Missing Mass this one time?

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chaz0426

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I’m in college and I have a lot of work to do this week. My weekend has been bogged down with so much to do. I spent all of Saturday night and Sunday morning doing work for things that are due this week. I took a short nap and I can’t make my normal mass time on sunday because I had an appointment that was work related. I need the rest of the time to work and going to mass takes about 2 hours out of my schedule (getting ready going there getting back ect.)

I decided that I’m going to miss it this week. I am pretty sure I have a mortal sin on my conscience anyway in terms of sexual purity and I was not able to go to confession this weekend so I wouldn’t be able to receive the Eucharist anyway. I know that thinking is not good and it’s not an excuse but I just can’t make it this week regardless.

I have been to mass pretty much every sunday this past year.

Am I committing another mortal sin?

I’m just really stressed out in general right now.
 
I won’t presume to opine on your sins, but I do recall that the times when I was most bogged down in college & professional school were the times I most appreciated an hour of peace in church.

Part of taking on adult responsibilities in your college years is managing your calendar and clock to reflect your values. If your faith is important to you, it should be the first, not last thing on your “to do” list. Just a thought…
 
chaz0426 said:
I’m in college and I have a lot of work to do this week. My weekend has been bogged down with so much to do. I spent all of Saturday night and Sunday morning doing work for things that are due this week. I took a short nap and I can’t make my normal mass time on sunday because I had an appointment that was work related. I need the rest of the time to work and going to mass takes about 2 hours out of my schedule (getting ready going there getting back ect.)

I decided that I’m going to miss it this week. I am pretty sure I have a mortal sin on my conscience anyway in terms of sexual purity and I was not able to go to confession this weekend so I wouldn’t be able to receive the Eucharist anyway. I know that thinking is not good and it’s not an excuse but I just can’t make it this week regardless.

I have been to mass pretty much every sunday this past year.

Am I committing another mortal sin?

I’m just really stressed out in general right now.
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get off the internet and go to Mass. end of story. do it.
 
Wirraway said:
get off the internet and go to Mass. end of story. do it.
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Exactly - I’ve been a busy student myself and I’ve never, not once, found that going to Sunday Mass impeded my ability to get other things done, no matter how many they were.
 
Wow ok thanks… 😦

So much for reassurance… and help oh well.

I did attend every mass this year, but this is one of those rare times I just cant’ make it.

I personally don’t feel it’s as grave as a sin as some of you are making it out to be.

I will still confess it obviously since I feel it’s still a sin but I think it’s tough to tell if it’s mortal unless it was a holy day of obligation or something big.

and while I’m usually busy but can still make it, I have lots of things due tomorrow that need immediate attention so this is a different case and part of it is that I am obligated not to receive the Eucharist as it is, so I’m not really missing receiving it until next confession.
 
chaz0426 said:
Wow ok thanks…I will still confess it obviously since I feel it’s still a sin but I think it’s tough to tell if it’s mortal unless it was a holy day of obligation or something big.
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It is a holy day of obligation though, all Sundays are. Any Sunday is something big!

And from the CCC:

1389 The Church obliges the faithful “to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days” …

2024 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”) requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharist celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.
 
not qualified to answer that is a matter for your priest, however I will observe what I learned when I went back FT to grad school, with full time job, kids in school, the normal demands of momhood, as well as being a grad assistant.

If you give the time to God, he will give back all the time you need. If you deny God even that one hour, you will find it nearly impossible to manage the rest of your time, stress will build, and you will jeopardize the very things you are working for. Build prayer time into every day, and schedule Mass on the weekend as you would any other high priority commitment. You will never regret it and the good effects on the rest of your week will become apparent almost immediately.

whatever you do avoid the habit of making excuses, because a bona fide reason for missing Mass sometimes does arise. But if you get in the habit of looking for excuses, you will find them. “possible mortal sin, gosh, should not take communion, therefore will skip Mass” is a grade a excuse, and thinking that comes directly from the deceiver and will quickly lead to self-destruction of the good you hope to achieve by skipping Mass.
 
chaz0426 said:
Wow ok thanks… 😦

So much for reassurance… and help oh well.

I did attend every mass this year, but this is one of those rare times I just cant’ make it.

I personally don’t feel it’s as grave as a sin as some of you are making it out to be.

I will still confess it obviously since I feel it’s still a sin but I think it’s tough to tell if it’s mortal unless it was a holy day of obligation or something big.

and while I’m usually busy but can still make it, I have lots of things due tomorrow that need immediate attention so this is a different case and part of it is that I am obligated not to receive the Eucharist as it is, so I’m not really missing receiving it until next confession.
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FYI, every Sunday is actually a Holy Day of Obligation. If you look on the USCCB website where it lists Holy Days of Obligation for the US it should be listed ‘every Sunday’ as well as the other days. All are important, and we should if at all possible attend Mass for all of them.

As to whether your missing is a mortal sin, we don’t know all your circumstances, so whether it’s a mortal sin that’s something your priest and you would need to figure out for your specific case, but I do know you can’t EVER take missing Mass lightly. It’s all part of keeping the Sabbath holy as the Ten Commandments bid us do, and we can’t break any of those lightly.

