Living aboard a sailboat, and Sunday Mass

[TheLittleLady]

It is not rare for a couple to begin a vacation the morning after their wedding. There may be flight schedules that will not allow for Mass on Sunday morning. Catholics are not forbidden honeymoon travel.

 

[Willing_Spirit]

Guess I was thrown by the title that says “living aboard a sailboat”.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

That’s a pretty poor way to start a marriage.

I was referring to my experience, not that of the couple being dispensed. I do not know those particular circumstances.

Yes, I do think it is a pretty poor way to start a marriage, when you have stayed up partying all night, with alcohol in abundance, and the next day, you are just too hung over, nauseated, and sleepy to go to Mass. Priests might do well to admonish couples, and wedding parties, to be moderate in their celebration, and to realize (in the case of the couple) that giving Almighty God the worship that is due Him, in alertness and sobriety, is a wonderful gift to give Him back in thanksgiving for the graces He has bestowed in the sacrament of matrimony.

I realize that some cultures absolutely “tear the roof off” partying, drinking, and dancing to no end, for weddings and other celebrations, but I don’t think the Church would be one bit “out of line” to remind people that they need to be in a condition to render divine worship at Mass the next day. I do not come from a culture that does that, and I have even wondered if it hearkens back to some atavistic urge to celebrate fertility, or some such pagan concept — “the more we celebrate, the better the marriage will be”. It just seems short-sighted to me, and a bit like not having one’s priorities in order, to get oneself in a condition not to be able to get to Mass.

And it is not limited just to weddings. I have been just a little bit… well, “scandalized” might be too strong a word, but… whatever, when I have seen young revelers come to Mass the next morning barely able to hold their eyes open (and this at an SSPX chapel!).

Agreed, though, it is within the priest’s discretion to dispense. If I were the priest, though, it would have to be something pretty serious. Under normal circumstances, if asked for a dispensation, I would say “no, you must go to Mass tomorrow — keep in mind the great gift you have just received!”.

I would hasten to add that our marital problems were not connected to having missed Mass the next day. But it didn’t make matters better, I’ll just put it that way.

It is not rare for a couple to begin a vacation the morning after their wedding. There may be flight schedules that will not allow for Mass on Sunday morning. Catholics are not forbidden honeymoon travel.

That would be a sufficient reason to miss Mass. I freely acknowledge that.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

As regards not being able to go to Mass when you are living on a sailboat, I would have to question whether it is licit deliberately to re-organize one’s life, to get into a situation where one regularly cannot attend Sunday Mass. Not being judgmental, but nobody has to live on a sailboat. It is a lifestyle choice.

I understand all of this, and I was using “licit” in the colloquial sense, not in the strict legal sense.

The scenarios you describe are indeed exceptional circumstances. You don’t hear it discussed much anymore, but I really have to wonder why Catholics would get themselves in such situations without a very good reason. I know we here on CAF tend to be pretty strict when it comes to missing Sunday Mass — there are questions all the time on whether one has an obligation, or must seek a dispensation, when the circumstances, as described, clearly indicate there is no obligation. I care for elderly family members who sometimes require near-constant attention. One of them recently thought she was about to have a stroke (Deo gratias, she didn’t) just as I was getting ready to go to Mass. I stayed home to care for her. There wasn’t even a question in my mind about it. Things come up.

As a bit of a side point, I have had to wonder why in the world people from distinct minorities (Jews, Chinese, Lebanese, et al) move to places where there are virtually no other people of their religion or ethnicity. I know it is normally for business reasons, but isn’t it pretty difficult, to be that isolated? I’d much prefer to remain “among my own kind” in a supportive community. But sometimes, we don’t always have that choice.

And I know whereof I speak. I moved from a heavily Catholic area to one with few Catholics, not by choice, and was none too happy about it. On the plus side, I have found that I might be one of the few Catholics that someone even knows here, and I can bear witness to traditional Catholic beliefs and practices (Latin Mass, Friday abstinence, rosary and scapular, Humanae vitae, etc.) , without having people who call themselves Catholics but do not believe or practice, kibitzing and interfering with my witness — “don’t listen to him, nobody believes that anymore”. So it cuts both ways.

 

[steve-b]

I am sorry if this isn’t the right category for this post, but I haven’t been able to find a whole lot of resources on the question. Essentially… I have a dream of living aboard a sailboat, and travelling around. Some sailing voyages take longer than a week, making it impossible to attend mass EVERY Sunday. I have heard some say that missing even one Sunday mass (without extenuating circumstances such as illness, care for a child, hazardous weather contortions that would endanger life, etc…) is a mortal sin. My question is, would being at sea on a Sunday - and consequently, missing mass - while travelling (say, crossing the Atlantic) still be a mortal sin?

Edit: I just want to thank everybody for the replies! They came in WAY faster than I had expected, and shed a lot of insight on a topic I’m not too familiar with. Heaps of thanks, and love.

Just being transparent,

Many years ago, I’d gotten multiple permissions over the years to miss mass on Sunday due to putting myself in various situations where I couldn’t go to mass. Looking honestly back on those events now, that I got permission to do then vs going to mass, I have to say, it wasn’t worth it. I see that My focus then, was on here and now issues, NOT on the spiritual ever lasting issues that are supposed to be the absolute priority. I see now, my priorities weren’t as solid as they should have been, and I have no problem seeing that now, even though I didn’t see it then.

Just reminiscing

 

[TheLittleLady]

Yes, I do think it is a pretty poor way to start a marriage, when you have stayed up partying all night, with alcohol in abundance,

Think of the Wedding at Cana. Wine in huge vats!!

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I’m a poor one to talk to about that. I very rarely drink. I keep two beers in the refrigerator, one for me, one for a guest. I also have half a small box of wine that I bought several months ago, and some bourbon that I keep for special occasions such as Christmas and birthdays. I might touch it two or three times a year. That’s it.

 

[GladTidings]

Do you have a sailboat yet? What kind are you thinking of using to cross oceans? I could recommend some if you want to know what I think.

To answer the question, it is something I have thought about as well. If you are in the process of crossing an ocean and do not happen to find a Catholic church, then it is not a sin, from what I understand. But when you hit land, you need to find one for Sunday mass if you will still be on land Sunday.

 

[dochawk]

There may be flight schedules that will not allow for Mass on Sunday morning.

I think this was the case for us, but it’s, err, been a while
I really can’t remember whether our wedding was late enough, we were dispensed, or that it was the impossibility of making it given when we had to leave for the flight.

The following Sunday, we ran into the grandmother of the one I almost married at Sunday Mass on our honeymoon:scream:

Think of the Wedding at Cana. Wine in huge vats!!

And they wouldn’t have run out during the first couple of days. . .