Missing mass on sunday?

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magdelena_paris

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Is it ok to miss mass on sunday if i have to work as long as i make up for it by going to mass another day of the week? I would like to attend mass on sunday, but i have to work to pay for college and rent, but i don’t want to be sinning either.
 
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My understanding is that we are obligated to attend mass on sundays. Most parishes have mass on Saturday evening around 5:00. You might try going on Saturday. Also usually on Sudays there are several masses, maybe one would fit your schedule. I can’t imagine starting my week without the strength of Sunday mass.

maggiec
 
You are not bound by the Sunday obligation if your work schedule makes it impossible to attend all the Sunday masses and also the Saturday vigil mass. You are not required to attend weekday masses to make up for it, but it would be a good thing to do!
 
It’s not okay to pit Sunday Mass against college. Take fewer classes so you don’t have to pay so much tuition and so you’ll have more time during the week to work. That way you won’t feel compelled to work on Sundays, and you’ll be able to get to Mass. Sometimes, getting to Mass requires a sacrifice or at least some inconvenience.
 
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arnulf:
You are not bound by the Sunday obligation if your work schedule makes it impossible to attend all the Sunday masses and also the Saturday vigil mass. You are not required to attend weekday masses to make up for it, but it would be a good thing to do!
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I don’t believe this is correct. Catholics are obligated to attend Sunday Mass, which includes Saturday vigil. One reason they came up with the vigil is just for these unusual circumstances when some folks truly cannot attend on Sunday (doctors, firemen, some jobs do make it impossible).

A weekday mass is not a “substitute” for missing Sunday (or Vigil) mass. The Community aspect of weekend masses is part of the reason to attend, it’s not just a private devotion.

As for whether missing Mass (except of course for illness or real emergencies) is a venial or mortal sin, I’m not sure. But with the number of masses offered on Saturdays and Sundays at most parishes, it’s hard for me to imagine that someone devout could not work out their schedule to attend one.
 
As far as I know about missing Mass on Sunday, or Saturday evening, I was listening to Father Corapi, SOLT on the radio and he stated that it was a Mortal Sin to miss Mass on Sunday. That really opened my eyes very wide!!! I am very pleased to have a couple of parishes in my area, that offer Mass on Saturday nights and Sunday nights, as late as 7 pm, for those of us who cannot attend. If you call your local Archdioese, they can tell you which Churches have masses that can hopefully fit into your schedule. Good luck, and Jesus really loves it when we visit him! God Bless, joe
 
Many public Colleges have Newman Centers who offer mass on Sunday night. Check it out.

-LauraAnn
 
Making up a Mass is no good, it is a serious sin to miss Mass on Sunday b/c we are obligated to that day to worship the Lord… there should be a Mass that you can attend to, whether it be Saturday night, or even Sunday night. Do you think that you could not work on Sundays? I asked to have off on Sundays just b/c it is a day of rest and shouldn’t work, unless it was housework that needed to get done.:tiphat:

He only gave us one day that we have to go to Mass… In additon to going to Sunday Mass you could attend any Masses during the week, but must go to Sunday Mass.
 
I don’t think that by missing mass once in awhile that you’re sinning. It’s not about the “Church” its about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You don’t have to go to a church to be saved and while you may draw strength from being with other believers, missing a Sunday is not going to send you to hell.
 
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darwindidntknow:
I don’t think that by missing mass once in awhile that you’re sinning. It’s not about the “Church” its about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You don’t have to go to a church to be saved and while you may draw strength from being with other believers, missing a Sunday is not going to send you to hell.
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I take it you are not catholic?
 
nope but i have a lot of catholic friends and some of them believe that they have to warm a pew each week. Personally, I go to church when I can but I feel its more important to focus on God all week…not just on Sunday.
 
Though it is true we have an obligation to live our christian lives all week and not just on Sunday, it is imperative to take time out of our lives, and come visit God at his house- for fellowship, for worship, and for Communion.
 
i would agree with that for the most part…though i’m not catholic so the whole communion thing is a little blurry maybe…
 
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magdelena_paris:
Is it ok to miss mass on sunday if i have …
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darwindidntknow:
I don’t think that by missing mass once in awhile that you’re sinning…
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Magdelena_paris came to a Catholic forum and asked a very specific question about the teachings of the Church. I don’t think it is right for you to mislead her by spouting off your personal opinion unless you clearly indicate that you are not expressing Catholic teaching but merely your personal opinion.
 
My apologies if I wasn’t clear enough. No where in the Bible however does it say “You must go to church every Sunday”. Since the basis of my faith (and the basis of faith for all who claim to know Christ) is the Word, it is not only my personal opinion.
 
