Should I Go Camping, If I Have To Miss Mass?

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I want to go camping with a friend and her family this summer, and They don’t believe in the bible, lets just put it that way.

they go camping basically every weekend and my friend wants me to come along a couple times, and I went last year but I wasn’t a practicing catholic then. And now this year I want to go but am a little confused because I have to go to church on Sunday but I wouldn’t be able to if I go camping.

And even if her parents would drive me to a church, I would never ask them to do that, I don’t want to ask them to take a half an hour out of their day to drive me up there then wait an hour for mass to end and then take another half hour to drive me back to the camp site on the last day of their vacation. If this were the case then I wouldn’t even bother going, because I really don’t want to make them feel obligated to do this when they are willing to take me camping with them.

My friend wants me to go and I really want to go to, should I just cancel and not go? I’m really confused on what to do.

I sent this to Ask an apologist but I never got an answer. So any help would be appreciated
 
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Steven87:
I want to go camping with a friend and her family this summer, and They don’t believe in the bible, lets just put it that way.

they go camping basically every weekend and my friend wants me to come along a couple times, and I went last year but I wasn’t a practicing catholic then. And now this year I want to go but am a little confused because I have to go to church on Sunday but I wouldn’t be able to if I go camping.
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if it is only for the weekend you will probably be back home by Sunday evening, go to masstimes.com and find a church near you that has Mass on Sunday evening.
 
I’m pretty sure that if you are unable to make it to mass due to legitimate hardship (i.e.- on vacation) you are dispensed from the obligation. (As long as it is a case where you would go if you could)
 
You know, it wouldn’t hurt to mention to them, that you would really like to go camping with them, but you really would like also to go to mass. If they are really interested in having you tag along, they might also enjoy taking you to mass…offer to pay for a breakfast, or an after the Sat.evening mass…dessert…You may be pleasantly surprised by their agreement to this. Maybe that’s why God placed you in this situation…They may have never received a direct invitation to come to mass. Good luck! Pray and Pray some more…the Holy Spirit will allow the right words to come to you when you need them the most.
 
I agree with stbruno. In addition, if that doesn’t work, you can talk with your parish priest and receive a dispensation from the Sunday Obligation for that weekend.
 
Dr. Colossus:
I agree with stbruno. In addition, if that doesn’t work, you can talk with your parish priest and receive a dispensation from the Sunday Obligation for that weekend.
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And also you could go to a daily mass sometime during the week. That way you still recieve the Eucharist that week.
 
Catholics ought to be able to go backwoods camping, IMO. I don’t think the Church is inflexible on this, or expects you to hike and drive long distances in order to attend Mass.

I would set aside part of your Sunday for private devotions, in order to honor God on his day. Being in nature is a perfect place to connect with the Living God. 🙂
 
I had a similar situation come up last year when my daughter wanted to go camping with a friend & family who don’t go to church at all. I talked with the mom and said she could go if they wouldn’t mind driving her in to church on Sat. eve. or Sun. morning. The mom said no problem, so I got online and found the closest church and the mass times, plus a map with directions to the church. They took my daughter and her friend went as well (may have been the first time she was ever in a church). Maybe at some point these people will wonder why it was so important?

Never hurts to ask. If the answer is “no,” then you can decide from there.
 
I can’t speak from an authorative position on this, but I see it like this:
Jesus is most important to us, He is to be our Everything! At least once a week (On the Sabbath which the Catholic Church has determined) We go to Holy Mass to spend an hour before our Lord and seek audience with Him, to Love, worship, and adore our Beloved Lord.
Camping is really a secondary “activity”. Why not camp during the week and skip work instead of Holy Mass. Prioritize…It is not easy, but possible.
It is like a marriage…a bride tells her husband, “My love, I want to spend this day with you ever at your side” Wouldn’t it be sort of cold for him to reply that he instead made plans to go to the game with his friends?..Sure, a wife can be understanding, but still, I know that If I love someone intimately I would want to spend my time with them instead of engaging in the things of this world…
We all can fail in this (even I do)…and sometimes couples do need a little time apart, but that is what our Lord ask, a moment every week, that we may kneel before Him, and Love.
 
