Missing Mass and Hell

[kentcara2003]

I have been told by my pastor that we are no longer teaching that missing Mass for no good reason is a mortal sin. It might be a sin but it doesn’t break our relationship with God. Not mortal. I am sure some of you don’t agree with that, but I was told that is what the new position of the church is. And my pastor is a very educated elderly priest. I do what I am told to do.

We have in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church(CCC), which states very clearly that WITHOUT A GOOD REASON, it is a mortal sin, not to be at the Lord’s table on Sundays. You do well to read it. I didnt think it was in there but I have read it and it is unequivocal in its statement.

My mum is 80 years old and as far back as I can remember she never misses Mass. She would pack all 8 of her children in 2 trips for Mass every Sunday.She still attends the weekly Mass…and she goes to Mass daily if my brother is able to send her.
I am 54 years old. I have not missed Mass deliberately but unfortunately had to attend in my younger days without being able to go to communion…need I say more.

I believe in the eternal value of Mass for the salvation of my own family,that of my wife’s, that of the whole world and the relief of all holy souls in Purgatory., of furthering the Gospel to the ends of the earth,having educated myself in the Faith through good reading materials.
I believe that by being united to the Holy Sacrifice of Our Lord, we do more good than we can possibly hope or imagine. THAT IS OUR FAITH, THE CATHOLIC FAITH.

I am at Mass daily because I want to make a difference.I have the hope that my hopes will not be in vain. "Those who hope in the Lord, shall not be disappointed but only those who wantonly break faith.(Psalm)

All these years, the Lord has been merciful in spite of my many failures. We can all grow through studying our Faith, the great riches of this gift. I do recommend “EWTN -journey home Marcus Grodi.”, and of Stubenville conferences, scott hahn, karl keating books and videos all available on the internet, and u tube…

God bless.
Kentcara2003

 

[kentcara2003]

The RCC teaches that Protestants can be saved, but may be taking a large gamble if assuming to know God’s judgement. We know definitively confession wipes our soul clean. Without it, salvation is left up to God’s graces.

God is both merciful and just. Grace requires a response from us. We cannot assume to know His judgements.

Please get the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, or even the Youcat, to grow in the knowledge and love of your Faith.

Kentcara2003

 

[Dorothy]

So if I remain a Protestant and miss church services, I’m fine. If I become a Catholic and miss Mass, I’m going to hell?

Thank you

It seems that this is getting comical.

It is best to leave all judgment to our Lord, as he knows our hearts.

I do know that if I deliberately missed Mass for a no-good reason I would need to correct that as soon as possible!

 

[mattp0625]

Please get the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, or even the Youcat, to grow in the knowledge and love of your Faith.

Kentcara2003

I do have the catechism

 

[Della]

So if I remain a Protestant and miss church services, I’m fine. If I become a Catholic and miss Mass, I’m going to hell?

Thank you

It’s not quite that simple. If you know you should be Catholic, then you need to take it seriously by researching it and praying about it. While you are doing so you are not obligated to attend Mass, although it is highly recommended.

But yes, if you are received into the Church you are expected to keep her precepts. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is still one of the Ten Commandments. All examinations of conscience before going to reconciliation are based on them. Breaking them can be a mortal sin. One’s culpability is another matter.

If you deliberately miss Mass as a Catholic without good cause, you put your soul in danger of hell, but no one can say that you would go to hell, since the final decision is up to God alone. But deliberately missing Mass while understanding the potential consequences is certainly not a good thing to do.

 

[Adonia]

I have a friend who was born and raised in the Catholic faith but in his adult years has abandoned his Catholic upbringing and hasn’t been to Mass in over 25 years nor receives any of the Sacraments such as confession. Although this person still believes in God and lives a fairly moral life with good values but now believes that attending church is not necessary for salvation and he firmly believes he will go to Heaven. I told him, in my opinion, he was taking a big gamble because the Catholic Church teaches if one misses Mass without a valid reason that is a mortal sin and if they die without confessing it, that person will likely end up in hell. Of course, he dismissed my opinion and quickly changed the subject so I guess my question is. If a person lives a fairly good moral life such as this person but refuses to attend church (or confession), do you think they are destined for hell?

