Sunday Dilemma

[TruthSkr]

I work for a company that sometimes asks me to work on a Sunday. When I accept the Sunday assignment it is always with the intention to attend Mass on Saturday evening. Occasionally, however, I have been asked to attend a social event on the Saturday before I work that would prevent me from being able to attend Saturday Mass. Am I obligated to miss the social event or does my work on Sunday excuse me from the Sunday obligation?

Also, I sometimes do overnight weekend sailing trips with a group of friends to locations where it’s impossible to attend Mass as we are anchored in a cove with no way to get to land or we’re tied up at a slip in a marina in a small area where there is no Catholic church. Obviously, there is no sin when there is no way to get to Mass. On occasion, however, I find that it may be possible to get to Mass, but it might require traveling a great distance by foot, missing a meal with friends, or causing a considerable inconvenience to my friends who may have to delay their departure to the next destination because of having to wait for me to return from Mass. How do you draw the line of where the obligation begins and ends? How do you determine what is reasonable and not? How far is too far to walk? A mile, five miles, ten miles? Obviously, there is a point where it is no longer reasonable, but how do you know what that point is? Are we permitted to use our own judgement? I used to think this was a black and white issue, but it has since become very gray.

 

[catharina]

I work for a company that sometimes asks me to work on a Sunday. When I accept the Sunday assignment it is always with the intention to attend Mass on Saturday evening. Occasionally, however, I have been asked to attend a social event on the Saturday before I work that would prevent me from being able to attend Saturday Mass. Am I obligated to miss the social event or does my work on Sunday excuse me from the Sunday obligation?

Also, I sometimes do overnight weekend sailing trips with a group of friends to locations where it’s impossible to attend Mass as we are anchored in a cove with no way to get to land or we’re tied up at a slip in a marina in a small area where there is no Catholic church. Obviously, there is no sin when there is no way to get to Mass. On occasion, however, I find that it may be possible to get to Mass, but it might require traveling a great distance by foot, missing a meal with friends, or causing a considerable inconvenience to my friends who may have to delay their departure to the next destination because of having to wait for me to return from Mass. How do you draw the line of where the obligation begins and ends? How do you determine what is reasonable and not? How far is too far to walk? A mile, five miles, ten miles? Obviously, there is a point where it is no longer reasonable, but how do you know what that point is? Are we permitted to use our own judgement? I used to think this was a black and white issue, but it has since become very gray.

Attending Sunday Mass is an obligation for all Catholics.
It can’t be ignored due to social events that you have planned yourself.
When you make plans that include “no way to get to Mass” there is
a grave and very serious problem and the problem is yours.

 

[TruthSkr]

So you’re saying that I’m not allowed to work on Sunday and can never travel to any destination where there is no Catholic church? That means never going on a wilderness canoe trip, never traveling to a country or region that is not Catholic, never taking an extended sailing trip. Sounds a bit extreme to me.

 

[catharina]

So you’re saying that I’m not allowed to work on Sunday and can never travel to any destination where there is no Catholic church? That means never going on a wilderness canoe trip, never traveling to a country or region that is not Catholic, never taking an extended sailing trip. Sounds a bit extreme to me.

I’m saying that many people have to work on Sundays and
they arrange their lives so that they can still attend Mass as well.

It’s that simple.

Imagining that your recreational “needs” can
outweigh your obligation to attend Mass is flawed.

You can’t equate your desire for fun with the
burden of actually living in an area where there is no Mass.

 

[bluerose]

Have you talked to your parish priest about this?

 

[Kay_Cee]

What if, by choosing to attend Mass instead of the social function, you could receive something worth more than a million dollars? Would you go to Mass then, or would you pass up this valuable prize in order to attend the social function?

Answer honestly to yourself.

Then ask yourself if receiving Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist is worth more than a million dollars.

Of course it is.

So, even if you didn’t have an obligation to attend Mass on the weekend, why would you pass up something worth more than the entire universe for something worth infinitely less?

 

[Brendan]

Discuss these scenarios with your pastor and accept his advice.

It is to him that the Church has granted the authority of dispensation.

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism:

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body.123 Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. the faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

The Sunday obligation

2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."118

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

Discuss this with your actual “Pastor”. He can dispense you at times and advise you in regards to work.

Read this too…very good: vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html#The_eucharistic_form_of_the_christian_life (from Pope Benedict XVI)

(aside from impossibility…or sickness etc)

 

[jmcrae]

I work for a company that sometimes asks me to work on a Sunday. When I accept the Sunday assignment it is always with the intention to attend Mass on Saturday evening. Occasionally, however, I have been asked to attend a social event on the Saturday before I work that would prevent me from being able to attend Saturday Mass. Am I obligated to miss the social event or does my work on Sunday excuse me from the Sunday obligation?

