Missing Sunday Mass

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I understand that under normal circumstances we are obligated to attend Sunday mass. However, there are exceptions such as being sick. My question is about travel.

My understanding is that we are always obligated to try to attend mass – meaning we cannot take trips that we know will prevent us from Sunday attendance. And we are required by our conscience to make sure mass in available before leaving on a trip. For this reason, I have always avoided 7-day (or longer) cruises, because I usually couldn’t guarantee myself mass.
My parents (usually my Catholic pillar) recently booked a Saturday night / Sunday all-day flight for my sister overseas. The trip took over 20 hours (with layovers) and prevented her from attending mass. My parents seemed to think it was fine that she missed mass, since it was not possible for her to attend on the plane. This seems wrong to me, because they/she willing put her in that situation.

It would be one thing to be stuck somewhere or find your planned mass canceled / church closed ect … but it seems wrong to plan to miss mass. In this case, my sister knew that by taking this flight, she would miss mass. So, it seems wrong and I’m shocked at my parent’s involvement.
Am I being overly scrupulous or are my parents being overly relaxed?
 
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JGheen:
I understand that under normal circumstances we are obligated to attend Sunday mass. However, there are exceptions such as being sick. My question is about travel.

My understanding is that we are always obligated to try to attend mass – meaning we cannot take trips that we know will prevent us from Sunday attendance. And we are required by our conscience to make sure mass in available before leaving on a trip. For this reason, I have always avoided 7-day (or longer) cruises, because I usually couldn’t guarantee myself mass.
My parents (usually my Catholic pillar) recently booked a Saturday night / Sunday all-day flight for my sister overseas. The trip took over 20 hours (with layovers) and prevented her from attending mass. My parents seemed to think it was fine that she missed mass, since it was not possible for her to attend on the plane. This seems wrong to me, because they/she willing put her in that situation.

It would be one thing to be stuck somewhere or find your planned mass canceled / church closed ect … but it seems wrong to plan to miss mass. In this case, my sister knew that by taking this flight, she would miss mass. So, it seems wrong and I’m shocked at my parent’s involvement.
Am I being overly scrupulous or are my parents being overly relaxed?
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I have been on many 7 days cruises in the last 30 years. ALL have had a priest to say mass - Holland America has daily mass. I have heard that some lines use a rent-a-priest like service and the mass may be valid but illicit. Not sure about all the details here though. But your over all question is a good one I think - what of trips to far away places that may not have a church?
 
Well, I don’t know the official answer, but I would have to say that if it was an intentional thing, without a good cause, then it was probably sinful. If she had to get to her destination for some emergency and had no other choice than to take that particular flight, then that might be different. But if it was just a vacation, then I believe that different arrangements could have been made.

I do not know the particulars however, and would be interested in what the others here have to say on this matter.

That said, I also would not get “into it” with your family over this. Mountains out of molehills and all that. Sounds like you have a good relationship with your family and all are trying to be good, faithful Catholics? If so, tell them your opinion, and leave it at that. They will surely understand that you are just speaking out of love.
 
I have heard an apologist respond to this question before and they suggested that a person traveling in this manner (unable to attend Sunday mass) could aquire a dispensation.

I’m not sure if they would get this from their own parish priest or have to ask their local diocese, but if a person knows ahead of time that they will be unable to attend Sunday mass this is probably the best route to go.
 
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quasimodo:
I have been on many 7 days cruises in the last 30 years. ALL have had a priest to say mass - Holland America has daily mass. I have heard that some lines use a rent-a-priest like service and the mass may be valid but illicit. Not sure about all the details here though. But your over all question is a good one I think - what of trips to far away places that may not have a church?
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In my case, I called Carnival before a trip my non-practicing husband booked last year and was told they always accommodate Catholic priests onboard who want to say mass, but they couldn’t guarantee that a Catholic priest would be on board. I told my husband I couldn’t go since I didn’t know if I would be able to attend mass. He was NOT happy with me. (But you’d think after two years of marriage he would remember that I attend mass on Sunday.)

I would think that planning trips to far-away places would also not be allowed, if you knew that it would keep you from your Sunday obligation. But maybe someone else knows more about Catholic doctrine . .
 
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legeorge:
Well, I don’t know the official answer, but I would have to say that if it was an intentional thing, without a good cause, then it was probably sinful. If she had to get to her destination for some emergency and had no other choice than to take that particular flight, then that might be different.
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My sister was traveling to her college for the semester and had a couple day window to arrive. My parents picked that day because it was cheaper. I’m not sure if they realized the mass implications before buying the ticket, but they certainly rationalized it later and encouraged her to go. My parents are not so poor that they could not afford two tickets.
 
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matthias:
Here… I’ve found a link to a EWTN Q&A answered by a priest. He suggested the same thing, that is a dispensation.
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Thanks for the link - I didn’t know you could ask for a dispensation. That could certainly solve the problem and permit longer trips.
 
if this isn’t the definition of legalism I don’t know what is. You can’t travel at all, ever, if it means you miss mass. If you do, you’ll go to hell for it.
 
Cynic - even when vacationing, people need to recall that God comes first, and plan accordingly. Taking a break from one’s job and daily life for refreshment does not and never should include taking a break from worshipping Our Lord. There still remains a serious obligation to attend Mass.

You plan hotel rooms, airline tickets, rides to and from the airport, so why not plan Mass in there too? It’s not that complicated, really.