Receiving communion has nothing to do with it - the obligation is to go to Mass EVERY Sunday, homework or not (surely taking an hour out won’t and shouldn’t, if you have rudimentary time management skills, make a significant difference). Communion or not. Mortal sin or not.

And it’s a mortal sin when all conditions are met, and will kill God’s life within your soul (they ain’t called mortal for nothing) just as dead as anything else you could do.

If someone told you a bottle contained a deadly poison, would you say ‘but it looks so nice and harmless, I can’t believe it’d kill me’ and take it anyway? Not if you value your life you wouldn’t!
 
If you don’t feel that the Mass is that important, perhaps you should learn more about it. It’s not just one more thing to fit in to your schedule; it’s an amazing experience and a time of rejuvenation.
 
see if you can catch the saturday night mass - that is usually the sunday mass!
and no - i personally dont think that missing mass for work is an excuse, even if you are or aren’t in the right state. It’s just a matter of organisation!
goodluck with trying to do that!
  • fanny
 
Caesar517 said:
If you don’t feel that the Mass is that important, perhaps you should learn more about it. It’s not just one more thing to fit in to your schedule; it’s an amazing experience and a time of rejuvenation.
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I know plenty about the faith and especially mass as I’ve been going to church for the last 16 of my 20 years i’ve been alive.

Maybe I shouldn’t come here to look for help anymore, I just get condemned and judged.
 
chaz0426 said:
I know plenty about the faith and especially mass as I’ve been going to church for the last 16 of my 20 years i’ve been alive.

Maybe I shouldn’t come here to look for help anymore, I just get condemned and judged.
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No, you just get told the truth, and God blesses you for hearing it, and them for speaking it.
 
chaz0426 said:
Don’t you think I would have if mass was at that time? Unfortunately the only times available was when I was not available.
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get your priorities in order. start by explaining why a work related appointment was more important than attending Mass.

for the most part, the world does not value excuses. own up to it, take care of it, don’t do it again, move on.
 
chaz0426 said:
I know plenty about the faith and especially mass as I’ve been going to church for the last 16 of my 20 years i’ve been alive.

Maybe I shouldn’t come here to look for help anymore, I just get condemned and judged.
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None of us know your exact circumstances. You need to talk to your priest to figure out if you have committed a mortal sin. However, looking your post it appears you did. Everyone gets busy, everyone gets run down. I’ve worked 20 hours on a Saturday, got four hours of sleep, worked another double and gone to a late mass. I was exhausted, but I went. It’s easy to go when things are going great, true faith is to keep going when life gets in the way.

Also please don’t take offense, but you did ask for other people’s opinions. If you are only wanting people to agree with you, than you probably shouldn’t post here. I don’t think anyone meant to make you feel condemned and judged. But you did ask for their perspective and you got it, just cause you don’t agree, doesn’t mean you should accuse people of condemning or judging you. To the best of their ability they answered your question.

Historybrat
 
chaz0426 said:
I know plenty about the faith and especially mass as I’ve been going to church for the last 16 of my 20 years i’ve been alive.

Maybe I shouldn’t come here to look for help anymore, I just get condemned and judged.
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Then you’ve got me by one year. 😛
I meant no offence, but it seemed to me that if you knew more about the Mass (not just when to say what or why certain things happen) then you would place a much higher value on it.

I know you didn’t hear what you wanted to hear, but you heard the truth. You have neither been judged nor condemned.
 
Having weathered 4 years of college and 6 in grad school, I can only wonder how the time is being used. Each week has 168 hours. Take an 18 credit quarter or semester with 18 hours per week spent in class and 54 hours for study(usually 3 hours outside class per hour in class is recommended), assume 8 hours sleep per 24 which is another 56 hours leaves us with 40 hours for meals, travel, earning money, attending Church (2 hours leaving 38).Thirty-eight hours chum. I also worked washing dishes 18 hours per week in college. By Sunday afternoon I was tired and found time for a nap. Whatcha doing with that time, playing pinocle, surfing the web? Seems like not having a family or full time job, you are rich in time. Spend it well and get to Mass on time. 🙂 👍
 
chaz0426 said:
Don’t you think I would have if mass was at that time? Unfortunately the only times available was when I was not available.
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Find out about all the Catholic Churches in your area and get the Mass schedule for them. There might have been a Mass you were able to make. Check out Newman Centers at other colleges also.

www.masstimes.org

We do need to make time for God every Sunday(or Sat night). Perhaps you could have organized yourself better during the week and got more work done then. You aren’t being judged. Missing Mass without a just reason is being judged to be wrong. It happens. Go to confession , sin no more in this area.

ewtn.com/expert/answers/sunday_mass.htm

If you are still in doubt about whether it was a mortal sin for you . It certainly was a venial sin then discuss it with your priest when you confess.
I’m kind of more concerned about you willfully missing confession when you knowingly had a mortal sin on your soul. Don’t put your soul at risk like that.

I know these college years are difficult and very busy. I lived through them and have a son in college and one just graduated. You need to take the right time for spiritual things and keep God as the main focus of your life . This will really keep you on the right track and much more peaceful about life.
 
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