Mass vs Sleep

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CJsmommy

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I had a really nasty schedule last week, and I wanted to know if that was a situation that it would be alright to not attend Sunday Mass that week.

On Saturday night I had to work late at my retail job (afternoon through midnight, so no chance for the vigil Mass) and then had to work at 11:30 am to 8pm Sunday and missed the evening Mass too. I could have technically made a morning Mass, but would have paid with lack of sleep.

It’s not a situation that happens often. That was only the 1st time since I started attending that I had a weekend schedule like that. I wound up just finding a Mass streaming online and hoped that would be enough.
 
You would need to talk to your confessor about that. I don’t think strangers on some internet forum are qualified enough to tell you whether it’s okay or not.
 
CJ(name removed by moderator)my said:
I had a really nasty schedule last week, and I wanted to know if that was a situation that it would be alright to not attend Sunday Mass that week.

On Saturday night I had to work late at my retail job (afternoon through midnight, so no chance for the vigil Mass) and then had to work at 11:30 am to 8pm Sunday and missed the evening Mass too. I could have technically made a morning Mass, but would have paid with lack of sleep.

It’s not a situation that happens often. That was only the 1st time since I started attending that I had a weekend schedule like that. I wound up just finding a Mass streaming online and hoped that would be enough.
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Unless you have a 3 hour commute, suck it up and go to Mass.
 
I’m sure you could have made a morning Mass without sacrificing too much sleep.
 
ProVobis said:
You would need to talk to your confessor about that. I don’t think strangers on some internet forum are qualified enough to tell you whether it’s okay or not.
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This. Plus, you can always check Masstimes.org to see if there’s a parish nearby with a 9 PM Mass. For example, The Newman center near ASU has a 9 PM Mass. So maybe there’s a Newman center with a 9 PM Mass in Chicago? Also, you could always try asking your boss if you can get out of work early to go to Mass.

BTW, you mention that you are an RCIA candidate. Be sure to bring that up with your pastor. I don’t know enough Canon Law to know whether or not you are obligated to follow our Canon Law yet.
 
  1. God - Goto Mass
  2. Sleep
I can’t lie … Sleep is super, duper, major important … But God is more important!
Forget talking about this with your confessor UNTIL you talk to your family (spouce, parents, ect), your employer/s first. It’s your duty to put God number one in YOUR life, not your confessors duty to enable your lack of priorities. This could be a message from God to get you into a different job. Gasp I love sleep and feel for you … But my recomendation is to work harder to get God (Holy Mass) a priority in your life.
 
ProVobis said:
You would need to talk to your confessor about that. I don’t think strangers on some internet forum are qualified enough to tell you whether it’s okay or not.
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Strongly agree. We are not qualified.
 
Giggly_Giraffe said:
  1. God - Goto Mass
  2. Sleep
I can’t lie … Sleep is super, duper, major important … But God is more important!
Forget talking about this with your confessor UNTIL you talk to your family (spouce, parents, ect), your employer/s first. It’s your duty to put God number one in YOUR life, not your confessors duty to enable your lack of priorities. This could be a message from God to get you into a different job. Gasp I love sleep and feel for you … But my recomendation is to work harder to get God (Holy Mass) a priority in your life.
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That was actually the first Mass I have missed since Eastertide when I started attending, and I made absolutely sure to attend Mass today. I’m not far enough into RCIA to have taken my first confession yet, so I do not have a confessor.

I am sorry if I came across as if I was trying to get out of Mass. That was not my intention. It was simply a rather nasty scheduling issue. I will make sure to attend Mass and just load up on the caffeine afterwards if it happens again.
 
CJ(name removed by moderator)my said:
That was actually the first Mass I have missed since Eastertide when I started attending, and I made absolutely sure to attend Mass today. I’m not far enough into RCIA to have taken my first confession yet, so I do not have a confessor.

I am sorry if I came across as if I was trying to get out of Mass. That was not my intention. It was simply a rather nasty scheduling issue. I will make sure to attend Mass and just load up on the caffeine afterwards if it happens again.
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These work things happen. Talk it over with the priest even tho you are still in RCIA. Once you are received into the Church, you will have a better idea of what to do–your priest may give you a dispensation or direct you to a Mass at a time you can get to.
 
I don’t know how old you are or what your family responsibilties are. You definitely had a busy work schedule. I am older and need to listen to my body. I have forced myself to go to Mass at times when I am not feeling well or overly tired and I can’t concentrate, I don’t enjoy the music, I am in a sour mood and it would have been best to stay home.
Of course, I am not advocating doing this on a regular basis. Sometimes our bodies do need rest. Then you can talk to a priest about it.
 
I’ve heard of people receiving a dispensation from Mass when they go on vacation, such as camping in a remote location, or for business travel to a country without many churches. As the others have said, talk to your priest. It sounds to me like you want to get to Mass, and this work situation doesn’t come up very often. Your priest can guide you.
 
ProVobis said:
You would need to talk to your confessor about that. I don’t think strangers on some internet forum are qualified enough to tell you whether it’s okay or not.
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👍 this…and disregard everything else you’ve endured by well meaning people here. The forgiveness, mercy, and love of Christ out trumps the advice and added guilt of others.
 