Dispensations are not that difficult to get - I get them after a baby is born so I don’t have to venture out the first week or two with the little one, and we have gotten one once when planning a vacation that would involve a Saturday night through Sunday AM flight. Though we never used it because we found a parish saying Mass Sunday PM anyway.
 
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cynic:
if this isn’t the definition of legalism I don’t know what is. You can’t travel at all, ever, if it means you miss mass. If you do, you’ll go to hell for it.
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Well… yeah, it might be legalisitc, IF THAT’S WHAT ANYONE WAS SAYING.

For heaven’s sake. :rolleyes:
 
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sanctareparata:
Cynic - even when vacationing, people need to recall that God comes first, and plan accordingly. Taking a break from one’s job and daily life for refreshment does not and never should include taking a break from worshipping Our Lord. There still remains a serious obligation to attend Mass.

You plan hotel rooms, airline tickets, rides to and from the airport, so why not plan Mass in there too? It’s not that complicated, really.

Dispensations are not that difficult to get - I get them after a baby is born so I don’t have to venture out the first week or two with the little one, and we have gotten one once when planning a vacation that would involve a Saturday night through Sunday AM flight. Though we never used it because we found a parish saying Mass Sunday PM anyway.
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frogive me but what is so essential about mass? Ok you should go to church when possible, but what if your 18 and going to africa, what if your travelling europe, what if your somewhere remote? should we give up all these experiences because you wont be able to worhip with a priest present?
 
Cynic,
What good does it do a person to see the world only to end up in hell? The soul of a person is the most important thing that anyone has by far. It is more precious than all the houses and cars and lanscapes in the world. It is for us to set our souls on God, this does not mean you can’t take trips. What it does say is before you go on that trip you need to be sure your spiritual needs are taken care of. Would you go on a trip for 7 days if there was no way to get food or drink? We should not place the needs of the flesh higher than the needs of the spirit.
Oh yea and the big reason is: Thou shalt keep holy the Sabath day. One of the big ten, I wouldn’t advise intentionally breaking it. :gopray2:
 
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tdandh26:
Cynic,
What good does it do a person to see the world only to end up in hell? :gopray2:
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so missing a ritual gathering on a particular day sends you to hell.
 
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cynic:
so missing a ritual gathering on a particular day sends you to hell.
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No, but refusing to worship God in the way he established on the day he established with no good reason might do the trick.

Again if a person is sick they do not have to go, if the person is unable to attend for any reasonable reason (often including travel) then they are not bound to attend mass.

But God established the mass so that we can participate as a comunity in the worship of he who saved us, that is Christ in the Eucharist.

It is not about Church legalism it is rather like the post above. Would you go a week without food or water because it was inconvenient or cramped your lifestyle? No… Well spiritual needs should be treated as much more important.
 
Dear C,

Just for the record I do travel frequently – in college I spent two semesters backpacking through Europe and I’ve lived in several foreign countries. Today I take a major trip once or twice a year and hope to visit every continent before I die. So mass does not hold me back. There are Catholic churches all around the world and attending mass is a uniquely bonding experience with locals. It even helps me combat homesickness sometimes.

Throughout all my travels, I have never intentionally shirked my Sunday obligation. It just takes planning, persistance about attending mass, openness with others about my faith and willingness to alter the traveling itinerary. Occasionally I do have to sacrifice a trip but this is very rare. And ultimately, I think the trip I take after I die is the most important one to keep in mind.

As for why Sunday attendance in general is required – which seems to be your issue – perhaps this conversation could happen more productively in the Moral Theology section. Obviously, threatening hell is not a good argument, but there are good arguments out there. Some of the more intellectual and theologically oriented posters in Moral Theology could discuss this with you, if you wanted to start a thread there.
 
Obviously, threatening hell is not a good argument, but there are good arguments out there. Some of the more intellectual and theologically oriented posters in Moral Theology could discuss this with you, if you wanted to start a thread there.
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I was not threatening anyone with hell at all. I was pointing out that in our life we must have both reverence and fear. Both are healthy neccesities to the spiritual life. I myself, when not quite feeling like saying a prayer, use this thought process to encourage myself to prayer.

I have found that many people today conviently omit the possibilities of eternal suffering in their life. Which when done tends to diminish the importance of the spiritual life, because it may lead some to believe that no matter what, they got heaven locked up. To quote St. Paul “I work on my salvation with trembling and fear”.
 
Last year my friends and I went on a holiday to Fiji, got there late Saturdeay night and arranged a taxi to pick us up the next morning. We went to church and it was the most fabulous experience, I have never been to church outside of Australia and it was fabulous to meet with other Catholics and worship with them. 👍
 
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tdandh26:
I was not threatening anyone with hell at all. I was pointing out that in our life we must have both reverence and fear. Both are healthy neccesities to the spiritual life. I myself, when not quite feeling like saying a prayer, use this thought process to encourage myself to prayer.

I have found that many people today conviently omit the possibilities of eternal suffering in their life. Which when done tends to diminish the importance of the spiritual life, because it may lead some to believe that no matter what, they got heaven locked up. To quote St. Paul “I work on my salvation with trembling and fear”.
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Good points - thinking about the eternal ramifications of my actions does motivate me too.

In my note to C, I just meant that though eternal ramifications doesn’t motivate all people (C in particular didn’t seem motivated by it); there are other reasons to attend Sunday mass.
 
Many protestant evangelicals actually have church on a wednesday night etc. So I fail to see why we must actually worship on a sunday. Imagine if everyone tried to do that…sometimes it just simply ins’t possible to be in a church on a Sunday morning.
 
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