Mass is more important than everything else

[NTOT]

From another thread:

you don’t need anyone’s permission to spend more time in prayer or increase practices such as daily Mass (assuming you’re not neglecting work, study or other obligations to do so).

If we are to assume there is nothing we can possibly do on earth that is of greater merit and more pleasing to God than that of offering the perfect Sacrifice of the Mass, how much credence should we give to excuses for not going to Mass daily if not multiple times per day such as neglecting ones work, study or other obligations?

 

[LilyM]

From another thread:

If we are to assume there is nothing we can possibly do on earth that is of greater merit and more pleasing to God than that of offering the perfect Sacrifice of the Mass, how much credence should we give to excuses for not going to Mass daily if not multiple times per day such as neglecting ones work, study or other obligations?

God gives everyone practical tasks to do which are part of His plan for us and part of our path to holiness as St Therese of Lisieux and St Josemaria Escriva make clear. We can’t neglect these obligations even for things such as prayer.

Firstly because they, like prayer, are obligations laid upon us by Him, secondly because He designed us to do practical work and support ourselves and others. That is why St Paul says ‘whoever will not work, do not let him eat’.

Even Jesus didn’t spend 24 hours a day in prayer or at the synagogue or Temple - he spent most of his time teaching, healing, travelling, carpentering, doing practical stuff.

Finally - one can actually have too much of even a good thing like prayer. Not because of the good thing in itself, but because we by nature are creatures who are infinitely distractable (and therefore cannot keep at anything like prayer for lengthy periods of time without the prayer itself suffering and losing value as a result) and need variety. Chocolate might be the best, yummiest food ever but one can’t eat it 24 hours a day.

 

[NTOT]

God gives everyone practical tasks to do which are part of His plan for us and part of our path to holiness as St Therese of Lisieux and St Josemaria Escriva make clear. We can’t neglect these obligations even for things such as prayer.

So at what point do these obligations become so important that one should choose them over daily Mass? At what point after exhausting every opportunity to adjust ones schedule, prioritize, and so forth, can one honestly say “What I have to do today is so important that I cannot go to Church today”?

Firstly because they, like prayer, are obligations laid upon us by Him, secondly because He designed us to do practical work and support ourselves and others.

But is this a satisfactory excuse not not to go to Mass? Should we first be exhausting all attempts at changing ones work schedule, ones break times, ones job itself to accomodate Mass, and only then say “no it is not possible for me to be present at the most important event happening today”?

Finally - one can actually have too much of even a good thing like prayer.

So would you say, daily Mass is a good thing or a bad thing? Is God displeased if we put to much effort into being there with Him as He offers Himself up?
I am asking honestly in order to know.

 

[tessi]

I think one should try at the most to go to Mass daily, however some people cannot see it that way (most of the times there are excuses but we must not judge those excuses). I’m sure if you want to go to Mass, God will give you the time.

 

[Joannm]

Mass is not the only form of praise and worship of God. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours can be done by anyone at any time of the day and indeed several time during the day. In the early Church there was no daily gathering for the celebration of the Eucharist. Throughout most of our history there was no daily gathering for Eucharist but there was for daily prayer at different hours during the day.

I am in summer school right now and while there are many masses on campus during the day, not one fits into my schedule. However, the twice daily gathering for Morning and Evening Prayer is, so I take advantage of that. Daily celebration of the Eucharist is a luxury in many areas of the world and even in our own country where there may be a shortage of priests making a Sunday Mass the only Mass offered each week. While the celebration of the EUcharist is the highest form of offering praise and worship, there are other ways to accomplish daily prayer and worship.

 

[tessi]

While the celebration of the EUcharist is the highest form of offering praise and worship, there are other ways to accomplish daily prayer and worship.

That is allright if you really find it IMPOSSIBLE to go to Mass, but it wouldn’t go to say “I prefer other forms of prayer better than the Mass”

 

[LilyM]

So at what point do these obligations become so important that one should choose them over daily Mass? At what point after exhausting every opportunity to adjust ones schedule, prioritize, and so forth, can one honestly say “What I have to do today is so important that I cannot go to Church today”?

But is this a satisfactory excuse not not to go to Mass? Should we first be exhausting all attempts at changing ones work schedule, ones break times, ones job itself to accomodate Mass, and only then say “no it is not possible for me to be present at the most important event happening today”?

So would you say, daily Mass is a good thing or a bad thing? Is God displeased if we put to much effort into being there with Him as He offers Himself up?
I am asking honestly in order to know.

Well there aren’t any black-and-white answers out there for you, I’m afraid. It’s something you’ll have to think over and discern for yourself, whether you personally are doing what you can to attend Mass.

