Need help quick!

[Blueberry]

Ok, here’s the sitch:

My mom is 76 and hosted a big family gathering this weekend. My mom’s in good health but doesn’t have the energy of a 20 year old anymore. The family lives out of state and has kids who are off school, so this is when they want to come. Unfortunately Mass obligation is not important to most of the members, but we wanted to try to get as many of them to church as possible. I sing in choir and had to be at Easter Vigil although I did not go this morning. The choir I sing in is 20 minutes away. There are churches nearer but I want to sing in a good choir at an orthodox church, and this is it.

My mom was going to go tonight to an Easter Vigil closer to home that would have been shorter, but my sister said, let’s go to my church. (Blueberry’s) and surprise me.

They came, at this mass a ton of people were being received and they all left after the candles, liturgy of the word, and in the middle of the baptisms (about 90 minutes into the mass). My mom was tired and didn’t feel she could stay. So she did not get to receive communion.

Now she’s saying she needs to go to church at some point today. It’s already noon. We had brunch and everybody left. I hope we can find her a mass, but I’m wondering whether she is even obligated to go. She did stay through the gospel. I know she didn’t make Easter duty but she will be going to daily mass this week.

What do you all think? I told her to go take a nap and I’d figure it out. Hopefully there’ll be a church that has an evening Easter mass. I know there are some that usually have evening masses on Sunday.Sorry for the long post but I’m trying to find the answer. I left a message for my priest uncle to call us, but we don’t know if he will. We have another priest friend but he’s pretty liberal and we already know what he’d say, but we want the right answer. Thanks!

 

[Rence]

Ok, here’s the sitch:

My mom is 76 and hosted a big family gathering this weekend. My mom’s in good health but doesn’t have the energy of a 20 year old anymore. The family lives out of state and has kids who are off school, so this is when they want to come. Unfortunately Mass obligation is not important to most of the members, but we wanted to try to get as many of them to church as possible. I sing in choir and had to be at Easter Vigil although I did not go this morning. The choir I sing in is 20 minutes away. There are churches nearer but I want to sing in a good choir at an orthodox church, and this is it.

My mom was going to go tonight to an Easter Vigil closer to home that would have been shorter, but my sister said, let’s go to my church. (Blueberry’s) and surprise me.

They came, at this mass a ton of people were being received and they all left after the candles, liturgy of the word, and in the middle of the baptisms (about 90 minutes into the mass). My mom was tired and didn’t feel she could stay. So she did not get to receive communion.

Now she’s saying she needs to go to church at some point today. It’s already noon. We had brunch and everybody left. I hope we can find her a mass, but I’m wondering whether she is even obligated to go. She did stay through the gospel. I know she didn’t make Easter duty but she will be going to daily mass this week.

What do you all think? I told her to go take a nap and I’d figure it out. Hopefully there’ll be a church that has an evening Easter mass. I know there are some that usually have evening masses on Sunday.Sorry for the long post but I’m trying to find the answer. I left a message for my priest uncle to call us, but we don’t know if he will. We have another priest friend but he’s pretty liberal and we already know what he’d say, but we want the right answer. Thanks!

Ok, I know this is not what you’re looking for, but don’t worry, others will answer your specific questions. But my first question is: is this fatigue typical for your mom? or is this something new? Is she the type of person to freak out and get upset if she misses Communion? Does she have any other complaints, like nausea?

Not to worry you, but sometimes, extreme fatigue all of a sudden is something to look into. If this is not typical fatigue that your mom feels, I can’t plead with you enough to take her to the doctor tomorrow or even tonight if it doesn’t get better. Keep us posted. I would like nothing more than for you to tell me tomorrow that I’m just a worry-wart

 

[Blueberry]

Thanks, Rence. Actually, my priest-uncle did call back, and he really thinks there’s no problem because she made an honest effort to go to Mass, what with family we don’t see much being there and all, there are mitigating factors. There actually are no evening masses anywhere tonight, I checked. I don’t think she was freaking, she just said she’d go to confession next Saturday. I don’t think it was a sin. My uncle pointed out that people do need rest, relaxation, family time, etc, and priests can excuse someone from going to Mass ahead of time for instance if they are going on vacation to the woods and really need to get away. That opens up a whole door of questions I suppose would take millions of threads to answer.

Actually my mom didn’t really get suddenly tired, but it was 9:30 at night, and with family all day it was wearing. Not to mention, we also had young kids there who were getting squirrelly. I think my mom also thought she’d get a chance to go today and that didn’t work out. She goes to a doctor regularly, too, and walks, and tries to eat right and take supplements (she used to be a dietitian.) I wouldn’t say she was freaking out but after all was raised with a different mind-set.

So I’m not worried about either her spiritual or physical health! :

God bless all. happy Easter.