Missing mass for that time of the month

[MargaretClare]

I think it’s not a problem of you miss Mass because of terrible cramps. That would be the same as if you were really sick. Sometimes in my case I have been in bed all day with a totally white face. I definitely take 2 Aleves for this - doesn’t work all that well though. But lately I’ve decided if I have some idea that bad cramps are coming or small pain beginning, I will take the 2 Aleve right away before the intense pain - and for the last year and a half, it’s been working great - it stops the pain before it comes - and then you don’t have to give up your whole day, or at least half your day, for this. Although it is always a good opportunity to offer it up for souls.

 

[Celia]

I myself have a fairly normal cycle but have experienced some horrible pains before. I can certainly understand, if a woman experiences things like Traci, she might have to miss mass in order to take care of herself. People that haven’t experienced that kind of pain don’t really know what it’s like to feel that…incapacitated and miserable. Bottom line, the individual is the best judge of their own suffering and can’t really make decisions for others.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

For crying out loud, Potato. Use logic.

Without going into heavy-duty descriptions, it isn’t just the “pain” of menstrual cramps that causes one not to be able to attend Mass, although very real pain than any man will ever experience can play a big part of it.

Think about it a minute. A real minute. You do know how this whole human biological process works, right? OK. The books lied. It’s not that tiny an amount. Multiply what you know exponentially to the 100th power. Think another full minute; in fact, take two minutes. Yes, it can. It does happen. And sometimes nothing can stop it but bed blocks. So, while a doctor should be consulted, in the meantime Sunday Mass will have to wait.

Yes, ladies, use your best judgement, and if you are extremely under the weather in this regard, please, do not attend Mass. Some day, God will bless you with menopause (I consider my menopause a huge blessing!), and you can go to daily and Sunday Mass any old time you please, without “pain”.

 

[kellyb32]

I may be wrong but after reading through these posts, Potato says to seek medical attention if that time of month knocks a woman off her feet.

The women here who’ve expereinced times of the month that were worse than labor have already stated they DID seek medical help only to be told that it’s just their body reacting normally, in the way it was uniquely designed to do.

I was able to go through labor and delivery with no pain relief, 4 times mind you. Only when I ripped as the baby came out did I scream. I wonder if you can appreciate your skin being ripped apart in a very sensitive area of your body and not being able to keep silent through it or not feel like you have to pass out or vomit because the pain is so great. Lets see if that kind of FRESH pain would keep you home or if you’d go to Mass.

The priest at my parish has told my mom that if you are sick or otherwise unable to attend Mass for serious reasons you should watch it on TV.

Attending Mass a couple days after receiving an injury to the groin after a sports event doesn’t really count in my book. You can wear a cup for protection so the injury wouldn’t be as bad as it could be. There’s no protection for raging hormones and the effects they have on a woman’s body.

GRAPHIC STUFF BELOW:

Try partaking fully in Mass with a migraine headache where light and sound makes you want to vomit and at the same time where standing up causes what feels like hemmoraging (sp?) and so much loss of blood that causes you to be weak and faint. That’s not all, on top of feeling this…you must have someone hit you with a baseball bat right between your legs while wearing no protective gear* just* as you open the church doors… See if you could fully focus on Christ in the Mass while experiencing all these things at the same time.

Since, Potato, you are a man, you can’t experience that, I propose you do this instead: The next time you have severe diarrhea, hold it in for an hour. Don’t seek out your nearest bathroom, go focus on our Lord instead. See how long you can stand when you feel the sweat beading on your brow as you hold it in and your intestines are groaning and churning for relief. See if you feel confident enough to sit, stand, kneel without losing focus on the Cross. Would you be able to move without feeling like you were going to lose control of your bowels? Try it and let us know. It would be interesting to know if you would think it’s permissible to miss Mass after you felt that way.

Sure you could take medicine to help relieve your diarrhea, but there are women who stated in this thread that they take meds to help with the pain and THEY DON’T WORK. That’s like telling someone with a degenerative bone disease to take an aspirin to feel better. The only stuff that will work will end up knocking you out and making you unable to safely function. Try attending Mass, driving there yourself mind you, when you feel like you took a sleeping pill.

Some men just don’t get it.

Thank God for Jesus Christ because He is the ONLY Man who can fully understand us women and that’s because He made us.

That’s just my 2 cents.

Sorry if I said some offensive stuff here. I tried not to be too graphic…I don’t think I succeeded too well though

 

[Giannawannabe]

I can’t recall missing Mass for “that time of the month”, but I can see why, on occasion, a woman would. It’s not just “cramps”. Sometimes, it’s nausea, headache, back pain, dizziness, overall feeling of malaise. At times, I become very depressed feeling, and it’s difficult to just get out of bed. For many women, it is not an every month thing; just an occasional problem. We all need to judge for ourselves, whether we are not feeling well enough to go to Mass.

 

[kaygee]

years ago, when attending a predominately Russian Orthodox church, it was considered scandal for a woman to receive Communion during that time of the month. As in the OT, a woman was ritually not eligible to participate in public worship at that time. While today, I see no problem with women receiving Communion and participating in public worship while in that state, I can also see how the OT prohibitions and the Russian orthodox position were a positive boon to women who do experience problems during “that time of the month”.

In short, at that time of the month, God cuts women a little slack. One shouldn’t just blow off Mass because it’s that time of the month, but then, if there is a problem at that time of the month, there is ample precident for an excuse from one’s normal obligatons.

 

[SeekerJen]

Serriously?
You been to mass you have seen people there on oxegen, in wheelchairs, the elderly trying as hard as they can to kneel, people hung over, people with cancer or loss of limbs, handicapped. I have seen labor in the communion line. I understand that each woman is different in regards to thier experience iun this area but if it is keeping you from functioning on a somewhat normal level, I would really think that there is a problem and something that wonderful medicine and science could help with. Is this something so serious that we need to start asking it in job interviews or how about a campaign question for Mrs. Clinton. I hope Condi Rice is ok this month. Really, talk about sexist. I would think if the pain is so intense that you would need mass more than usual. It might beat sitting at home moaning.

Yup, I can tell without looking at your profile that you’re a man. Thanks for your compassion.

I used to miss at least a day of school a month as a teenager due to bad periods. I had nauseating migraines and cramps that would pretty much leave me bed-ridden or on the bathroom floor for at least the first day of my cycle. This continued until my early 20’s, when my hormones started to settle out and my body regulated itself. Have a bit of compassion for these girls, it really is that bad sometimes.

And you’ve seen labor in the communion line? I seriously doubt it. You may have seen a Braxton-Hicks contraction (that’s the false labor contraction, right?), but if a woman was in full labor and her water had broken, I seriously doubt she’d be any where but at home, in hospital, or en route to hospital. Fortunately Jesus is more compassionate than his mortal brothers.

 

[Ferdinand_Mary]

I believe the question has been sufficiently answered. Thank you to all who participated. This thread is now closed.

Mane Nobiscum Domine,

Ferdinand Mary