You should find a way to make it, or do not go camping. My family camps a lot in the summer and we never miss our obligation. However, my brothers and sisters who consider themselves catholic, never go to mass on a camping weekend. They feel its too much trouble, and don’t want to drive 30 minutes. However they have no trouble driving those same 30 miles to get ice for the beer.
 
What Michelle Arnold said is EXACTLY what my priest said. I had a similar situation last year, where I was on a trip and I was actually on an overnight flight Saturday afternoon to later Sunday morning (going to Europe) and there was no way I could attend Mass. I even checked for Masses close to the airport Staurday afternoon, it was too close to call. So I missed Mass, I felt like I gave it a legit effort not to, and the next week I confessed it to my Priest but said I was not sure if it was mortal sin or not. He told me not to kill myself this is not Jesus’ intent, as long as there is legitimate effort, and only Jesus knows what is in your heart, this is not a mortal sin. Lots of ways to abuse it, like if you decide you really like camping so then you are gone every weekend that is not right, etc.

I will likely continue to confess it when it happens to me, but I feel confident I understand the rule. I will mention that because I feel uncomfortable about missing Mass, I have had occassions where I have changed vacation plans (like weekend golf with the buddies) to get back Saturday night so as not to miss Sunday morning mass. Being honest with yourself will make you change plans when you can, but if you cannot it is not a mortal sin from what I know.
 
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SdDon:
They feel its too much trouble, and don’t want to drive 30 minutes. However they have no trouble driving those same 30 miles to get ice for the beer.
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They could swing by for the ice and beer on the way to Mass.

The catechism provides several exceptions to the Sunday Mass obligation. If one is confused by a specific situation, ask he should ask his priest. The local priest can then dispense the person from the obligation, or not, depending on the circumstances. An occasional camping trip (far enough to make Mass attendance impractical) is not sinful and I would not question the priorities of a faithful Catholic who takes such a vacation.
 
We camp and there is usually a Mass held at the campground every week. No our home Church but it takes care of the obligation.
 
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pnewton:
They could swing by for the ice and beer on the way to Mass.
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This is hilarious pnewton:rotfl:

I would definitely ask your friend’s parent’s about taking you to Mass either Saturday evening (when they can pick up the beer and ice), or Sunday. If it’s only a 30 minute drive, I’m not sure you could get a dispensation (? not sure on that one). Also, check with your priest BEFORE you go on this. That way, you are doing everything you can to make sure that you’re doing the right thing.
Since you have time, I would call around to the churches in your area and find a Sunday evening Mass. If you can find one within a reasonable distance, tell your friend that you have to be home on Sunday evening in time to attend Mass.
Also, I don’t know your age. Would it possible to drive separately and then you don’t have to worry about depending on a ride to Mass.
 
Greetings Church
We are going tent camping for two weeks starting the week of the 4th of July at Whiskeytown Lake here in Northern California.
I work, will not have vacation time yet, so will comute to work. We have animals at home, so my hubby will have to make the drive to feed and check on them. Still…these two weeks are very important to us, my son and daughter in law and my 4 grandkidsl We love it. We spend much time praying there as a family and individually. My daughter and I pray together, probably 5 times a day. That is not to mention when we pray as a family and with the kids. We also spend time in scripture and most of the time find other Christians (of various flavors) camping so we can share our faiths.
We do not miss Mass. We gather the family together and make the treck down the mountain to the nearest Church. What a wonderful way to start a new week. We like to go to an early Mass so we can come back to the campsite and share the readings and the homily together and with the kids.
If at all possible, make this rest time a special time with our Lord as well as a recreational time for yourself. You will remember it forever.
 
Funny that I should happen across this thread, as I just went camping this weekend.

If I have a Scout weekend, I usually try to make an effort to come home on Saturday night and get up for Mass the next morning. Most of what I do is within 45 minutes of my home, so this is possible–more so now that I have my driver’s license.

I don’t know the exact rules about Mass obligations…I think that might have already been posted. This is just what I do…

-ACEGC
 
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