Is missing Mass really a Mortal Sin?

[LovingMass]

thanks for all the condescending answers.

…

Condescending? I’m sorry if you are offended, but you did come to a Catholic forum and ask Catholic faithful for their opinion. I think most of us spoke the honest truth from our hearts in response to what we thought was an honest question. What other kind of answers were you seeking?

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Is missing Mass occasionally really a mortal sin? I have heard it is and can not understand why? To never go, yes. But to miss here and there, I don’t have a problem with it.

Hopefully this will help you to understand.

Missing Mass without a good reason is indeed a grave matter. It is specifically stated in the Catechism, it has been taught since the beginning of Catholicism itself, that one attended Mass on all Sundays and holydays of obligation.

Now: Suppose you miss Mass because you are traveling on a tour bus. The bus can’t stop; it has a deadline to meet. Even if you go past a Catholic Church on the way, you physically cannot stop to attend Mass. It is not a grave sin though because you really physically could not get there due to the nature of the bus trip.

Or suppose you are feeling ill. If you are ill enough to stay home from Mass, and then stay home from anything else, including going out to a friend’s, going shopping, going for a stroll, etc., because of feeling ill, again, it is not sinful.

Suppose you have a small child to care for, and it’s cold outside. As a prudent adult, you decide it will be healthier and safer for the child to stay at home, and not risk getting chilled, getting exposed to colds and flu, even getting into an accident traveling if a sudden snow squall or ice event comes through. That’s not sinful.

But. . .to wake up on a Sunday morning and think, "Oh, I am tired out from all the responsibilities of the last week. I had to go to work, I had to cook meals, I had to shop and clean. . .and now here is Mass coming up. . .I don’t WANT to get up now and stop my relaxing, and HAVE to go. I would rather just ‘love Jesus’ and not have to be ‘forced’ into going. Plus I’ll just be upset all through Mass and not paying attention. It’s just dumb’… . .

Now missing for those reasons is gravely wrong and sinful. You’re not ill, you don’t have a child to care for, you can physically get to Mass. . .and you SHOULD. Because Mass is your chance every week to participate WITH CHRIST in His ministry to others, to actually RECEIVE Him, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity; to be with Him at the cross, to hear His word, to celebrate and thank and praise Him in His own ‘place’. People throughout history have traveled hundreds of miles, sacrificed time and money, have begged, pleaded, and even DIED for the CHANCE to attend ONE Mass, because they knew how important Mass is to our souls.

So yes, to just ‘blow off’ the occasional Mass for selfish reasons of “I just don’t want to go” is gravely (mortally) sinful, despite how a person ‘feels’. “Feelings” are a very poor guide for the truth of any given action. Plenty of sinful things feel really GREAT and plenty of VIRTUES feel like a chore and a bore. . .but as a Catholic Christian you should be following Christ, right? Did He go around doing sinful things and avoiding doing good even it was wearying, boring, tiresome --even when He DIED for it?

Sure, Jesus understood how hard it is for us to be good, but you’ll notice He never forgave people with, "That’s all right, just keep on sinning and I’ll forgive you’.

He forgave those who were SORRY for their sins, NOT those who were NOT sorry. And He didn’t say, "You’re forgiven, do what you want’ but “You are forgiven, go and SIN NO MORE.”

Words to live by.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Funny, and similar to what I thought; however, I think the real issue is for the OP to truly appreciate what Mass is all about. When we understand and believe, our priorities align themselves and we do all we can to get to Mass because that’s what we want to do more than anything else on a Sunday morning…and we search for the opportunity to get to Mass on every other day of the week.

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.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

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.

I can only see this being a factor if there is only one very early morning Mass available. This is hardly ever the case.

One should plan for attending Mass though, so if the only Mass available is a very early morning one then they should make sure they are in bed earlier enough so as not to be this tired.

But again, in most places Masses are offered from Saturday Evening to Sunday Evening, I can not see how being tired would be a factor unless there is a medical condition and then there is no obligation due to the illness (if it is that bad).

 

[Tantum_ergo]

yes, i AM catholic.

I wish someone could explain WHY it is a mortal sin? If I miss mass I am not hurting anyone. Again, if I NEVER went to church, I could understand it, but occasionally miss because I am too tired…???