Be assured though, missing daily Mass is not a sin. Full stop. Whether you do so for a reason or for no reason. So it’s not a question of God being offended if you choose not to go to Mass, although it is better if you do go, presuming you can without detriment to your work adn other obligations.

And there are simple things you can do - every morning in my morning offering I spirtually unite myself with all the Masses being said throughout the world that day, and I also make an act of spiritual communion in case I cannot receive Jesus in the Eucharist that day. So even if I end up not going to Mass, I’ve still gone in a spiritual sense.

 

[Sr_Sally]

It is very interesting to read Saint’s lives and see that not all of them were able to attend daily Mass. Obviously priests did (especially when priests were required to say Mass every day–but no one was required to be there to har the Mass), but even many nuns were not able to attend daily Mass. The lives of lay Saints show us even more that one can be holy without attending daily Mass.

Our obligation is to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy days of Obligation. Daily Mass is more comparable to a private devotion than Sunday Mass is.

I personally have not rearrange my schedule to the extent that you describe to attend daily Mass. I do hope that starting in the next school year it will be much easier for me to attend Mass during the week.

 

[Cari]

God called me to the vocation of wife, mother, and homeschooler. Among other things, fulfilling these obligations to the best of my ability for the greater glory of God is one of the most important forms of prayer I can give him. Is it more important than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Of course not. But does it mean that it’s worthless because I should be going to daily Mass instead? Or course not.

Has God called me to attend daily Mass at this point in my life? No. Do I think that He HAS called me to worship Him in other activities that take place during Mass time? Well, considering that time is spent in service to my husband, my children, and my neighbor, I’ll go ahead and say yes.

Your question is a fair one, but it ignores the fact that God has designed human beings to create families- families which require attention that takes away from worship in the context of Mass. After all, look to the perfect example of the Holy Family. They tended to their home and duties of employment- in addition to going to Temple. If God didn’t value this, He wouldn’t have Incarnated into such an environment.

 

[bpbasilphx]

how much credence should we give to excuses for not going to Mass daily if not multiple times per day such as neglecting ones work, study or other obligations?

**One of the commemorations in the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil is for those “absent for a reason worthy of a blessing.”

Remember the Lord’s parable about the Good Samaritan. The Cohen and Levite were on their way to the Temple for the precursor of Mass, but did they receive the Lord’s approval?**

 

[BarbaraTherese]

From another thread:

If we are to assume there is nothing we can possibly do on earth that is of greater merit and more pleasing to God than that of offering the perfect Sacrifice of the Mass, how much credence should we give to excuses for not going to Mass daily if not multiple times per day such as neglecting ones work, study or other obligations?

If one were to abandon the duties of one’s state in order to go to Mass through the week, this would not be of merit since we are not obliged to go to Mass daily as lay people. On Sundays, certainly, if one’s duties can at all wait while one goes to Mass, then one makes these duties wait, since The Church instructs us that to miss Mass on Sunday without a good and valid reason can be gravely sinful.
There is nothing more meritorious than The Mass and more pleasing to God…however The Church does instruct us as lay people that it is not essential to attend Mass weekdays abandoning our duties to do so. In this case, obedience becomes the superior virtue, moreso than sacrifice in sacrificing our duties for a higher purpose. In the instance of weekday Mass, we are instructed that the duties of our state are to be prime, unless of course there is some means available to us to complete both. We are the one body united in Christ, and while I am asleep or about some duty of my state, some Catholic somewhere is praying/attending Mass not only for themselves but for me as a member of the whole Body of Christ. This is the Doctine of the Mystical Body.

The rules and regulations of The Church are not the very basic minimum and to grow in Grace we must do more. Rather from keeping faithfully the rules and regulations of The Church we will grow in wisdom and understanding and the fruits of The Holy Spirit - in all the virtues. St. Albert tells us that common sense is the guide of all the virtues. Common sense is not in essence something the human psyche or psychology has developed in the interest of survival etc., rather it is a gift of God to the human psyche or psychology in the interest of survival and St. Albert tells as a guide for all the virtues.

Blessings and regards…Barb

 

[NTOT]

God called me to the vocation of wife, mother, and homeschooler. Among other things, fulfilling these obligations to the best of my ability for the greater glory of God is one of the most important forms of prayer I can give him. Is it more important than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Of course not. But does it mean that it’s worthless because I should be going to daily Mass instead? Or course not.

Has God called me to attend daily Mass at this point in my life? No. Do I think that He HAS called me to worship Him in other activities that take place during Mass time? Well, considering that time is spent in service to my husband, my children, and my neighbor, I’ll go ahead and say yes.

