’s ok right?

We could go on but instead of pointing out how silly we are in our strict understanding of the truth, look into the reason why you would want to miss mass simply because you’re tired or cannot fit it in your schedule. It is all about love of God in all of these issues, especially mass. To know what mass is, heavenly worship, one will come to love being there, no matter how tired.

If you only give credence to the poster who lets you off the hook with an answer you can live with, what’s the point? When it’s all said and done it is mortal sin to miss mass, grave matter, by your free choice, and with full knowledge; even though you say you don’t believe it is, you wouldn’t be here If you truly didn’t already know for your self.
 
Gentleness and humility are wonderful virtues people… especially when dealing with those who struggle with religious teachings.

Looks like some of us around here have a very hard time with that.

As a result, it only ends up pushing people farther away from the love of Christ. 😦

Lisa, I recommend you counsel with a priest rather than relying on this forum to help you through your struggles.

God bless.
 
TrueLight said:
I’m sorry to be blunt, but you’re reacting like a troll.

If you ask a question, people assume you really would like to know the answer. Now, you may not agree with the responses, but missing mass for no good reason is a mortal sin and that is church teaching. You may not understand or agree with it, but it is what it is.

Calling people’s responses silly is just plain rude.
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I KNEW the answer…i wanted to know the reasoning behind it.
 
lisahiku said:
I KNEW the answer…i wanted to know the reasoning behind it.
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Do you mean that you were testing people’s reasoning capabilities and ability to come up with answers that were not “silly”?
 
With the authority to bind and loose, and with our best intentions in mind, Mother Church has included this precept as a means to protect our faith. Grace is coming through at every mass.👍

I hope that might help a little.🙂
 
no…please let me clarify.

I KNEW missing mass over and over is a Mortal sin.

I was not sure if missing mass OCCASSIONALY is a full mortal sin.
For reasons such as exhaustion , work related. I should also say I do not have many mass times available to me.

If you read thru ALL the responses, you can see people were just telling me “missing mass is a mortal sin, a sin against the 3rd commandment”.

BUT no one really addressed the issue about occasionnally missing mass.

I am sorry if my question offended people, which it obviusly did.
 
lisahiku said:
no…please let me clarify.

I KNEW missing mass over and over is a Mortal sin.

I was not sure if missing mass OCCASIONALLY is a full mortal sin.
For reasons such as exhaustion , work related. I should also say I do not have many mass times available to me.

If you read thru ALL the responses, you can see people were just telling me “missing mass is a mortal sin, a sin against the 3rd commandment”.

BUT no one really addressed the issue about occasionally missing mass.

I am sorry if my question offended people, which it obviously did.
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No, not the question - just the silly part.

Coincidentally, right before seeing this thread today, I asked the priest who is giving me instruction the same question. I told him I understand it is a mortal sin, but what if someone regularly attends mass maybe 3 or more times a week, but one day decides to sleep in because of exhaustion. Not illness, but just exhaustion.

If while sleeping, that person suffers a heart attack, why would that person’s soul be in grave danger?

He gave me similar answers to what was said here.

The Church does have the power to bind and loose. Better that we just agree it’s a mortal sin and try not to do it.

If someone were to die while in mortal sin and God chose to have mercy on his soul, so be it. Better we live our lives not according to what ifs and buts, but according to known teaching.
 
lisahiku said:
no…please let me clarify.

I KNEW missing mass over and over is a Mortal sin.

I was not sure if missing mass OCCASSIONALY is a full mortal sin.
For reasons such as exhaustion , work related. I should also say I do not have many mass times available to me.If you cannot make it because of work then yes that obligation can be dispenced.

If you read thru ALL the responses, you can see people were just telling me “missing mass is a mortal sin, a sin against the 3rd commandment”.This is what you asked, is it not?

BUT no one really addressed the issue about occasionnally missing mass.Everyone addressed this, it just happened to be a different answer than you wanted. here goes again, if you miss an OCCASSIONAL mass, for a reason like you described, with knowledge of grave matter and free will to make the descision, yes it is mortal sin and before that person should approach communion he should recieve the sacrament of reconciliation.

I am sorry if my question offended people, which it obviusly did.
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No offense untill you ignore all the points made. It caused the intent of your orriginal question to be doubted. You don’t seem genuine, sorry but that is only my opinion.

I just hope you would choose to discuss rather than disreguard.
 
Missing Mass on Sundays it is not automatically a mortal sin. You can miss Mass because none is available, you can miss mass because you are sick, you can miss Mass for a lot or reasons without committing mortal sin. The problem of the sinfulness has nothing to do with the frequency often vs. few times but it has to do with the reasons of why someone would miss it. For example a bed ridden person will not be able to attend Mass for years but that does not mean that the person is committing a sin; however, a person can miss Mass only once because he does not want to be late for a party and that becomes a sin.

You are talking about being tired, that could be a justification for not attending Mass but it depends a lot on the circumstances. If you are exhausted because you spent the night up taking care of someone sick and driving to Mass would endanger you or something else then you probably have quite a valid reason based on the cardinal virtue of prudence. However, if you are exhausted because you were out drinking all night then your priorities are wrong and you would put yourself in a sinful situation.

When in doubt go to confession, and if you think that you might have to miss Mass for a valid reason talk to your pastor if he can dispense you from the obligation.
 
Mrs_Sally said:
And this is where aligning priorities comes in. Why would you be sleepy on a Sunday morning? Because you stayed out late at a party on Saturday? Because you had to work the midnight shift? Because your child was up all night crying? There are several reasons. And several ways of handling the issue. Obviously, coming home sooner from the party is a no brainier. Possibly swapping schedules to work the midnight shift on Sunday? A sick child may mean you can’t get to Mass anyway, because you won’t be able to bring the child out.

I suspect that the OPs situation doesn’t involve sick children or 3rd shift work, but merely the desire to sleep in occasionally after a late night.

To the OP, check you diocesan website for Mass times at nearby parishes. There are very likely Sunday Masses from 7 am Sunday morning to 5pm Sunday afternoon, and some Saturday evening. Even if you get up at noon, you will very probably still be able to get to a Mass.
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Swapping work schedules is not always possible. Especially that other people aren’t exactly thrilled to take a late night or overnight shift.
 
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