Overseas Workers' Sunday Obligations

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My earthly father is an overseas worker , particularly in the ship . They dont have any priest there or even a chapel or any religious . And he confessed that almost all of them do different kinds of sins due to temptations ( women )… And he says that it is very hard to go to mass because whenever they arrive in land, he and others are still very busy about things and thus, he does not have the time to even visit a Church there ( maybe its even far! )…

Im just curious … Because in my point of view , i knew that that job would hinder me to be closer to Jesus and would even give me many temptations …knowing that, i would never be an overseas worker like my father… I want to be always in the Church.
 
ToJesuswithMary said:
My earthly father is an overseas worker , particularly in the ship . They dont have any priest there or even a chapel or any religious . And he confessed that almost all of them do different kinds of sins due to temptations ( women )… And he says that it is very hard to go to mass because whenever they arrive in land, he and others are still very busy about things and thus, he does not have the time to even visit a Church there ( maybe its even far! )…

Im just curious … Because in my point of view , i knew that that job would hinder me to be closer to Jesus and would even give me many temptations …knowing that, i would never be an overseas worker like my father… I want to be always in the Church.
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yes ive wondered about this myself i have considerd going back to work on the gold mined to support my family but it means not being able to attend mass on a sunday. what do i do in that secanario?
 
ToJesuswithMary said:
My earthly father is an overseas worker , particularly in the ship . They dont have any priest there or even a chapel or any religious . And he confessed that almost all of them do different kinds of sins due to temptations ( women )… And he says that it is very hard to go to mass because whenever they arrive in land, he and others are still very busy about things and thus, he does not have the time to even visit a Church there ( maybe its even far! )…

Im just curious … Because in my point of view , i knew that that job would hinder me to be closer to Jesus and would even give me many temptations …knowing that, i would never be an overseas worker like my father… I want to be always in the Church.
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They are automatically dispensed because of the obvious reason of a lack of access to a church.
 
porthos11 said:
True.

But shouldn’t we really be planning our lives around Sunday Mass, rather than vice versa?
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Are you suggesting that Catholics avoid being ship crew? If it only were that easy. I’ve known people who get into this job not because they like it, but because it pays well for them to support their families.

Most of us take our jobs for granted, but there are those who have no choice with their jobs. The take what they can just so they can provide for their families.
 
See Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding “Sunday Obligation/A day of grace and rest from work, Eucharistic obligation, and 3rd commandment…” primarily, #'s **2177, 2181, 2183, 2185, and 2192 ** because they address “exceptions.” For example, #2183 states:

“…If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if it is celebrated in the parish, church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an apropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families.”

and #2181 states the pastor of one’s church may dispense/excuse one from this obligation.

In any case, Sundays should be regarded and treated as “the foremost ‘holy day’ of obligation in the universal Church” and “every Christian should avoid making unnecessary demands on others that would hinder them from observing the Lord’s Day…” according to #2192 and #2195 of CCC and, of course, the Third Commandment too.

Anyway, this was a great question and topic familiar to many workers here in the USA too. Keep it holy, that’s what I would say to your father if need be. I would think that his circumstances would excuse him but it would be best if he discuss it (perhaps in confession) with a priest.
 
First of all – sailors and others who travel around internationally are certainly dispensed from Sunday obligation if they can’t reasonably get to church. But there are a lot of resources for such people, if they only knew!

Many parishes near harbors have special chapel areas, or have priests who have a special ministry toward sailors. The Church is trying to encourage this, and has a special Maritime Apostolate organization.

Pope John Paul II’s “Stella Maris” motu proprio on the Maritime Apostolate, says:

"III. Mindful of the special circumstances of the people of the sea and taking into account the privileges which over the years the Apostolic See has granted this people, the following is established:
  1. Maritime personnel can fulfill their Easter Duty regarding Holy Communion at any time during the year, having first received appropriate instruction or catechesis;
  2. Seafarers are not bound by the laws of fast and abstinence prescribed in can. 1251 [Lent and Fridays]; they are advised, however, when taking advantage of this dispensation, to undertake a comparable work of piety in place of abstinence, and, as far as possible, to observe both laws on Good Friday in memory of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ;
  3. Seafarers, who have properly confessed and received Communion and who visit with religious piety a legitimately erected oratory on board and recite there the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, can gain a plenary indulgence on the titular feast of the oratory and also on 2 August;
  4. These same faithful, under the same conditions, can gain one plenary indulgence, applicable only to the departed, if they visit with religious piety the aforementioned oratory on 2 November and recite there the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff;
  5. The indulgences mentioned in Nn 3 and 4 can be gained, under the same conditions, by people of the sea in chapels or oratories of places where the Maritime Apostolate is active. On vessels which have no oratory, seafarers can gain these indulgences by reciting the prescribed prayers before a sacred image."
So that’s something your father and his fellow sailors might want to know! The plenary indulgence here doesn’t require Communion, Confession, or anything except a little little prayer, and that’s pretty generous stuff!
 
Re: the other comments about overseas workers –

This motu proprio Stella Maris was very clear that, if you work somewhere where you can’t get to church, you are not a bad Catholic. You are a lay part of the Church’s missionary efforts. You are on the pointy end. This applies to tourists, refugees, and everybody else, too. Wherever we find ourselves, we are automatically there to do God’s work also! 🙂

Of course, the more challenging it is to live a holy life, the more God rewards even tiny efforts to do God’s will and cooperate with Him. So don’t feel bad about your father; help him make tiny improvements. Even if your father just says one Our Father every day, or reads a snatch of the Bible occasionally, or says the Rosary sometimes, that’s all much better than nothing. Printing out a list of Stella Maris Centers, Seafarers’ Centers, and parishes with Masses at crazy times, in ports he goes to, with maps and such – that might help a lot! If he doesn’t have a Bible, or any holy pictures or medals or sacramentals or prayerbooks, you might be able to get him something small and useful.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everybody is called to work overseas, either. You should do what you’re called to do, and help your father do what he’s called to do. God made all of us with special gifts for special purposes; that’s part of His Wisdom and Providence.

Also, the best search term to use for the Maritime Apostolate or Apostleship of the Sea or any of its other local names is “Apostolatus Maris”. There are tons of different webpages run by the Apostolates in different countries.

The general place to look for resources for all kinds of overseas workers is the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of the Migrants and Itinerant People. (Apostolatus Maris is under this organization.) Most military Catholics are under their country’s military archdiocese.

Oh, and don’t forget to pray for your father, and to ask the aid of the many many sailor saints. I am sure they would be delighted to help your father grow in the faith and in virtue, and do better at resisting temptations and helping others do the same. Don’t forget to pray for his safety, also.
 
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