Your question is a fair one, but it ignores the fact that God has designed human beings to create families- families which require attention that takes away from worship in the context of Mass. After all, look to the perfect example of the Holy Family. They tended to their home and duties of employment- in addition to going to Temple. If God didn’t value this, He wouldn’t have Incarnated into such an environment.

I guess it probably would be more along the lines of a personal devotion rather doing the bare minimal requirement to squeak by only going to Mass on holy days of obligation. But the hard stop Lily mentioned about not being a sin, sometimes I wonder if one was already going to daily Mass and it became a matter of habit, if one day one decided “today I am not going to Mass just cause I don’t have to”, I tend to think it would be a sin. Another angle is if we assume there is no other “life obligation” standing in the way and there is Mass available so one can choose between watching TV and going to Mass, what should a person do? Now let’s say one can choose between doing some volunteer work and going to Mass, which would God prefer we do?

I understand your point about families and God calling certain people to bring children into the world. But I also remember as a kid from a family of many children, we managed to get hauled to Mass each day. I don’t believe that if a parent is tending over their children while at Mass, that our Lord is displeased that He isn’t getting 100% attention and that He would rather you not be there.

 

[NTOT]

A lot of this is getting away from the actual intent behind the question. Since the whole reason for our existence is to glorify God, and since there is no greater way of praising God in this earthly life than being present at the non-bloody sacrifice of Calvary at Mass, how can we justify not doing everything in our power to be there. “Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” Should we dare ever let a day go by without having life within us?

 

[NTOT]

If one were to abandon the duties of one’s state in order to go to Mass through the week, this would not be of merit since we are not obliged to go to Mass daily as lay people. On Sundays, certainly, if one’s duties can at all wait while one goes to Mass, then one makes these duties wait, since The Church instructs us that to miss Mass on Sunday without a good and valid reason can be gravely sinful.

All this means is that on Sundays, to miss Mass if “one’s duties can at all wait” it becomes a mortal sin. But we don’t go to Mass to avoid committing a mortal sin. We go to praise God in perfect prayer. Does it not then make sense that if “one’s duties can at all wait” on a weekday as well, we should be going to Mass? I am not talking about something beyond ones control, which fully applies to Sundays as well. On Sundays, being beyond ones control lifts the mortal sin aspect of it.

There is nothing more meritorious than The Mass and more pleasing to God…however The Church does instruct us as lay people that it is not essential to attend Mass weekdays abandoning our duties to do so.

But we still have to discern which duties are more important or so important that they can’t be put off an hour or postponed that they take precedent over going to Mass.

In this case, obedience becomes the superior virtue, moreso than sacrifice in sacrificing our duties for a higher purpose.

Is obedience than superior to the perfect sacrifice of the Mass?

We are the one body united in Christ, and while I am asleep or about some duty of my state, some Catholic somewhere is praying/attending Mass not only for themselves but for me as a member of the whole Body of Christ. This is the Doctine of the Mystical Body.

This I fully agree with. It is one of the other things that makes the Catholic Church so special.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

A lot of this is getting away from the actual intent behind the question. Since the whole reason for our existence is to glorify God, and since there is no greater way of praising God in this earthly life than being present at the non-bloody sacrifice of Calvary at Mass, how can we justify not doing everything in our power to be there. “Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” Should we dare ever let a day go by without having life within us?

The Church tells us (and being Catholics we are bound by The Church and profess this in The Creed at Mass), that attending Mass on Sunday fulfills the above command of The Lord. The Church tells us that during the week we serve The Lord by fulfilling our duties as our primary call not by attending Mass as our primary call through the week. It is simply an obedience. Nevertheless if we are able to attend Mass without compromising the duties of our state, then it would be of great merit to do so, providing our intention and actual attendance is sound, since we are also completing the call of obedience to lay people during the week to make the duties of our state in life our primary call, and thus completing our obedience as lay people.

It cannot be claimed that there is anything at all sinful, nor imperfect, remiss nor lacking in virtue to make the duties of one’s state in life through the week the prime call and not attending weekday Mass to do so under conditions dictated by common sense.

Blessings and regards…Barb

 

[NTOT]

In the early Church there was no daily gathering for the celebration of the Eucharist. Throughout most of our history there was no daily gathering for Eucharist but there was for daily prayer at different hours during the day.

Not having Mass available of course would be a situation beyond ones control, such as in the “early days” or in parts of the world, or even parts of this country where daily Mass is not offered. It is a different situation when God is pleased to bless an area with the availability of daily Mass and we don’t take advantage of that opportunity. Some people in less fortunate parts of the world where they don’t even get a regular Sunday Mass, those who would give their eye-tooth for the privelege of daily Mass, would look with scorn as we who are more fortunate squander such opportunity.

