Is missing Mass really a Mortal Sin?

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Jeremiah1 said:
Does the Church really equate intentionally missing Mass on Sunday with murdering a person, cheating a senior out of his life savings, or sexually abusing young boys?

If so, I think that there will be many pretty good Catholics in hell.

I’m sure that all have noticed that 99% of the people at Mass receive communion these days. Is it believed that all of these people have met their Easter duty, or have been to confession since the last time that they skipped Mass?

I can find support for the sinfulness of murder, theft and sexual abuse in the Commandments and in the Gospels, but I see nothing about attending Mass.

The Church has flipped its position on sinfullness so many times in history, from eating meat on Friday to practicing usery, that I think that Catholics are justified in viewing current Church positions with skepticism.
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You list yourself as Catholic. Uh-huh.

:rolleyes::dts:

Everything you’ve written is in error.
 
MissRose73 said:
**I think its a mortal sin if you miss Sunday Mass and do so intentionally. **

If you are ill and/or injured, have no means to make to Mass in terms of any form of transport, or required to work by your employer with no time to attend Mass as a few examples then you are not committing a sin because its no fault of your own.

I had to miss Mass during a vacation recently because I had no way to find a Catholic church and arrange transport to it in an unfamiliar location to attend Mass. I had to miss Mass for a 2nd weekend in a row because I was too ill to drive myself once I was at home, and certain I would disturb others with my constant coughing so I did the charitable thing, and stayed home to recover.
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You don’t need to think that it is true, it IS true. It is our obligation as Catholics to get to Mass once a week, even if we cannot receive the Eucharist (unconfessed sin). If we are traveling or sick, or caring for someone who is sick, those are just about the only exceptions I can think of. Otherwise, GET TO MASS!

🙂
 
There is a huge distinction between saying “X, Y, or Z is an objective mortal sin,” and “So-and-so is going to hell because he or she did X, Y or Z.”

The Church has the authority to teach and define what is sinful and what is not, but does not ever claim to know that anybody is in hell. Not ever.

Get it?

Is missing mass on Sunday equivalent to murdering someone? Of course not. Is it still defined, rightly, by the Church as a mortal sin? Yes. Varying kinds of mortal sins don’t have to be of equal “horribleness” to be in the same category of serious/mortal sins.
 
The funny thing to me is when people act like they are doing God a favor by going to mass. Of course, we do offer something, which is our praise of God, but he really is doing everything for us!

Think of it -

-we’re pardoned of our sins through the prayers at mass at the beginning (except for mortal/serious sins, which require confession - see St. John in the NT on this)
-we get to ask God to give us all the things we need
-we get to receive into our actual bodies and souls the very body and blood of our God himself!!!
-we receive a blessing from the priest at the end that confers actual graces into our souls and hearts and minds
-we unite our prayers to the Blessed Mother and all the saints
-we grow strengthened in community with our fellow Catholic Christians
-we offer the Sacrifice of Christ, renewed on the altar, for all of our needs, and we participate in his offering to the Father, which is the most perfect and acceptable offering we can possibly make to God, who is our Creator, Father, giver of all gifts, and final destination…

Need I say more? This is why so many millions of Catholics - including many young ones - go to mass every day because they choose to. It’s like going to a party where the host keeps pushing armloads of gifts onto you.
 
Leon_Bloy said:
There is a huge distinction between saying “X, Y, or Z is an objective mortal sin,” and “So-and-so is going to hell because he or she did X, Y or Z.”

The Church has the authority to teach and define what is sinful and what is not, but does not ever claim to know that anybody is in hell. Not ever.

Get it?

Is missing mass on Sunday equivalent to murdering someone? Of course not. Is it still defined, rightly, by the Church as a mortal sin? Yes. Varying kinds of mortal sins don’t have to be of equal “horribleness” to be in the same category of serious/mortal sins.
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Amen! Mortal means deadly.

Now some ways of dying are different to others. Taking poison (depending on the type) can be an extremely painless, quiet, and perhaps even pleasant way to die. Dying after being stabbed dozens of times? Painful, messy, difficult and unpleasant.

Both methods are equally mortal, however - both will leave you dead.

So it is with sin. Some mortal sins are less heinous than others. Or at least seem so - we can’t be sure exactly what pecking order God puts them in. All are alike in that they ARE, even the seeming least, mortal, spelling death to the soul.
 
Jeremiah1 said:
Does the Church really equate intentionally missing Mass on Sunday with murdering a person, cheating a senior out of his life savings, or sexually abusing young boys?

If so, I think that there will be many pretty good Catholics in hell.

I’m sure that all have noticed that 99% of the people at Mass receive communion these days. Is it believed that all of these people have met their Easter duty, or have been to confession since the last time that they skipped Mass?

I can find support for the sinfulness of murder, theft and sexual abuse in the Commandments and in the Gospels, but I see nothing about attending Mass.

The Church has flipped its position on sinfullness so many times in history, from eating meat on Friday to practicing usery, that I think that Catholics are justified in viewing current Church positions with skepticism.
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Seems that way. What’s worse is that Hell is seldom mentioned anymore, perhaps making the whole concept of mortal sin moot. IMO.
 
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