Missing Mass=Sin?

[benedictgal]

She’s still stalled out on labor. Still only two kittens, the ones still inside her are moving around and stuff, she’s acting normal like there is no labor at all now. I read that the record between kittens is 36 hours… I’m starting to think she may break that record!
I managed to get a 3 hour nap in today so my mood is MUCH improved. I also have a live webcam going on her and have multiple people watching it just incase I miss something (so maybe I can sleep tonight!).
If she hasn’t had another by morning I’m calling the vet (I was told as long as she’s not in distress and is acting normal and I can feel the babies inside moving not to worry but this is getting ridiculous! We’re at 26 hours after last kitty now!)

Inasmuch as there is concern about the cat, did you at least get to assist at Mass? As I noted in my initial reply to your post, I love my dachshunds, but, inasmuch as I heavily mourned the ones that died, I have to remind myself that they are not human. Inasmuch as I love them dearly, my priorities must lie with God first. I know that I tend to view my dachshunds as my fur babies, but, they cannot equate to God. When I put my pets above my filial and ecclesiastical obligation to God, then, there are serious problems.

 

[Rachel_1]

Just FYI for anyone who cares… after two days we have four healthy kittens… all huge! I have pics if you wanna see, I’ll add them to my profile whenever I wake up (been up all night as she didn’t get the bag off the other two either (she did try though with the last one just a bit ago).

 

[benedictgal]

Just FYI for anyone who cares… after two days we have four healthy kittens… all huge! I have pics if you wanna see, I’ll add them to my profile whenever I wake up (been up all night as she didn’t get the bag off the other two either (she did try though with the last one just a bit ago).

Congratulations on the kittens! [edited]

 

[baltobetsy]

Yes, please, would love to see the kittens!

 

[Rachel_1]

Ok, pix are up if you go to my profile.
and if you live near me and would like a kitten in 6-8 weeks let me know.

 

[karennascargo3]

Glad everything went well, Rachel. Please don’t take it to heart some of the uncharitable posts. I think that unless a person has pets and has a responsible and loving relationship with them, they truly wouldn’t understand what you were feeling and your being torn in two different directions. For those people, it’s only a stupid animal so it wouldn’t make sense to miss Mass. But for those of us who feel the attachment and responsibility, it’s very different. I feel very certain that, since God is an animal lover who knows if a single sparrow falls, He does too!

 

[Rachel_1]

Glad everything went well, Rachel. Please don’t take it to heart some of the uncharitable posts. I think that unless a person has pets and has a responsible and loving relationship with them, they truly wouldn’t understand what you were feeling and your being torn in two different directions. For those people, it’s only a stupid animal so it wouldn’t make sense to miss Mass. But for those of us who feel the attachment and responsibility, it’s very different. I feel very certain that, since God is an animal lover who knows if a single sparrow falls, He does too!

Looking back I think it’s cool that God made it so I could go to Mass (because God knew that I REALLY wanted to go)… I mean, how weird is it that she’d have 2 kittens on Saturday, be labor free all Sunday, and start labor back up Monday morning?
As far as the posters that said I should go to Mass, I actually agree with them after going (and after getting some sleep so I can think more clear lol), God is way more important than a pet, but at the same time, like you said, God knows about the sparrows too.
What irritated me about certain posts were that they were judgmental and assumed that I put my cat above God (isn’t it great how people really know what’s in my heart just by a forum!)

 

[karennascargo3]

I always think the same, but I honestly believe that it’s just these typed words on a computer screen. I feel very certain if we heard them in person, it wouldn’t seem like that at all. I know sometimes what I type doesn’t come out at all the way I really have it in my heart and mind…lol.

 

[baltobetsy]

Ohhh, how tiny and sweet. I wish I lived closer!

 

[Rachel_1]

Ohhh, how tiny and sweet. I wish I lived closer!

take a drive lol

 

[1ke]

Glad everything went well, Rachel. Please don’t take it to heart some of the uncharitable posts. I think that unless a person has pets and has a responsible and loving relationship with them, they truly wouldn’t understand what you were feeling and your being torn in two different directions. For those people, it’s only a stupid animal so it wouldn’t make sense to miss Mass. But for those of us who feel the attachment and responsibility, it’s very different. I feel very certain that, since God is an animal lover who knows if a single sparrow falls, He does too!

How interesting that you characterize people who readily distinguish the difference between *people *and *animals *as “uncharitable” and lacking a “responsible and loving relationship” with animals and believe that people who do not confuse people and animals “truly wouldn’t understand.”

It seems that since you cannot refute any of the following propositions, the only thing you have been able to come up with is an ad hominem attack.

• Mass is a grave obligation unless one has a **serious **reason for missing the obiligation, or a dispensation from the priest
• Animals are not people.
• Animals do not have spiritual souls, made in the image and likeness of God.
• Care of animals falls under the seventh commandment, not the fifth. As part of that commandment, the Church teaches us that “One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.”

