Missing Mass Due To Super Busy!

[Gingersnaps4]

On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

It says not to participate in activities or work that hinder the worship owed to God so it’s understood that the excuse needs to be serious. Do you not agree that Sunday’s are an obligatory worship day?

 

[Dorothy]

The only thing I would like to add about what you said, is that watching Sunday Mass online does not fulfill our Sunday obligation. Some readers might get the impression that it does.

Of course, if one is at home with a fever it is great to watch an online Mass.

 

[PetraG]

20 miles each way.

I’m gonna say many of you are not very Christian! You are accusatory and legalistic. You sound like 1950’s nuns with rulers to smack knuckles. You act like Mass is an obligation MORE than the gift it is! We go to Mass out of love not law!

Typical of CA an embarrassing lack of compassion and nit picky legalistic argumentative tones that completely miss the point! I never asked “what’s your opinion” and as I said previously should have looked it up myself.

Some of you really need to look at your motivations; are you trying to be understanding and helpful to someone who is struggling with a day that has gotten away from his control or acting like medieval inquisitors.

The OP planned a business transaction, the acquiring of a material possession, in a way that required missing Sunday Mass. If this really was necessary (and it could be; people make their livings with trailers, sometimes), it would have been better to obtain a dispensation (if it was necessary) ahead of time rather than after.
When we have to miss Sunday Mass, the person to ask is our pastor, whose office puts him in a position to hear the details and grant dispensation where it is appropriate. A blanket query here doesn’t do much.

 

[hergratefulchild]

I am blessed to have you all here to discuss this, and want just a bit more of your time.

Firstly, I must say that I attend mass every Sunday or Saturday vigil and it’s not a question of my personal obligation of love for Our Most Holy Lord.

Are we really proclaiming, and please don’t keep bringing up the catechism; that any Catholic who misses the odd Sunday is going to he’ll unless they confess? Wouldn’t this close the door on many?

The final thing I want bring up is this; if we are to be firm on Church teachings then why in reality do Catholics worship Our Lord once a week and go as prescribed by the minister “go and proclaim the good news” in works, deeds and prayer. Are these that miss these obligations also destined for the same fate… think lazurus and the rich man… elsewhere in the catchism it is sure to state how we are to live a Christian life, does it not?

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Are we really proclaiming, and please don’t keep bringing up the catechism; that any Catholic who misses the odd Sunday is going to he’ll unless they confess? Wouldn’t this close the door on many?

That question is above my pay grade.

I will just say that this all flows from scripture: remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Mass is only one aspect of this.

“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your work animal, or the resident alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20:8-11‬ ‭NABRE‬‬
http://bible.com/463/exo.20.8-11.nabre

 

[midori]

I don’t think any of us are saying the OP is going to hell because he’s not going through the motions. There are plenty of people who are physically present at Mass, but who might as well be at home in bed for all the attention they pay to it. (I know this describes myself on more than one occasion! But despite my distract-ability, I hope that my external presence has some benefit.)

But what we are saying is that the OP is coming here looking for a pat on the head, and isn’t likely to find it. And at the same time, we’re also criticizing his choice in what he’s prioritizing over meeting his obligation: he’s allowing himself to be rushed into an imprudent transaction with a person he knows isn’t reliable.

 

[hergratefulchild]

Above your paygrade? You don’t have an opinion on this? Are you not entitled to say what you believe is the truth?

 

[Irishmom2]

Maybe she believe what she posted from the Catechism. Why does her opinion matter anyway, or anyone’s opinion for that matter? The Church is not a democracy. It doesn’t run on popular opinion.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Above your paygrade? You don’t have an opinion on this? Are you not entitled to say what you believe is the truth?

Whether or not someone is in mortal sin is beyond my ability to know, so I prefer not to speculate.

The only thing I can say is that breaking a commandment is grave matter. If anyone has further questions I’d refer them to a priest.

 

[hergratefulchild]

The Church is neither a dictatorship. At its centre is Jesus and by listening to his word and receiving the Sacraments of his Church. We are gifted with the Holy Spirit which reaffirms our faith and as The Pope mentioned on the traditionalists protesting the changes made by the second vatican council. The Church continues forward and by the work of the Holy Spirit embraces change for the good.

Using Jesus own words. Go and learn the meaning of "I desire mercy, not sacrafice.

This is following the exhortation of the old law keeping people from entering heaven and stopping those who keep to these human founded laws.

 

[PetraG]

This is the principle, as stated in canon law
Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.

Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.

In other words, we are not just to set aside the time for the Lord that is required to go to Mass. We are to set aside the entire day for the Lord. Aside from works done out of love of neighbor and those which cannot be set aside for another day, the entirety of Sunday belongs to the Lord. It is the Lord’s Day, the whole time.

The spirit behind this was articulated by Pope Francis:
https://w2.vatican.va/content/franc...papa-francesco_20171213_udienza-generale.html
Here are excerpts:
"… Sunday is a holy day for us, sanctified by the Eucharistic celebration, the living presence of the Lord among us and for us. Thus, it is the Mass that makes Sunday Christian. The Christian Sunday revolves around the Mass. For a Christian, what is a Sunday in which the encounter with the Lord is lacking?…

…The Sunday abstention from work did not exist in the early centuries: it is a specific contribution of Christianity. According to biblical tradition Jews rest on the Sabbath, while in Roman society a day of the week was not provided for abstention from servile labour. It was the Christian awareness of living as children and not as slaves, inspired by the Eucharist, which has made Sunday — almost universally — the day of rest.

Without Christ we are condemned to be dominated by everyday weariness, with its worries, and by fear of the future. The Sunday encounter with the Lord gives us the strength to experience the present with confidence and courage, and to go forth with hope. For this reason we Christians go to encounter the Lord on Sunday, in the Eucharistic celebration…

…In conclusion, why do we go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to respond that it is a precept of the Church; this helps to preserve its value, but alone does not suffice. We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with Jesus’ grace, with his living presence within us and among us, can we put his commandment into practice, and thus be his credible witnesses.

 

[hergratefulchild]

This is what I want to discuss. Do we put as much energy into physical attendance as living the Christian life? Are we equally vocal on those that attend but don’t respond.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Are we equally vocal on those that attend but don’t respond.

How do you know they don’t respond?

 

[hergratefulchild]

Yes, are we saying that all who attend mass also save the whole day for the Lord? In reality it doesn’t happen and this is in contrdiction to Church teaching. If we go half way we must go the whole distance in keeping the law. Right?

 

[PetraG]

This is what I want to discuss. Do we put as much energy into physical attendance as living the Christian life? Are we equally vocal on those that attend but don’t respond.

With the Lord’s Day and the Mass as the engine, what energy is there to put into the Christian life? From what well would this bounty come? We know there is only once source of eternal life; how could we imagine there is any way to give it to others when we are not eager to receive it first?

 

[hergratefulchild]

C’mon. I am not any place to judge. But are we not allowed to discuss the reality of a lack of charity in our society and it’s not only non Catholics. We would visibly see the works if all Catholics responded to the call. Wouldn’t we?

 

[PetraG]

Yes, are we saying that all who attend mass also save the whole day for the Lord? In reality it doesn’t happen and this is in contrdiction to Church teaching. If we go half way we must go the whole distance in keeping the law. Right?

You talk about resting on Sunday as if it were an impossibility. Who made us so hag-ridden by the cares of life that this has become something beyond our imaginations?

Is there really no one here that lives Sunday any differently than any other day of the week, save that they go to Mass? I don’t think so.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

C’mon. I am not any place to judge. But are we not allowed to discuss the reality of a lack of charity in our society and it’s not only non Catholics. We would visibly see the works if all Catholics responded to the call. Wouldn’t we?

I submit that even if you try and fail you have still responded.

 

[hergratefulchild]

Yes, the meeting of Our Lord in the mass should be the centre of our lives, not only Sunday and we should be proclaiming that, should we not?

 

[PetraG]

Yes, the meeting of Our Lord in the mass should be the centre of our lives, not only Sunday and we should be proclaiming that, should we not?

Who is suggesting otherwise? The suggestion is, rather, that the Sunday Mass, the primordial feast day, is the weekly source and summit of the Christian life, not the reward for a job well done. The Eucharist, the joining of our lives with the Holy Sacrifice on Calvary, must always precede any fruit that is going to come from us. To suggest otherwise is to suggest there can be a harvest when there has been no planting, no irrigation, no cultivation, that there can be fruit when the branch is not receiving nourishment from the one true Vine.

The Church is neither a dictatorship.

When your physician tells you that you have to eat and sleep in order to live, that is not a dictatorship.
It is someone who has your care in mind reminding you not to ignore your most fundamental needs.
If you ignore it, it is not your physician that suffers. It is your health that is damaged, your life that suffers, your ability to be good for anything to anyone else that is unnecessarily exhausted.