 

[NTOT]

The Church tells us (and being Catholics we are bound by The Church and profess this in The Creed at Mass), that attending Mass on Sunday fulfills the above command of The Lord. The Church tells us that during the week we serve The Lord by fulfilling our duties as our primary call not by attending Mass as our primary call through the week. It is simply an obedience. Nevertheless if we are able to attend Mass without compromising the duties of our state, then it would be of great merit to do so, providing our intention and actual attendance is sound, since we are also completing the call of obedience to lay people during the week to make the duties of our state in life our primary call, and thus completing our obedience as lay people.

It cannot be claimed that there is anything at all sinful, nor imperfect, remiss nor lacking in virtue to make the duties of one’s state in life through the week the prime call and not attending weekday Mass to do so under conditions dictated by common sense.

Blessings and regards…Barb

Thank you. No I am not implying that there is anything sinful or imperfect if someone decides their civic duties are more important that going to Mass.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Originally Posted by BarbaraTherese
If one were to abandon the duties of one’s state in order to go to Mass through the week, this would not be of merit since we are not obliged to go to Mass daily as lay people. On Sundays, certainly, if one’s duties can at all wait while one goes to Mass, then one makes these duties wait, since The Church instructs us that to miss Mass on Sunday without a good and valid reason can be gravely sinful.

NTOT: All this means is that on Sundays, to miss Mass if “one’s duties can at all wait” it becomes a mortal sin. But we don’t go to Mass to avoid committing a mortal sin. We go to praise God in perfect prayer. Does it not then make sense that if “one’s duties can at all wait” on a weekday as well, we should be going to Mass? I am not talking about something beyond ones control, which fully applies to Sundays as well. On Sundays, being beyond ones control lifts the mortal sin aspect of it.

Good points! Certainly, I think if a Catholic does insight the great value and importance of The Mass, then if the duties of the state in life can wait through the week, then they would be going to Mass. The lights gifted to us can vary.
The other point is that if nothing else can get one to Sunday Mass then if the desire not to commit a mortal sin will get us to Sunday Mass, it suffices.

Barbara Therese:
There is nothing more meritorious than The Mass and more pleasing to God…however The Church does instruct us as lay people that it is not essential to attend Mass weekdays abandoning our duties to do so.

NTOT: But we still have to discern which duties are more important or so important that they can’t be put off an hour or postponed that they take precedent over going to Mass.

Good point, and I agree with you…………on the proviso it is understood that there is no obligation on a Catholic to attend weekday Mass – certainly it can be of great value and merit to self and The Mystical Body to attend Mass if at all able and as often as possible. There is no greater act on earth as you have pointed out, while understanding that not all are gifted with the same lights.

Barbara Therese
In this case, obedience becomes the superior virtue, moreso than sacrifice in sacrificing our duties for a higher purpose.

NTOT: Is obedience than superior to the perfect sacrifice of the Mass?

Certainly, to abandon the duties of one’s state in life that justly call preventing one attending Mass, yet one abandons the duties to go along to Mass becomes a matter of the intention behind the act which could well be one of disobedience to call of the duties of our state in life, dependant on one’s lights again…a case of the end not justifying the means…

 

[NTOT]

Good points! Certainly, I think if a Catholic does insight the great value and importance of The Mass, then if the duties of the state in life can wait through the week, then they would be going to Mass. The lights gifted to us can vary.
The other point is that if nothing else can get one to Sunday Mass then if the desire not to commit a mortal sin will get us to Sunday Mass, it suffices.

Good point, and I agree with you…………on the proviso it is understood that there is no obligation on a Catholic to attend weekday Mass – certainly it can be of great value and merit to self and The Mystical Body to attend Mass if at all able and as often as possible. There is no greater act on earth as you have pointed out, while understanding that not all are gifted with the same lights.

Certainly, to abandon the duties of one’s state in life that justly call preventing one attending Mass, yet one abandons the duties to go along to Mass becomes a matter of the intention behind the act which could well be one of disobedience to call of the duties of our state in life, dependant on one’s lights again…a case of the end not justifying the means…

Thank you for taking the time address my questions. You have made a lot of valid points which I will have to think on. I was trying to decide if I should be going to daily Mass or not. God Bless.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Thank you for taking the time address my questions. You have made a lot of valid points which I will have to think on. I was trying to decide if I should be going to daily Mass or not. God Bless.

If you are able, without abandoning the duties of your state in life that justly call on your time and energy, then my decision would be to go along to daily Mass…and it seems to me you have all the right reasons and supremely high value of Holy Mass already in place…The Lord’s Peace and blessings with you also, and my regards…Barb