Yes, you are hurting someone. You are hurting God (yes, Jesus is God and man, as a man He can feel hurt.) You are hurting your relationship with God. The commandment (and it is a commandment, not a suggestion) to attend Mass is there precisely because it is important to your spiritual life --to your ETERNAL life.

Are you ‘too tired’ to do ANYTHING that Sunday? If you miss Mass, do you then go out later on, all ‘refreshed’, to shop or have fun? (Seriously if you are that ‘tired’, you should be going to a doctor and getting a checkup. Mostly a person isn’t really too ‘tired’ to go to Mass, but is using the normal feelings of morning sluggishness and exaggerating them as a ‘justification’ for not doing something.)

Would you occasionally skip feeding your child because you were too tired? Why not? Well, because you’re responsible for your child, because it would be a grave lack of parental care to not feed your child, who cannot fend for himself. No matter how tired you were, you’d haul yourself up and do what had to be done. . .so what makes Mass different?

 

[Debora123]

The answer is in the Ten Commandments

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

So if it is really that literal, then I suppose we are committing a mortal sin because most of us go on Sunday instead of Saturday.

(Sabbath = Saturday)

 

[LovingMass]

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.

That is absolutely something to consider. Fortunately, **most **of us have some choices of Mass times such as Saturday vigil, early Sunday, or later Sunday. Most (though admittedly not all) late-night jobs are either 3-11pm or 11pm-7am shifts, so if a person working such shifts really wanted to go to Mass, they would make it happen. There are long-haul truckers, health care workers, law enforcement officers, and other emergency responders who choose to make it a priority to go to Mass.

I DO know what an energy-siphoning schedule is like, and I know what I’ve missed by letting Sundays pile up into months and eventually years of absence from God’s temple. Neither you nor the original poster would probably let things go as far as I did, but my point is that I know how it can be.

As for me, I’m not a person who is going to think you are a sinful person for not attending Mass: that’s not my place to even consider, but I am going to think that you are missing out on something wonderful. I’m also saying that if a person has a hard time finding the drive to get to Mass, maybe the issue could be helped through prayer. Don’t you agree?

 

[Lapey]

So if it is really that literal, then I suppose we are committing a mortal sin because most of us go on Sunday instead of Saturday.

(Sabbath = Saturday)

So are you literally saying it is not a sin to miss our Sunday obligation? Or are you saying that Saturday is the “real” sabbath? Where is this thread heading…

 

[Lapey]

thanks for all the condescending answers.

As for whether I love god or love sleep more…you could say that about ANY sin!

so people who fornicate love Sex more than God.

Sorry Lisa, but does an answer contrary to the one you want always seem codescending?

And yes, you can say that about any sin…if you choose to sin instead of worship God as He asked us to, then yes, no matter what that sin is.

If I choose to cheat on my wife, I must look away from God, and towards the lust that is in my heart to partake in it, so yes I would love the sin more than God. Quite simple huh…

 

[Tantum_ergo]

So if it is really that literal, then I suppose we are committing a mortal sin because most of us go on Sunday instead of Saturday.

(Sabbath = Saturday)

On the off chance you aren’t being disingenous:
A. Scripture itself notes that Christians (followers of Christ) met not on the Sabbath but on Sunday, the day Christ was raised, AKA “The Lord’s Day”.
B. Since Christianity is rooted in Judaism (Christ Himself being a devout Jew) we can also follow Jewish understandings of a day. Jews start their day at sundown (that’s why their Sabbath starts Friday EVENING, not Saturday evening). Therefore, the “Lord’s Day” which has ‘replaced’ the Jewish Sabbath in the CHRISTIAN commandments can ‘lawfully’ start on the ‘sundown’ (more or less) of the day before. Therefore, Christians may worship from Saturday evening (usually about 4-5 p.m.) through until just before midnight on Sunday, and fulfill their worship obligation.

I wonder why some people are allergic to the idea of simple obedience. . .

 

[KCT]

so if I miss mass I don’t love god?

Wouldn’t you be offended if a friend blew you off to sleep in?

 

[Debora123]

So are you literally saying it is not a sin to miss our Sunday obligation? Or are you saying that Saturday is the “real” sabbath? Where is this thread heading…

I’m not saying either of those things. you won’t see me missing mass unless I have a legitimate reason to.

My comment was a joke, though to make a point.

I just saw the irony in someone using the 10 commandments to say that missing Sunday mass is a sin, when the Sabbath is actually a Saturday.