Mark

As a lifelong Catholic who loves going to Mass my opinion is no. If that were true, then untold billions of souls are lost, including all the Protestants and even those who have no religious affiliation at all.

I have two friends, a married couple, who believe in Christ but never attend any type of worship service. What they do though is live out Christ’s commands as they go through their daily life. They once brought a slight acquaintance of theirs into their home so this person could spend their final days in comfort and love. They didn’t just shove this person off into a side room either, they moved furniture around so she would be right with them in her hospital bed right in the main living area. They always do this sort of thing, helping others to a point way beyond I would help someone.

No, I do not think these friends of mine will end up in the fires of hell. If they end up there, then there is no hope for any of us.

 

[Nigel7]

I told him, in my opinion, he was taking a big gamble because the Catholic Church teaches if one misses Mass without a valid reason that is a mortal sin and if they die without confessing it, that person will likely end up in Hell.
do you think they are destined for hell?

If God damns people to Hell for all eternity for missing a single mass (as the Church still teaches to this day), then imagine the punishment for missing 25 years worth of mass! Oh my!

NO!

This teaching of the Church reeks of a Midieval institution whose chief concern was maintaining its power and control (fear) over all peoples lives - greeting those peoples with promises of eternal damnation should they fail to appear Sunday morning.

 

[Adonia]

It’s not quite that simple. If you know you should be Catholic, then you need to take it seriously by researching it and praying about it. While you are doing so you are not obligated to attend Mass, although it is highly recommended.

But yes, if you are received into the Church you are expected to keep her precepts. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is still one of the Ten Commandments. All examinations of conscience before going to reconciliation are based on them. Breaking them can be a mortal sin. One’s culpability is another matter.

If you deliberately miss Mass as a Catholic without good cause, you put your soul in danger of hell, but no one can say that you would go to hell, since the final decision is up to God alone. But deliberately missing Mass while understanding the potential consequences is certainly not a good thing to do.

My Pastor at a former Parish told me that if I cannot get to a Sunday Mass somewhere (I travel a lot for my work), then I should at least put some time aside to read the Mass readings for that particular day. (I always carry my Missal). Then if somehow I can get to a church later on in the week, to attend a Mass then.

 

[Della]

My Pastor at a former Parish told me that if I cannot get to a Sunday Mass somewhere (I travel a lot for my work), then I should at least put some time aside to read the Mass readings for that particular day. (I always carry my Missal). Then if somehow I can get to a church later on in the week, to attend a Mass then.

This comes under missing Mass for good reason. If one cannot attend, one has no obligation to attend.

Nigel7:

If God damns people to Hell for all eternity for missing a single mass (as the Church still teaches to this day), then imagine the punishment for missing 25 years worth of mass! Oh my!

NO!

As others have already written, perhaps you missed it, we do not judge whether or not anyone is in hell no matter what he has done. Only God knows our motivations and who is culpable of what sins and to what degree.

This teaching of the Church reeks of a Midieval institution whose chief concern was maintaining its power and control (fear) over all peoples lives - greeting those peoples with promises of eternal damnation should they fail to appear Sunday morning.

Well, you are wrong about that. The Church has no power to compel anyone to do anything. Everything we do/don’t do is our decision to make. The Church can only teach what she learned from her Founder, who is Christ.

No one is damned because he “fails to appear Sunday morning.” Rather, if he may be damned if he deliberately, and knowingly defies God’s law. It must be an act of rebellion, not merely feeling too tired or some other, if not very good, but understandable, reason.

Any Catholic who misses a obligatory Mass, and isn’t sure if he has sinned, can go to confession and let his confessor help him if he’s committed any–usually not, at least usually not mortal sin. This is one of the advantages of reconciliation–that we can have assurance of sins forgiven and to talk to a minister of God who is trained to help us with such things.

