Sunday Obligation verses Sickness

[centurionguard]

During this whole year I have missed Sunday Mass five or six times and the entire Easter Tridium due to varying degrees of sickness. I recently spent close to two weeks in hospital due to Chemo therapy (Pancreatic cancer) related sickness that sometimes puts a struggling damper on my immune system which ails me most of time. Other times I am often very dizzy due to medications for seizure related problems, cardiac, and diabetes.

I often feel so bad that I am unable to make it to Sunday Mass, although I do my daily prayers and pray for a Spiritual Communion. I guess I’m asking to what varying degree of sickness would pardon a Catholic from Sunday Obligation?

I miss Holy Mass often and yeah it hurts when I wish I could be there.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Certainly, the degree of illness that you describe is more than sufficient to excuse you from your obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days.

The obligation to worship God and to keep holy the Sabbath (Sundays and holy days) is a grave obligation. However, missing Mass on one occasion, or on a few occasions from time to time, is not a grave failure of that grave obligation; rather, it is a substantially limited failure, and so only a just reason (not a grave reason) is needed to avoid sin when missing Mass occasionally.

So you have nothing to worry about. It is not even a venial sin for you to miss Mass due to cancer or side effects from cancer treatment.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

If you wouldn’t drag yourself to work, shopping, or a party, you’re too sick for Mass. Have you asked for them to bring you Communion? Most parishes will do that.

God bless you.

 

[centurionguard]

If you wouldn’t drag yourself to work, shopping, or a party, you’re too sick for Mass. Have you asked for them to bring you Communion? Most parishes will do that.

God bless you.

I haven’t been able to work since January 2003 due to declining and worsening health.
I have thankfully had fellow Brother Knights bring me Holy Communion, but EMHC;s for the sick are not always available on Sundays or Saturdays. Even worse with Summer soon approaching with people away on vocation and taking up residence in their cottages.
EMHC ministers of the sick naturally cover the city hospitals and retired seniors homes for the young of heart first and then outlying residential homes.