Missing Mass: Holy day of obligation

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

Nelka

New member
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
 
Nelka said:
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
No one is bound to the impossible.

Even then, there may be no “vigil” Mass, but is there an evening Mass of any kind the day before?
 
Nelka said:
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Absolutely not. Your work automatically dispenses you. God does not command the impossible.
 
Do you have time to get a dispensation from your priest?

If you do not have time, look at your own post and the work you will be doing on that day…🙂
 
Not necessary in this case. Necessary work, care for young children, the sick or elderly automatically dispenses
Click to expand...
Yes, thank you. I edited my post to reflect that.
 
Nelka said:
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
No you tried the best you could and you are doing necessary work. 🙂
 
Nelka said:
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Short answer is “no”.

Just like my grandfather wasn’t sinning if he had to spend Sunday morning in a steel mill back in the day (no saturday or evening masses during that era)
 
Nelka said:
In England, All Saints day is a holy day but I realised that I will be working all day from 8am right through to the next morning with no time away from the house I work in. I am a support worker for people with learning difficulties. Bath, shower, medication, cooking etc.

There is no vigil Mass before it. There is no way I can attend Mass at either church.

Will I be committing a mortal sin?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Don’t think there is sin here. But perhaps next time try to schedule your time so you can attend a HDO. There is a list of them and calendars are just a fingertip away.
 
I’m in a very similar position to you - a UK Catholic who is unable to attend Mass on All Saints due to work commitments.

I discussed my situation with both my Parish Priest/Pastor, and the priest I go to for Confession, they both agreed that missing Mass wasn’t a problem. The priest I go to for confession even commented that “You can’t be expected to do the impossible”.

I suspect that missing Mass isn’t a problem in your case either, although if you’re ever in the same situation again, perhaps you could talk to your parish priest/pastor, just to reassure yourself? 🙂
 
If you are taking care of the disabled and this care interfered with your ability to assist at Mass then you would not be in any sin for failing to attend Mass on any Sunday or holy day of obligation.
 
I went this morning but had to leave after the petitions. If I can’t go to Mass in the evening, does this fulfill my obligation?
 
LMU said:
I went this morning but had to leave after the petitions. If I can’t go to Mass in the evening, does this fulfill my obligation?
Click to expand...
I’m in a similar situation and I am not going to go again this evening. I did my best and had to leave at just about the same point because my children were all melting down.

I don’t know how it technically works out (whether the obligation is fulfilled or whether I’m released/dispensed from the obligation) but I’m really just not going to worry about it.

(I have tended to be in the “don’t move holy days to the next Sunday!” camp…until today. Yikes, it was awful. :eek:😊)
 
pensmama87 said:
I’m in a similar situation and I am not going to go again this evening. I did my best and had to leave at just about the same point because my children were all melting down.

I don’t know how it technically works out (whether the obligation is fulfilled or whether I’m released/dispensed from the obligation) but I’m really just not going to worry about it.

(I have tended to be in the “don’t move holy days to the next Sunday!” camp…until today. Yikes, it was awful. :eek:😊)
Click to expand...
Our beloved Monsignor Michael Reagan used to say there’s a special place in heaven for mothers of fussy children.
😉
 
pianistclare said:
Our beloved Monsignor Michael Reagan used to say there’s a special place in heaven for mothers of fussy children.
😉
Click to expand...
I think I’m going to need a long stint in Purgatory first, because I am terrible about handling it. 😊
 
I think to get a more perfect answer we have to look into our hearts. This can be similar to the sacrifices and oblations of ancient Israel…God said to them “I am sick of your offerings of fatlings and lambs”!! What God really wanted was a “broken and contrite heart”. So when it comes to obedience to weekly masses and other Holy Days of obligation, I think we have to examine the intentions of the heart. God does not want robots attending church out of sheer " I have to"!! (((sigh))) He wants us there because we have an intense love for our Lord and we want to be with him in the closest union we can have. If we miss because we want to do other things for our entertainment…the intentions of the heart is selfishness. The sin of missing mass is not the problem here…it’s the selfishness of the heart that needs to be worked with. Each person’s story is different from the next and there isn’t a “one size fits all” answer. If you have a good confessor, that’s a possible answer by discussing it with him. Better yet, go before the Blessed Sacrament on your knees and ask our Lord to help you search your heart and do some “heart healing” to correct some defects that may be there. When our hearts are healthy…everything else just seems to fall into place because we love our Lord more than anything else. 👍
 
pensmama87 said:
I’m in a similar situation and I am not going to go again this evening. I did my best and had to leave at just about the same point because my children were all melting down.

I don’t know how it technically works out (whether the obligation is fulfilled or whether I’m released/dispensed from the obligation) but I’m really just not going to worry about it.

(I have tended to be in the “don’t move holy days to the next Sunday!” camp…until today. Yikes, it was awful. :eek:😊)
Click to expand...
As I understand it if you are caring for small children then you are excused from the obligation to attend mass on days of obligation and Sundays.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top