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Churchman25

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So me and my dad are going skiing this, weekend and I know there is an obligation to go to mass on sunday the problem here is, is that the closest church to the town where the ski area is at, is 50 minutes or (31 miles) away so I was wondering, would mass still be nessesary to go to? I dont want to miss but was just wondering if in this situation its fine?
 
There is no objectively correct answer to your question - some people wouldn’t think twice about making the trip to attend Mass, others might legitimately decide it’s too far, or too dangerous given the road conditions, etc. Given the circumstances you describe, what I would do and what my elderly parents would do are unlikely to be the same course of action. Your pastor can advise you on your particular situation. Please speak to him.

God bless.
 
Sunday Mass is** obligatory,** so yes, a necessity. Now, if the roads are impassible, or you have no transportation God doesn’t ask the impossible. But if it possible, yes you need to go.
 
It depends. Do you have a car or do you have to rely on getting the bus? If a bus, is there a bus at the right time? Are we talking 30 miles of highway or 30 miles of winding country roads? Will they be covered in snow and ice, making the trip dangerous?
 
pianistclare said:
Sunday Mass is** obligatory,** so yes, a necessity. Now, if the roads are impassible, or you have no transportation God doesn’t ask the impossible. But if it possible, yes you need to go.
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Well I live in snow and ice country. What is impassible to you, is probably very passible for me!

In fact in Quebec it is very rare for a road to be impassible. It may happen in severe whiteouts or if the plows can’t keep up with the snowfall or if there’s a major accident. More usually it is due to ice, not snow. Everyone has snow tires here (mandated by law).

That said, the standard IMHO is not passible/impassible, it’s a preponderance of risk. If I had to get my wife or a child to the hospital, I would be willing to take a greater risk than for going to Mass. On the 4th Sunday of Advent I skipped Mass, which is very rare for me, because of an ice storm. The roads were still open and the main roads marginally passible, but the police were requesting people to stay home if travel wasn’t absolutely necessary as there were lots of accidents and cars in the ditch.

The other thing, if the OP can drive his dad’s car, he may not have the same level of experience as his dad, so what may be acceptable risk to his father might be a crazy risk for him.

I think we also get an automatic dispensation for missing Mass due to travel 😉

We are not obliged to vacation in a place where Mass is easily available.

Whether in this case it is “easily accessible” or not is a matter of prudential judgment and perhaps with an element of parental obedience. If his dad says “no, you can’t take the car” or “no, I won’t drive you” if he can’t drive, then he’s off the hook. His is missing through no fault of his own.
 
Churchman25 said:
So me and my dad are going skiing this, weekend and I know there is an obligation to go to mass on sunday the problem here is, is that the closest church to the town where the ski area is at, is 50 minutes or (31 miles) away so I was wondering, would mass still be nessesary to go to? I dont want to miss but was just wondering if in this situation its fine?
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The GRAVE obligation to attend SUNDAY & Holy Day Mass is immutable EXCEPT for serious and grave matter. Going skiing is God approved as a leisure activity; BUT NOT as an excuse to miss Mass:thumbsup:

GBY & Dad!
 
Churchman25 said:
So me and my dad are going skiing this, weekend and I know there is an obligation to go to mass on sunday the problem here is, is that the closest church to the town where the ski area is at, is 50 minutes or (31 miles) away so I was wondering, would mass still be nessesary to go to? I dont want to miss but was just wondering if in this situation its fine?
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Many people drive farther than that to attend Mass.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Many people drive farther than that to attend Mass.
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We don’t know if he’s a minor, or can drive, and if so will his father let him use the car.

Without that info we cannot form an opinion about whether he’s excused or not from his obligation.
 
So me and my father whle up skiing did attempt to go to mass, the problem was,was that the people at condo check in told us there was a 5:30pm mass on sundays and we attempted to go but the church was closed. Its called st Johns in Stratton Maine. At the church the sign said that they only offer masses on saturdays at 6pm.

Also the church does not have a website.
 
No, While Mass is necessary and obligatory we are all entitled to miss Mass once or twice every year if there is a valid reason. Just be sure to show love for Jesus in other ways beside Mass that day.
 
Churchman25 said:
So me and my father whle up skiing did attempt to go to mass, the problem was,was that the people at condo check in told us there was a 5:30pm mass on sundays and we attempted to go but the church was closed. Its called st Johns in Stratton Maine. At the church the sign said that they only offer masses on saturdays at 6pm.

Also the church does not have a website.
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You made an honest attempt, so can’t be held accountable for missing. However, I would check if the ski resort you were at actually had a chapel right at the resort. I know this is the case at many ski resorts and quite often, they hold a Catholic Mass. For example, last time I was at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, their 4:30p service on Saturday night at Bell Chapel was actually a Catholic Mass, but you only know that by going to the actual chapel (online it appears to be a general service when I’m looking just now).
 
Sugarloaf is the mountain we were we didnt know if bell chapel was even catholic. When I was on their site it looked like it wasn’t.
 
TheTrinitySaves said:
Please explain in greater detail sir.
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I’m not Deacon Jeff, but the problem appears to be with your word “entitlement”.

If a person cannot attend Mass for a valid reason, such as illness, care for infants, sick, elderly, dangerous weather conditions, for example, there is no obligation because God does not hold us to the impossible.

But we are not 'entitled to miss". What happens is that the obligation is abrogated. Perhaps that was the word you were seeking?
 
Churchman25 said:
Sugarloaf is the mountain we were we didnt know if bell chapel was even catholic. When I was on their site it looked like it wasn’t.
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Yeah, it’s a non-denominational chapel, but the 4:30 is a Catholic Mass (the site is misleading).
 
Tantum_ergo said:
I’m not Deacon Jeff, but the problem appears to be with your word “entitlement”.

If a person cannot attend Mass for a valid reason, such as illness, care for infants, sick, elderly, dangerous weather conditions, for example, there is no obligation because God does not hold us to the impossible.

But we are not 'entitled to miss". What happens is that the obligation is abrogated. Perhaps that was the word you were seeking?
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What I was trying to say is it’s not a mortal sin to miss mass if it’s impossible to go without putting yourself or others in harm way
 
It sounds like you made your best effort to attend Mass, so no fault in missing it.
 
I know I have no fault in missing it but I can understand why the church St Josephs has only one mass at 6pm on saturdays. Im pretty sure its because the population of the surrounding area is so small.
 
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