 

[jenna_isabel]

what gorgeous wee pals! I am so so so happy to see these wee babies alive and mum being well too what beautiful animals. They will become the best friends of the families they end up in.

I am pleased you wrote in an earlier post that God made it so that you could attend mass and safely deliver those wee fluffballs too. It was His will, and I think it’s sad that this thread had the potential to turn so sour over a few misinterpreted ideas about kittens coming before God… but that is all done now and the world’s now got a few new fuzzy friends to welcome.

Good luck finding great homes for these wee pals. I know if I was near you I’d take the lot of them (although I’d struggle with the guilt that I’d be “replacing” my oldest and best friend so soon after her death… but I adore cats and want to give them all the chance of a life so good as she had!)

Look after your new cat family. Many good wishes for them

 

[benedictgal]

How interesting that you characterize people who readily distinguish the difference between *people *and *animals *as “uncharitable” and lacking a “responsible and loving relationship” with animals and believe that people who do not confuse people and animals “truly wouldn’t understand.”

It seems that since you cannot refute any of the following propositions, the only thing you have been able to come up with is an ad hominem attack.

• Mass is a grave obligation unless one has a **serious **reason for missing the obiligation, or a dispensation from the priest
• Animals are not people.
• Animals do not have spiritual souls, made in the image and likeness of God.
• Care of animals falls under the seventh commandment, not the fifth. As part of that commandment, the Church teaches us that “One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.”

As some might know, I rescue dachshunds. The dachshunds that I take in are the ones no one wants: elderly, disabled, mix, infirmed. In fact, I have one right now that has epilepsy and recovered from heartworm treatment. I also have a Boston Terrier that suffered from abuse and neglect at her previous home. I love my pets very much, to the point that when Baui, my little dachshund man got killed by another dog, I cried for several days. I could not even make it through Mass without bawling my eyes out. I adopted Baui seven years to the day after my mother died. I was also going through some very rough spots. That little dog was my best friend. It hurt like Hades when he died.

A couple of days after his death, my best human friend, a priest, called me to see how I was doing. From the way I was wailing, he thought that something had happend to my dad. I explained to him that Baui had just died. “What is a Baui”, he asked me. “My dachshund,” I replied. He could not understand why I was in such horrible shape. “He was just a dog and maybe he should have been gassed”, he told me. “I hope you’ll cry that much when I die.” I was very hurt and very angry at him. He made no apologies for his callousness. He shocked me into reality. It was not that Baui was just a dog. It was not that I was trying to place him above God or a person. (By the way, the priest and I are still friends).

To the OP, I am not trying to be insensitive. But, as hurt as I was about Baui dying, I could not shirk my obligation to assist at Mass. And, had Baui died on a Sunday, I would still have gone to Mass. I would like to think that when my time comes to die, the Lord in his great mercy will give me the solace of seeing all of the little dachshunds that I cared for in this life. To be quite frank with you, there are days when I would prefer Baui’s company to a few people’s. But, God has to come first.

 

[Rachel_1]

To the OP, I am not trying to be insensitive. But, as hurt as I was about Baui dying, I could not shirk my obligation to assist at Mass. And, had Baui died on a Sunday, I would still have gone to Mass. I would like to think that when my time comes to die, the Lord in his great mercy will give me the solace of seeing all of the little dachshunds that I cared for in this life. To be quite frank with you, there are days when I would prefer Baui’s company to a few people’s. But, God has to come first.

Nice story… but honestly, why are you still going on and on about missing Mass??
I went to Mass… I agree with you.
As I said MULTIPLE times before, I WANTED to go to Mass, I wasn’t looking for an excuse.
Of course there are multiple people in this thread though that seem to think I am/was putting my cat and her kittens above God… stop judging me, you guys have no clue what’s in my heart, my motives or where I stand with God.

On a side note, benedicatgal, please don’t take this response as soley directed at you, some of it is, but it’s for some others as well.

 

[1ke]

Nice story… but honestly, why are you still going on and on about missing Mass??

Because the majority of Catholics on this thread are proposing that it would be “ok” to miss mass in this situation.

And, moreover, they are proposing other things that are not in line with Church teaching such as that animals have “emotional and mental health” for which we are responsible (not possible since animals don’t have true emotions or a psyche in that they lack a spiritual soul). Some have also declared that those who actively distinguish between people and animals in the way the Church does are “uncharitable.”

There seem to be many here with a completely disordered view of animals, giving to them human characteristics and a place in the order of Creation that they do not occupy.

I love my animals. They are not people.

 

[ProPro]

I’m new to this forum. Where does the Bible say it’s a mortal sin to miss one, (1), uno, singular service? (Edited)

In the times of Christ, do you really think people went to EVERY preaching of the gospel?