No one is “promised eternal damnation” by the Church. Only God determines that. We are not to presume upon God’s mercy, but God and the Church are not “out to get” anyone for anything. Rather, God and the Church stand with open arms to accept us all into God’s graces–that is if we want them.

 

[Nigel7]

Well, you are wrong about that. The Church has no power to compel anyone to do anything. Everything we do/don’t do is our decision to make. The Church can only teach what she learned from her Founder, who is Christ.

The authorities telling the people that they risk eternal damnation simply for missing a mass can certainly be quite compelling. That’s what threats are for.
“You don’t have to go to grandma’s tonight, but if you don’t then you are grounded FOREVER.”
I’ll betcha little Tommy goes to grandma’s tonight, not for love of g’ma, but rather for fear of being grounded for the rest of his natural life.

Christ did not teach that people are even potentially condemned to an eternity of hell-fire for missing mass, and neither did his Apostles in the Gospels.

“Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you…”
Col 2;16-18

 

[Della]

The authorities telling the people that they risk eternal damnation simply for missing a mass can certainly be quite compelling. That’s what threats are for.
“You don’t have to go to grandma’s tonight, but if you don’t then you are grounded FOREVER.”
I’ll betcha little Tommy goes to grandma’s tonight, not for love of g’ma, but rather for fear of being grounded for the rest of his natural life.

What you are talking about is obeying one’s conscience, not being browbeaten into doing things that aren’t important. It’s entirely up to us if we obey our consciences or not.

Christ did not teach that people are even potentially condemned to an eternity of hell-fire for missing mass, and neither did his Apostles in the Gospels.

The Mass didn’t exist until Jesus instituted it in the Upper Room, so that’s arguing from silence. But, every Jew was required to keep holy the Sabbath Day, and we still are required to do that because it is one of the Ten Commandments, not merely an ordinance that no longer applied when Christ fulfilled the precepts of the Law of Moses.

“Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you…”
Col 2;16-18

These verses are often trotted out when discussing our obligation to attend Sunday Mass, but it doesn’t negate our Sunday obligation:

Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary:

Modern dogmatizers wilfully or ignorantly misapply this text of the apostle, to disprove the fasts and festivals observed in the Catholic Church; but it is evident, as St. Augustine observes, that the apostle is here condemning the legal distinction of clean and unclean meats, and the feasts of the new moon, to which false brethren wanted to subject the Colossians. (St. Augustine, ep. 59. ad Paulin. in solut. quæs. 7.

St. Jerome, (Epist. ad Algas) understands by the religion or service of Angels, the Jewish religion given by Angels; and shows all that is here said to be directed against the Jewish teachers, who sought to subject the new Christians to the observances of the Mosaic law.

As I stated before, we are making no judgments about anyone’s salvation. What we are contending is that each of us is culpable before God if we sin. What level of sin or what punishment for sin we receive is entirely up to us. We can rebel and do what we please, or we can seek God’s forgiveness and grace. God condemns no one unfairly, he’s not a hard taskmaster, but a loving God who eagerly wishes us to be one with him in love.

 

[Vico]

If God damns people to Hell for all eternity for missing a single mass (as the Church still teaches to this day), then imagine the punishment for missing 25 years worth of mass! Oh my!

NO!

This teaching of the Church reeks of a Midieval institution whose chief concern was maintaining its power and control (fear) over all peoples lives - greeting those peoples with promises of eternal damnation should they fail to appear Sunday morning.

Makes me realize that people are not thinking of the different levels of merit and demerit in the afterlife. So there is much less merit in heaven for the soul that repents at the end of a life of sinful dissent than one filled with habitual grace throughout. Similarly, but in the reverse, for Hell.

 

[Nigel7]

What you are talking about is obeying one’s conscience, not being browbeaten into doing things that aren’t important. It’s entirely up to us if we obey our consciences or not.

What we are talking about is control by fear. That’s all.

The Mass didn’t exist until Jesus instituted it in the Upper Room, so that’s arguing from silence. But, every Jew was required to keep holy the Sabbath Day, and we still are required to do that because it is one of the Ten Commandments, not merely an ordinance that no longer applied when Christ fulfilled the precepts of the Law of Moses.