It’s just a pet peeve of mine when someone uses a written rule as a response to someone asking WHY doing something is a sin, that’s all. Surely there is a deeper reason other than “bc it says so in the 10 commandments,” especially when the 10 commandments refers to a Saturday.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Wouldn’t you be offended if a friend blew you off to sleep in?

In a way it’s a good question, but in a way it puts us on a level of ‘equality’, friend to friend.

Jesus is more than just our friend. He is our brother, our Savior, and. . .above all, Our Lord and God.

Our CREATOR.

We aren’t just saying to an ‘equal’ --hey, I’m tired and my rest is more important than doing something you asked me to do.

We aren’t just saying to an ‘employer’, hey, I’m tired, and my rest is more important than doing the job that I am obligated by contract to do.

We are saying to the Being who created us and EVERYTHING in the universe besides, “Hey, I’m tired, and MY WANTS–not even my NEEDS but my simple wants from my piddly ego- are more important than doing what you–my CREATOR–have commanded me to do.”

The chutzpah is astounding. . .

 

[Debora123]

On the off chance you aren’t being disingenous:
A. Scripture itself notes that Christians (followers of Christ) met not on the Sabbath but on Sunday, the day Christ was raised, AKA “The Lord’s Day”.
B. Since Christianity is rooted in Judaism (Christ Himself being a devout Jew) we can also follow Jewish understandings of a day. Jews start their day at sundown (that’s why their Sabbath starts Friday EVENING, not Saturday evening). Therefore, the “Lord’s Day” which has ‘replaced’ the Jewish Sabbath in the CHRISTIAN commandments can ‘lawfully’ start on the ‘sundown’ (more or less) of the day before. Therefore, Christians may worship from Saturday evening (usually about 4-5 p.m.) through until just before midnight on Sunday, and fulfill their worship obligation.

I wonder why some people are allergic to the idea of simple obedience. . .

Goooood grief.

Please see my post above.

Immediately I get accused to being disobedient. That’s the problem with this forum sometimes.

 

[Lapey]

I’m not saying either of those things. you won’t see me missing mass unless I have a legitimate reason to.

My comment was a joke, though to make a point.

I just saw the irony in someone using the 10 commandments to say that missing Sunday mass is a sin, when the Sabbath is actually a Saturday.

It’s just a pet peeve of mine when someone uses a written rule as a response to someone asking WHY doing something is a sin, that’s all. Surely there is a deeper reason other than “bc it says so in the 10 commandments,” especially when the 10 commandments refers to a Saturday.

I am sorry I missed that…but in truth, Saturday is the Jewish Sabboth, not the Christian one. So the ten commandments are intact in their weaning to keep holy the sabboth. Right?

 

[Debora123]

I am sorry I missed that…but in truth, Saturday is the Jewish Sabboth, not the Christian one. So the ten commandments are intact in their weaning to keep holy the sabboth. Right?

Right, I’m not trying to say the 10 commandments are wrong, just that they are not a very good way of explaining to someone WHY we should attend mass.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Goooood grief.

Please see my post above.

I just did. Obviously you completely missed the whole point I made.

YOU were carping “But the SABBATH IS SATURDAY, so bringing it up on SUNDAY obligation is STUPID.”

I was educating you regarding the FACT that the Church does not teach that Sunday ‘Is’ the Sabbath TO BEGIN WITH (which I guess you didn’t realize).

Sunday is the Christian day of worship. Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath. So your whole rant, so to speak, is on an idea that the Church never even taught. . . .

 

[Lapey]

Right, I’m not trying to say the 10 commandments are wrong, just that they are not a very good way of explaining to someone WHY we should attend mass.

Why not??? Breaking a commandment is a mortal sin if done with knowledge and with free will, right?

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Also, I never use the “10 commandments” myself as an argument for Sunday obligation because people DO get confused.

I use the PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH of which the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays is the FIRST PRECEPT.

See here from the catechism.
THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH

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 very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
[2042](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2042.htm’) The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor”) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days.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 receive the sacrament of the Eucharist 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](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/2043.htm’) The fourth precept (“You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.85
The fifth precept (“You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church”) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.86 The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities.87

 

[Debora123]

Sigh

Nevermind. Having a conversation with some of you can be quite impossible.

God Bless.