 

[benedictgal]

I’m new to this forum. Where does the Bible say it’s a mortal sin to miss one, (1), uno, singular service? (Edited)

In the times of Christ, do you really think people went to EVERY preaching of the gospel?

Inasmuch as the OP has already stated that she went to Mass, please allow me to address the question.

The whole of the 10 commandments can be summed up in two ways, as Jesus told us: Love God and love your neighbor. Loving God means giving to Him what is due Him, our presence at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Ancient Israel, at least for a good part (when they weren’t off sacrificing to Baal) took the third commandment seriously of keeping holy the Lord’s day. Jesus took very seriously the cultic temple worship of Ancient Israel because His own Father dictated the norms and prescriptions. Why do you think that Jesus took out the whips and chords and was chasing away the folks who were profaning His Father’s house? Besides, not only does God not contradict Himself, the cultic form of sacrificial worship pointed to Jesus’ supreme Sacrifice at Calvary, which he charged His Church to keep as a memorial when He instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper.

The Church, since day one, has kept this mandate. In fact, during the early years of the Church, countless Christians gave up their lives to keep holy the Lord’s Day. We have only to look at the example that the 400 North African martyrs gave when they told the Roman persecutors that they “could not live without Sunday”.

Thus, our first and foremost obligation is to God. As Catholics, we must carry this out by assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.

 

[MarkThompson]

I’m new to this forum. Where does the Bible say it’s a mortal sin to miss one, (1), uno, singular service? (Edited)

In the times of Christ, do you really think people went to EVERY preaching of the gospel?

Canon 1247, Code of Canon Law: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.”

If the “confusion” is that you’re looking for this in the Bible, then first you have to come to terms with the fact that the Catholic Church operates on more than just the text of the Bible alone (which is a good thing, since it gave us the canonical structures necessary to create the Bible!).

 

[Rachel_1]

I’m new to this forum. Where does the Bible say it’s a mortal sin to miss one, (1), uno, singular service?(Edited)

In the times of Christ, do you really think people went to EVERY preaching of the gospel?

The requirement to attend Mass on Sunday and other holy days of obligation, rooted in the Third Commandment and codified in Church law (cf. Code of Canon Law, canons 1246-48) is a serious obligation for all Catholics. A Catholic who (a) is able to attend Sunday Mass (i.e., who is not impeded by illness, lack of transportation, etc.), (b) knows the seriousness of this requirement, and (c) nonetheless freely chooses to miss Mass, thereby commits a mortal sin (cf. Catechism, no. 2181).

The Church has from the beginning understood the Third Commandment (“keep holy the sabbath day”) as requiring attendance at Mass on Sundays and specified holy days. Failure to meet this requirement has been understood as constituting grave matter, given the fundamental importance of liturgical worship.

[H]e who fails to hear Mass on the days of precept, unless he is hindered by some true impediment, commits a serious sin and does not fulfill the divine commandment to keep holy Sundays and holy days. This is also true of a person who does not provide the means to hear Mass for persons dependent upon him.[2]

This obligation continues to be the “first precept” of the Church and continues to be required of all the faithful (cf. Catechism, nos. 2041-42). Those who deliberately fail to obey this precept “commit a grave sin” (Catechism, no. 2181).

In his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini (“The Day of the Lord”), Pope John Paul II provides profound teaching on the role of the Lord’s day in the Christian life. In doing so, the Holy Father provides a historical overview of the Sunday obligation (no. 46), and affirms that the duty to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days “has normally been understood as entailing a grave obligation” (no. 47).

The gravity of the Third Commandment is not limited to the Christian era. In the Old Testament, the violation of the Sabbath was considered by the Lord and by the Israelite people a capital offense (cf. Num. 16:32-36).

 

[Tantum_ergo]

I’m new to this forum. Where does the Bible say it’s a mortal sin to miss one, (1), uno, singular service? (Edited)

In the times of Christ, do you really think people went to EVERY preaching of the gospel?

Welcome to the forums. Um, at a Catholic Mass we are assisting in the very same absolute sacrifice of Christ on the cross AND at the Last Supper. This is not just 'some church service." Would YOU have missed the crucifixion and the Last Supper if you had the opportunity to attend? I don’t think so. THAT is what Mass is to us.

Furthermore, the 10 commandments list “Keep holy the Sabbath Day.” Not, “oh, you need not go to every SINGLE Sabbath day observance.” I don’t know how much holier our “new Sabbath” of the Lord’s Day could be --every Sunday is a ‘little Easter’, a day on which we celebrate the one and the same Last Supper, Crucifixion AND Resurrection of the Lord PLUS we receive him into our bodies and souls by eating and drinking His Most Precious Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. Would you miss the opportunity for such an encounter which Christ Himself gave us per John Chapter 6? I don’t think so. If you truly believed that you would have the opportunity to receive God Himself at Mass, I think you would be overjoyed to do so.