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darwindidntknow:
My apologies if I wasn’t clear enough. No where in the Bible however does it say “You must go to church every Sunday”. Since the basis of my faith (and the basis of faith for all who claim to know Christ) is the Word, it is not only my personal opinion.
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Well, as Catholics, we don’t really hold to your interpretation of Sacred Scripture. The fifth Commandment tells us to keep Holy the Sabbath. For us, as Christians, Sunday is the Sabbath since that is the day Christ rose from the dead and triumphed over evil. I can’t think of a holier way to keep it than to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist. And since it is a command, I think that is exactly what it is. You must go to Church on Sundays to keep holy the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8-11 will help to clarify for the original poster why it is a necessity to not labor on Sunday. Make every conceivable effort to not work on Sunday and to attend Mass.

Love,
Annie
 
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darwindidntknow:
My apologies if I wasn’t clear enough. No where in the Bible however does it say “You must go to church every Sunday”. Since the basis of my faith (and the basis of faith for all who claim to know Christ) is the Word, it is not only my personal opinion.
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Darindidntknow,
I would say that scrpiture does show us a few things you should take into account. First the command & authority Jesus gives the twelve in Matt 28:18-20*“All Power in heaven and on earth has been given to me…Go…make disciples of all nations…teaching them to abserve all that I commanded you.”* And then in Matt 18:18-20 we hear Jesus giving authority to the apostles “Amen, I say to you what ever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth sall be loosed in heaven.”
And then in Matt 10:40 we hear Jesus affirming this authority by telling the twelve, *“he who receives you receives me…receives the one who sent me.” *and in Luke 10:16 *“Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.” *From this the apostle preched and teach, buliding the church, which is his body" Eph 1:22-23
Jesus then tells the aspostles in John 16:13 that the Spirit of truth …will guide you to all truth."So it is Spirit of truth guiding the words of St. Paul when he says in 1 Tim 3:15 "the CHURCH of the living God is the pillar and foundation of TRUTH."

So, scripture may not say right out, “You must go to church every Sundays.” as you said, but it does show us that we must follow the athority and teachings of the Church and look at the Church a the pillar and foundation of truth.
 
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."92

2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord’s day a memorial of Israel’s liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."94

2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord’s Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108

2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God’s holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Code: 
Every Sunday when we attend Mass we are actually at the re-presentation of Holy Thursday (Last Supper), Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. We celebrate God’s totally unconditional love for us in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Then, just like the Israelites of the Passover, we are called to Communion with our God as His adopted children to partake (actually eat) of the Supper of the Lamb (Eucharist.) 

Yes, it is a grave (used to be known as mortal) sin to refuse our Lord’s invitation. It is a great mercy on His part to invite us, and we should accept.  Additionally, accepting His invitation and doing as He said in John 6, Jesus not only accepts us into His family, but He also forgives our venial sins if we repent of them, and grants us sacramental grace to avoid them in the future, allowing us to become more like Him as time goes on.

As always, God gave us the commandment to Keep Holy the Sabbath, and as always, it is because it is a great blessing for us to do so.

My recommendation to you would be to find a church that either offers a Saturday vigil or a Sunday Mass at a time that you can attend, even if it is a 7:00 am Mass. It may be a sacrifice, but your blessings will be great.  

If you cannot find a Mass that you can attend (it happens in rural areas), pray, pray, pray, and then make an appointment and speak to your pastor.  Many times, God will bless you for your desire to do right either by providing a schedule change either at work, or even in the Mass schedule itself. No promises, just the hope of something that has happened to me a time or two.  God bless you!

In Christ's peace and joy,

Robin L.
 
Make time for God, and you will have more time for the rest of your obligations. It works in my life!
 
“I don’t think that by missing mass once in awhile that you’re sinning. It’s not about the “Church” its about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Not if you’re Catholic. For a Catholic to skip Sunday Mass is for a Catholic to commit a sin. Karl Keating’s suggestion was a good one. Besides, one hour a week for Sunday Mass isn’t a whole lot of time and I doubt you’ll fail a class if you give that one hour to God. I am a full time college student and a firefighter so I know what a time-crunch life can be. But unless I’m on duty at my fire station I attend Mass. At least at Mass I can pray about my collge studies!!!

Also, how much more of a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” can you have then partaking the the Eucharist?!?

Here’s a good blurb about our obligations to attend Sunday Mass from the Catholic Information Network titled, “Sunday Mass Is a Serious Obligation.”

cin.org/jp2/980809.html

Don’t let anyone give you wishy-washy warm-fuzzy feelings about it being “ok” to miss Sunday Mass. The truth is, it’s not ok unless you have no choice about working on Sundays or you are being held prisoner by aliens from Mars.
 
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