that mass is finally over and its 1 weeks till next sunday."
If mass is perceived as a chore with the usual feelings about chores (uh no, its sunday morning, i do not want to go, it would be much nicer to do something else, doesnt help, you have to go … uh, that was again not realy nice, but at least i did it and its some time till i have to do it again), is that sinful?
Is the sinfulness dependened upon whether the person in question actually has reasons, why going to mass is burdensome, instead of being just lazy?
I think it depends on the interior state of the person.
For example, if a parent asks a child to do a chore, and the child doesn’t want to, but the child does it anyway, out of obedience and love of the parent, then even if the child doesn’t like the chore, the child is still doing the right thing.
If the child thinks, “I do not like this chore, I do not understand why I am being asked to do this chore, but I love my mom/dad, and I want to do right by them, so I will do this chore as best I can to please them,” then the child is making a heroic act of virtue.
On the other hand, if the child obeys purely out of obedience for fear of, “if I don’t do this chore, my parents will punish me, so I guess I will just suck it up and do it.” The child is still “doing” the right thing, but love is lacking. There is still some virtue in his obedience, but not nearly as great as the example above.
Then, if the child obeys and does the chore, but throughout the whole chore he is griping and complaining to himself, grumbles about his parents, does a mediocre job doing the chore, and doesn’t really care, and does it just to suffice, then there is pretty much no virtue in that. The child has gained nothing nor has he learned or grown in anything or any virtue. He is remaining “lukewarm.”
It doesn’t matter if you “enjoy” Mass or not, but it is an act of the will to obey out of love. You can think to yourself, “I’m really bored and don’t like this, but I am going to do everything in my power to make the best of it.” Even if you come back every week feeling the same, you are still gaining virtue.
If you go and while at Mass, deliberately let your mind wander and don’t try at all to put forth a little effort in participating, then are you really present at all?
An act of love from the will is not dependent upon good feelings. Over time, the good feelings can come or they may never come, but if the intention is good, then that is what matters.