Is the social event a requirement of your work (networking, relationship building for your company) or is it just something fun that you could skip without harming your career?

If you can skip it, then you should certainly go to Mass - or else arrive late for the social function after going to Mass. (You probably wouldn’t even have to change, unless it was an extremely formal function.)

Also, I sometimes do overnight weekend sailing trips with a group of friends to locations where it’s impossible to attend Mass as we are anchored in a cove with no way to get to land or we’re tied up at a slip in a marina in a small area where there is no Catholic church. Obviously, there is no sin when there is no way to get to Mass. On occasion, however, I find that it may be possible to get to Mass, but it might require traveling a great distance by foot, missing a meal with friends, or causing a considerable inconvenience to my friends who may have to delay their departure to the next destination because of having to wait for me to return from Mass. How do you draw the line of where the obligation begins and ends? How do you determine what is reasonable and not? How far is too far to walk? A mile, five miles, ten miles? Obviously, there is a point where it is no longer reasonable, but how do you know what that point is? Are we permitted to use our own judgement? I used to think this was a black and white issue, but it has since become very gray.

Again, it depends on whether this is networking for your work, or just a fun thing.

Another possibility would be to go somewhere with Catholic friends, and arrange as one of the “outings” a trip to the local parish for Sunday Mass.

 

[Brendan]

One other thing to investigate.

Here in Detroit, the Archbishop has recommended\required that each Vicariate\Deanery has one parish that offers a Sunday evening Mass.

The idea is that a Catholic should be able to find a Sunday evening Mass within an hour drive or so.

Our parish does that for our area, we have a Sunday 8:30pm Mass.

We are near a local hospital and you can see a several dozen people in medical attire at that Mass

 

[catharina]

One other thing to investigate.

Here in Detroit, the Archbishop has recommended\required that each Vicariate\Deanery has one parish that offers a Sunday evening Mass.

The idea is that a Catholic should be able to find a Sunday evening Mass within an hour drive or so.

Our parish does that for our area, we have a Sunday 8:30pm Mass.

We are near a local hospital and you can see a several dozen people in medical attire at that Mass

Good point.
The range of times for Sunday Masses in my
area stretches from 6:30am to 6pm. Many
Catholics, esp in healthcare, look for Mass
that will allow for their own work-schedule.

 

[TruthSkr]

OK, let me take this one step further. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I am a volunteer for the Peace Corps, or some other volunteer organization that has invited me to go on a trip to a third world country to rebuild a hospital, dig a well for clean water, or do some other humanitarian thing and this is in an area where there is no Catholic church. Since I am a volunteer I have a choice. I can choose to give help to those suffering and miss Mass or stay at home and not help. Would you say I cannot go?

 

[catharina]

OK, let me take this one step further. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I am a volunteer for the Peace Corps, or some other volunteer organization that has invited me to go on a trip to a third world country to rebuild a hospital, dig a well for clean water, or do some other humanitarian thing and this is in an area where there is no Catholic church. Since I am a volunteer I have a choice. I can choose to give help to those suffering and miss Mass or stay at home and not help. Would you say I cannot go?

I would say:
“Talk with your pastor.”

 

[ahs]

OK, let me take this one step further. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I am a volunteer for the Peace Corps, or some other volunteer organization that has invited me to go on a trip to a third world country to rebuild a hospital, dig a well for clean water, or do some other humanitarian thing and this is in an area where there is no Catholic church. Since I am a volunteer I have a choice. I can choose to give help to those suffering and miss Mass or stay at home and not help. Would you say I cannot go?

You still have an obligation to fulfill the obligation for Mass. There are ways to help people in your local area as well, so that you can both help the poor and also attend Mass. If you want to volunteer with Peace Corps in a place where there is not Catholic Church, you need to visit with you Priest and see if there is a dispensation that can be offered in that case. (Your Priest may recommend that you volunteer your Peace Corps mission time in a place where there is a Catholic Church.)

 

[TruthSkr]

I would say:
“Talk with your pastor.”