The Sabbath is Saturday, actually (7th day). The Lord’s Day is Sunday (first day), according to gospel/scripture. We Catholics do not celebrate the Sabbath, as you are suggesting. Your argument proceeds from a false premise.

"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes…
The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
Rom 10; 6,11

These verses are often trotted out when discussing our obligation to attend Sunday Mass, but it doesn’t negate our Sunday obligation:

I know, these scriptures I present to you, the Word of God, flies in the face of Church teaching.

What we are contending is that each of us is culpable before God if we sin. What level of sin or what punishment for sin we receive is entirely up to us.

That is utterly unscriptural. I am not my own judge and you are not yours. We will all stand before The Judge (God) and receive our sentence; life or death.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I’m seeing a bunch of theologically inaccurate comments from folks that should know better.

 

[Della]

What we are talking about is control by fear. That’s all.

I understand your intention. I simply disagree that it applies to how God acts in our lives. If you accuse the Church of being harsh for asking obedience to God’s law, in reality, you are accusing God of it, for the Church is Christ’s voice in the world. Remember that Christ sent his Apostles into the whole world to teach what he had taught them. He gave the Church the Holy Spirit who guides the Church into all truth, and his authority to “bind and loose” whatever the Church decides. This is all right there in the NT. Look it up for yourself, if you don’t want to believe me.

The Sabbath is Saturday, actually (7th day). The Lord’s Day is Sunday (first day), according to gospel/scripture. We Catholics do not celebrate the Sabbath, as you are suggesting. Your argument proceeds from a false premise.

You are under-informed, my friend. You claim to be Catholic but your argument is either a Jehovah’s Witness or Seventh Day Adventist’s one. The obligation to keep holy the Sabbath Day is fulfilled on Sunday because Christ gave the Church, in the persons of her bishops, the authority to decide all matters pertaining to faith and morals. Read Acts 15. What did the Apostles and others gathered for the First Council of Jerusalem do there? They canceled the obligation of converts to be circumcised. Were they wrong to do that? No, they weren’t. The history of why the Church changed the Sabbath obligation from Saturday to Sunday is found here: catholic.com/tracts/sabbath-or-sunday.

"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes…
The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
Rom 10; 6,11

That’s nice and it’s true, of course, but what does it have to do with obeying the Ten Commandments? Where in the NT did any of its authors claim we are no longer to obey the moral law–the law written on our hearts (which is what the TCs are)? Nowhere.

I know, these scriptures I present to you, the Word of God, flies in the face of Church teaching.

Again, this is not how a Catholic would express a disagreement over scriptural interpretation, but some form of Protestantism–generally non-liturgical. The Scripture you first cited talks about the Judaiser who were trying to make Gentile converts keep all the ordinances of the OT. St. Paul was denying that, saying that in Christ all of them were fulfilled. This does not mean, however that the moral law, the Ten Commandments are nullified in the new covenant in Christ. Indeed, we are to keep them all the more carefully since we have been baptized in Christ and are, therefore, even more responsible for the grace of that baptism to obey God’s immutable law.

That is utterly unscriptural. I am not my own judge and you are not yours. We will all stand before The Judge (God) and receive our sentence; life or death.

What I mean is–we must do our part. Even Evangelicals say that we must do some things to be saved–it’s not all up to God, as if we have no responsibility to obey his law. Of course God judges us, but we are supposed to be faithful and obedient or we may lose our salvation, which is conditional not absolute. I think you have been greatly influenced by non-Catholics in some way. They believe in Scripture only, but even that concept is not in the Bible. Rather, Jesus founded a Church and gave her, in the persons of his Apostles and their successors, the authority to decide matters of faith and morals. The Bible is a witness to that truth, it is not meant to tell us everything about theology–it’s not a theological tome, as many think. Rather it is one part of the whole of Sacred Tradition which started with the promise to Adam and Eve to send the Redeemer, and ended in Christ who founded his Church to be his voice in the world.

