V
VivaPadrePio
Guest
I was challenged by an acquaintance about Mass attendance.
What he said is that as the CCC states that willingly not attending at Mass (say, laziness) is a mortal sin and after death a soul in mortal sin goes straight to hell, an otherwise excellent person who always, always goes to Mass but once has a short moment of laziness on a sunday morning and dies of an accident on the Sunday afternoon will, according to the Church, surely go to Hell.
I have replied that in my eyes if there is no intention to revolting to what the Mass is and represent, but just plain “weakness”, there is no “conversio ad creaturam”, because this can only happen if there is a complete and willed turning away from God; therefore, not attending Mass would not suffice to deny salvation to, say, an otherwise excellent chap, let alone excellent Christian, who loves God even if that morning he is really sleepy or gives away to the temptation to stay in bed for once.
Was I too “liberal” in my interpretation? Can it really be that the vast majority of Catholics (western Catholics at least) are surely heading for Hell because they do not attend Mass?
What he said is that as the CCC states that willingly not attending at Mass (say, laziness) is a mortal sin and after death a soul in mortal sin goes straight to hell, an otherwise excellent person who always, always goes to Mass but once has a short moment of laziness on a sunday morning and dies of an accident on the Sunday afternoon will, according to the Church, surely go to Hell.
I have replied that in my eyes if there is no intention to revolting to what the Mass is and represent, but just plain “weakness”, there is no “conversio ad creaturam”, because this can only happen if there is a complete and willed turning away from God; therefore, not attending Mass would not suffice to deny salvation to, say, an otherwise excellent chap, let alone excellent Christian, who loves God even if that morning he is really sleepy or gives away to the temptation to stay in bed for once.
Was I too “liberal” in my interpretation? Can it really be that the vast majority of Catholics (western Catholics at least) are surely heading for Hell because they do not attend Mass?