Mass obligation?

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SpeakKindly

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I work night shift, I get home around 7 am, and the earliest Mass time at my parish is at 8 am. I’m going to be pretty sleepy as it is, am I obligated to go to Mass at all costs?
 
Yep. Try another parish, go the night before, go Sunday night, or if you are in a critical employment field, you can ask your pastor for a dispensation. I work all night, every night and go to Mass on Sunday night.
 
Catholic1954 said:
Yep. Try another parish, go the night before, go Sunday night, or if you are in a critical employment field, you can ask your pastor for a dispensation. I work all night, every night and go to Mass on Sunday night.
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What if going later on Sunday can’t happen, and neither can Saturday?
 
IF you can, take a 15 to 20 minute power nap before Mass…
The Secret (and Surprising) Power of Naps (WebMD.Com Click Thru)

If I have to cover a night shift on the weekends I’m in the same boat as you are…
Frankly, I go to the Church right after work, set the alarm on my phone and take a power nap in the car. Seems to help, and once Mass is over I head straight home for a good long nap.
 
SpeakKindly said:
I work night shift, I get home around 7 am, and the earliest Mass time at my parish is at 8 am. I’m going to be pretty sleepy as it is, am I obligated to go to Mass at all costs?
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I would just go on Sunday at 8 and get to sleep once you get home. What’s an extra two hours? We gain an extra hour of sleep tonight with daylight savings ending anyways (at least in North America).
 
OP, is it possible for you to change your sleep schedule while working nights? It sounds like you go home from work and fall straight into bed.

I have worked in the hospital lab for over 30 years, and worked nights myself for a while. From what I see, most of the 3rd shift workers don’t go home and go right to sleep, but instead, stay up for a while, have breakfast, do some chores and errands, maybe take in a church activity or some other social activity with friends, and then go to bed around 10 in the morning.

Can you try this? It’s actually very practical not just for Mass, but for life in general.
 
Cat said:
OP, is it possible for you to change your sleep schedule while working nights? It sounds like you go home from work and fall straight into bed.

I have worked in the hospital lab for over 30 years, and worked nights myself for a while. From what I see, most of the 3rd shift workers don’t go home and go right to sleep, but instead, stay up for a while, have breakfast, do some chores and errands, maybe take in a church activity or some other social activity with friends, and then go to bed around 10 in the morning.

Can you try this? It’s actually very practical not just for Mass, but for life in general.
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I could, but I that would also mean that I have to sleep right up until I go to work, not seeing my wife at all, because I work 12 hour shifts every night.
 
I also, used to work 12 hr shifts on the weekends. This is very different from 8 hr nightshifts, as it’s impossible to attend “any” Mass. The Vigil is out of the question also, as this is when you are beginning your shift. I was to get off at 7am, but most often I didn’t get off till closer to 8am, and drove an hr home, slept, ate, showered and had to be up at 5pm to get back to work by 6:30pm. As it was, I slept 9-5, with no window to do anything else. But, it was full time 3 days a week.
Is it possible to switch off weekends? Can you talk with your pastor to get a dispensation for the weekends you must work? Do you work every weekend?
 
Decided to go to sleep and attend the 11:30 am Mass. It was a great thing to do, it was a good day. Then I went to sleep until 4ish, ate dinner and watched some TV until I had to work. 🙂

Thanks for the encouragement. This is a rough schedule and just recently we started working on the weekends too.
 
SpeakKindly said:
I work night shift, I get home around 7 am, and the earliest Mass time at my parish is at 8 am. I’m going to be pretty sleepy as it is, am I obligated to go to Mass at all costs?
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Mass is an hour after you get off work? What is the problem?
 
I work the same sort of shift work. I try to catch an early Saturday evening Mass. (I know the Mass schedules of churches in three counties around my house.) Failing that, there’s a parish “sort of” on the way to work that has a 5 pm Sunday Mass.

I’m glad you found a schedule that works for you. I’m unhappy when I can’t go to Sunday Mass.
 
SpeakKindly said:
I work night shift, I get home around 7 am, and the earliest Mass time at my parish is at 8 am. I’m going to be pretty sleepy as it is, am I obligated to go to Mass at all costs?
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In that scenario yes. I can’t see any reason why you don’t go to the 8 am Mass.
 
I was a shift worker 25+ years, and lots of 12 hour midnight shifts. My hours were 7pm-7am, was able to swing by Mass for the 8am and be home, in bed by 9:30am. Worked well for me and I hope it will work as well, for you!

God Bless!
 
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