I apologize for the lengthy reply, but many books have been written on all these things. It’s impossible to relay all that information in one post. I suggest you research your own faith more thoroughly before accepting what you may read or hear from non-Catholic sources.

 

[Nigel7]

You are under-informed, my friend. You claim to be Catholic but your argument is either a Jehovah’s Witness or Seventh Day Adventist’s one. The obligation to keep holy the Sabbath Day is fulfilled on Sunday because Christ gave the Church, in the persons of her bishops, the authority to decide all matters pertaining to faith and morals. Read Acts 15. What did the Apostles and others gathered for the First Council of Jerusalem do there? They canceled the obligation of converts to be circumcised. Were they wrong to do that? No, they weren’t. The history of why the Church changed the Sabbath obligation from Saturday to Sunday is found here: catholic.com/tracts/sabbath-or-sunday.

Again, this is not how a Catholic would express a disagreement over scriptural interpretation, but some form of Protestantism–generally non-liturgical. The Scripture you first cited talks about the Judaiser who were trying to make Gentile converts keep all the ordinances of the OT. St. Paul was denying that, saying that in Christ all of them were fulfilled. This does not mean, however…

To the contrary, you might possibly reconsider your own information and misinterpretations before telling others that they are “under-informed”.

Was St. Ignatius under-informed?

“[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order of things * have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death” (Letter to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 110]).

• Ignatius of Antioch

Well, that runs contrary to your argument.

Della:

The history of why the Church changed the Sabbath obligation

from Saturday to Sunday is found here
We Catholics do not have a “Sabbath obligation”. We no longer observe the Sabbath,

[P]assages of Scripture such as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10 indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer binding and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.

Also contrary to your argument, Della…

**The early Church Fathers compared the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of the rite of circumcision, and from that they demonstrated that if the apostles abolished circumcision (Gal. 5:1-6), so also the observance of the Sabbath must have been abolished. **
catholic.com/tracts/sabbath-or-sunday (your link, btw)

Do not be presumptuous. There is a great deal of presumption and error strewn throughout your post. I don’t have time to address all of it. Actually, you rather sound much like the Seventh Day Adventist with your continued insistence that we Catholics still observe the SABBATH.

And let me make this clear above all else. I am not saying that we do not need to go to mass on Sunday. I am saying that if you miss mass on Sunday every once in a while for no good reason then God is not going to damn you for all eternity.

It is silly these arguments about being damned to hell for missing Sunday mass. I go to daily mass, usually 4-5 days a week, but if I stumble and miss it on Sunday (which I do very rarely) then after attending devoutly Mon, Tues, Wed, Th, Fri, then I very well may be going to hell.
Legalism is for the Jews. Mercy, mercy, mercy for those who put their faith in Christ our Lord! And that is not Protestantism, my friend. That is JESUS CHRIST.

God bless*

 

[Della]

I’m not going to argue with you, Nigel7. I know perfectly well what the Church teaches about the Sabbath. I wrote that we keep the obligation to keep the Sabbath Day holy by attending Sunday Mass (or Saturday evening). I am not claiming that we keep the Sabbath as our Jewish friends think of it. The commandment to keep holy the Sabbath Day has not be abrogated, it has simply been transferred to Sunday. That’s it. You are pulling quotes out of their context, but I really don’t care if you do. The only thing that concerns us here is if we have an obligation to attend Sunday Mass, and if missing it willfully, deliberately, and knowingly is a mortal sin. It is, plain and simple. The Church teaches that it is, always has and always will, because it is one of the immutable laws of God, not an invention of the Church.

However who is/isn’t culpable of mortal sin by doing so is an entirely different matter, as I have also made perfectly clear in my other posts. You are wrong to give people the idea that they can miss Sunday Mass for no good reason and not put themselves in danger of hell. They are doing that. However, and again, and for the last time–that is for them and their confessor to sort out, not you or me or anyone else on the internet. I see no reason to go on with this when the Church’s teaching is crystal clear on the matter.