ProVobis said:
You would need to talk to your confessor about that. I don’t think strangers on some internet forum are qualified enough to tell you whether it’s okay or not.
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This. And no one should be telling you what to do otherwise. You are not even Catholic yet and have no obligation to attend Mass. But it is great that you are making such an effort. 🙂
 
CJ(name removed by moderator)my said:
That was actually the first Mass I have missed since Eastertide when I started attending, and I made absolutely sure to attend Mass today. I’m not far enough into RCIA to have taken my first confession yet, so I do not have a confessor.

I am sorry if I came across as if I was trying to get out of Mass. That was not my intention. It was simply a rather nasty scheduling issue. I will make sure to attend Mass and just load up on the caffeine afterwards if it happens again.
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:o God has humbled me as judging too harsh. After my post, I was watching a World Over (EWTN) and there is this Church on Broadway that has Midnight Mass on Saturdays because the stage workers on Broadway requested it due to the crazy work hours. Yes, I must remind myself, and others that God likes to stoop to our needs too (Little. Flower Terese liked to point that out too). Sorry, hope you find a great solution to your situation!

Facebook › pages › Raymond-Arroyo
Mobile-friendly - VIDEO: A special look at Broadway’s spiritual home, The Actor’s Chapel, St. Malachy’s. … Marleen Carabello Amen, what a great church. … World Over - 2015-07-30 – The Brief with Raymond Arroyo.
 
CJ(name removed by moderator)my said:
That was actually the first Mass I have missed since Eastertide when I started attending, and I made absolutely sure to attend Mass today. I’m not far enough into RCIA to have taken my first confession yet, so I do not have a confessor.

I am sorry if I came across as if I was trying to get out of Mass. That was not my intention. It was simply a rather nasty scheduling issue. I will make sure to attend Mass and just load up on the caffeine afterwards if it happens again.
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This (or other similar situations) will come up from time to time. How you respond to these situations at the beginning of your Catholic life will set the foundation for how you react to them throughout your life.

While it’s important not to become too scrupulous, at the same time, it’s also important to set a strong tone for yourself that reminds you that you are making the sacrifices required of you by the RCIA process because you want to become an on-fire enthusiastic Catholic - you are not going into this in order to become half-hearted and lukewarm. Therefore, overdo it a little to begin with, so that when your zeal wears off, you will have established good habits that you can fall back into.
 
As already stated you need to speak to your priest as people here cannot answer but I can tell you I work night shifts sometimes and I still attend Sunday mass I get home at 8 30 am quick shower and then attend 9am mass or 10am luckily I live next to the church. In the past I missed one or two times due to sheer tiredness and I asked my priest about it and his advice was read the readings from that day and pray and perhaps go into the church for a visit. Every priest will differ which is why you need to talk to your own priest.
 
If you have to miss much needed sleep to attend Mass and are so exhausted that you fall asleep while driving and wreck and hurt someone or yourself or worse kill someone or yourself that would be terrible. Going without sleep has the same effect on the brain as alcohol which is why you aren’t supposed to drive when you have been more than 24 hours without sleep. If you are using public transport for your commute back and forth from home to work and home to mass then it’s not a risk, but if you are driving yourself then you need to make sure you are getting enough sleep, and not put other drivers at risk. Just be careful and know your limits. Some people can function with less sleep than others. If you aren’t one of those people don’t get behind the wheel of a car.

It’s a good idea to talk to your priest tho. At the very least it’s good to keep your priest in the loop about why you missed mass or might miss mass occasionally.
 
CJ(name removed by moderator)my said:
I had a really nasty schedule last week, and I wanted to know if that was a situation that it would be alright to not attend Sunday Mass that week.

On Saturday night I had to work late at my retail job (afternoon through midnight, so no chance for the vigil Mass) and then had to work at 11:30 am to 8pm Sunday and missed the evening Mass too. I could have technically made a morning Mass, but would have paid with lack of sleep.

It’s not a situation that happens often. That was only the 1st time since I started attending that I had a weekend schedule like that. I wound up just finding a Mass streaming online and hoped that would be enough.
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My pastor would say that if he called you Sunday AM and told you he had a priceless gift to give you, but you have to get it now, would you? If the answer is yes, get to Mass!
 
I generally ask my pastor about these situations when I see that situation may arise. Mine would tell me to get out of bed if loss of sleep were merely an inconvenience to me but to sleep if losing the sleep would put me or someone else in harm’s way. If you were able to get to bed by 1 am, most people could make it to a Mass that would allow them to start work by 11:30 am and do a job that would make a just return to their employer (who did, after all, choose to schedule the employee for back-to-back shifts with a turn-around of only ten and a half hours). Someone whose work was doing surgery or driving might realize that they could pose a deadly hazard to others if they did not get more sleep between shifts that were that long and that close together, though.

My pastor would also suggest a talk with the employer about whether such difficult scheduling was really necessary, too. Sometimes employers will take advantage of employees who never advocate to be shown some fairness.
 
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