Some time ago I spoke with the pastor of my church about a situation similar to the one I originally raised today. My pastor, the Msgr., who is an avid fisherman, told me that when he goes on a wilderness fishing trip he does not consider it a sin to miss Mass because there is no way to attend Mass in the wilderness. So then why do I ask again? Because I keep getting different anwers to the question and have trouble knowing who to believe. Is the person who answers ultra conservative or ultra liberal? I am a moderate and believe the answer lies somewhere in between. Let me add that I am very serious about attending Mass whenever I can. I never miss Mass when I am near a Catholic church. But to say there are certain things that are near and dear to my heart that I can NEVER do because there is no Catholic church accessible seems to me to be unreasonable. If our very first immigrants were all Catholics we would never have found our way to California because there were no Catholic churches along the way.

 

[jmcrae]

If our very first immigrants were all Catholics we would never have found our way to California because there were no Catholic churches along the way.

The custom with the Catholic settlers was that they sent priests and religious orders of nuns on ahead of themselves to establish schools and churches for them to come to when they arrived.

There are also lots of little Catholic churches out in wilderness areas - you just have to plan ahead to know when Mass is available - or else bring a priest with you to say Mass in the chapel at any time. (Maybe your Monsignor friend.)

 

[ahs]

Some time ago I spoke with the pastor of my church about a situation similar to the one I originally raised today. My pastor, the Msgr., who is an avid fisherman, told me that when he goes on a wilderness fishing trip he does not consider it a sin to miss Mass because there is no way to attend Mass in the wilderness. So then why do I ask again? Because I keep getting different anwers to the question and have trouble knowing who to believe. Is the person who answers ultra conservative or ultra liberal? I am a moderate and believe the answer lies somewhere in between. Let me add that I am very serious about attending Mass whenever I can. I never miss Mass when I am near a Catholic church. But to say there are certain things that are near and dear to my heart that I can NEVER do because there is no Catholic church accessible seems to me to be unreasonable. If our very first immigrants were all Catholics we would never have found our way to California because there were no Catholic churches along the way.

Here is what the Church teaches about it:

2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."118

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin. - Catechism of the Catholic Church

You can refer to other sections of the Catechism which explain what participating and assistence in the Mass and participation in the Eucharist are. In summary, without a dispensation for a serious reason, “Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”

 

[joshkt79]

I work 40 hours a week, but I have a much crazier schedule than a “normal” person. I work 10 hours on Friday, 12 on Saturday, and 18 on Sunday. Is there an opportunity for me to attend Mass on Sunday? Absolutely not. I have to be at work at 4am and leave work at 10 pm. Whenever the church decides to pay me what I make on Sunday to support my family, I’ll stop working an attend Sunday Mass like I’m supposed to. Until then, I attend mass on Wednesday. I spoke to my Priest about this and he told me it was perfectly fine in my situation. I’m working because I have to. It’s not considered overtime. He told me to say a prayer every Sunday morning on my way to work and on my way home and to continue attending mass during the week. God will understand.

As far as being in the wilderness or whatnot, I remember once going on vacation with my Grandparents, who are very much into the church. We went camping in the middle of nowhere and the nearest Catholic Church was 4 hours away. That was the first Sunday my Grandfather ever missed. He went to confession as soon as we got back and confessed his sin.

I believe that if you’re on vacation, and there is no church around and you have access to a TV, then watch Mass on TV, if not, then confess your sin when you get back. God will forgive you.

 

[puzzleannie]

I work for a company that sometimes asks me to work on a Sunday. When I accept the Sunday assignment it is always with the intention to attend Mass on Saturday evening. Occasionally, however, I have been asked to attend a social event on the Saturday before I work that would prevent me from being able to attend Saturday Mass. Am I obligated to miss the social event or does my work on Sunday excuse me from the Sunday obligation?

.

if you work on Sunday the logical time to attend Mass is Saturday evening, or Sunday evening after work of that is available in your area. No a social engagement chosen over the only Mass you can attend does not excuse your participation in the most sacred worship and duty of the Catholic. you cannot go to Mass and be fashionably late to your date?

no if you really are in the wilderness without transportation, or for any reason simply cannot get to Mass, you have no obligation, but that hardly applies in your first example, neither does the Peace Corps analogy.

 

[Cyclophile]

I’m saying that many people have to work on Sundays and
they arrange their lives so that they can still attend Mass as well.

It’s that simple.

Imagining that your recreational “needs” can
outweigh your obligation to attend Mass is flawed.

You can’t equate your desire for fun with the
burden of actually living in an area where there is no Mass.

Talk to your priest… I was torn apart by judgemental folks on another thread on this topic. I was absolutely NOT able to attend on Sunday but I went to one or two weekday masses instead. My priest said this was fine.

Since then, I was able to negotiate an arrangement with my employer so that I am able to attend an evening mass on Sunday (not at my parish).

Now I attend both…