To go or not to go?

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Kathrin

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To Easter Sunday morning mass, that is. Weird question? Maybe… but here’s what I am going through:
I just went to easter Vigil mass. Obligation wise, I am “covered” for Sunday.
Easter Monday is a national holiday here and thus I think also a holy day of obligation. Since I am working and haven’t found a mass on Monday evening, I’ll have to go Sunday evening for Monday.
Very easy: I went tonight for Sunday, and am going on Sunday night for Monday.

But now, during the Easter Vigil mass, I was distracted. I had a fear thought. I had been so looking forward to the mass, and then I was distracted! First the fear thought. And then, since the fear had to do with something maybe preventing a dream from coming true, the second fear: Aha, is this dream more important to you than God?! Long known story to me, these kinds of thoughts. So then, both fears distracting me.

So then the thought: To show that God is more important, maybe I could go to Sunday morning mass as well? To make up for being distracted too. (My priest had told me though that being distracted during mass doesn’t mean you have to go again for that day.)

But then I’d go to mass twice tomorrow, since I am already going in the evening for Monday, after already going tonight. A little much? Compulsive? And: I talked to the priest after mass tonight, and I mentioned again the distracting thoughts, and I am a little embarrassed to think of him seeing me at mass again tomorrow morning. (The one in the evening is at another church.)

What would you say?

Kathrin

p.s. And really, what am I doing, thinking about stuff like this? CHRIST IS RISEN, that is the important thing!!
 
You are, perhaps, over scrupulous.

As the Easter Vigil is the principal Mass of Easter, you are more than “covered” for the feast. I understand that in Germany Easter Monday is a holy day of obligation - perhaps the same for you? I would go to a Sunday evening vigil for Monday, then, if you cannot make it on Monday, and not worry about it.
 
Tomorrow, I am serving as EMHC at the 11:30am Mass at my regular Church, but I really want to go to the Easter Vigil as well. I think it will be a very valuable experience since I came back to the Church 1 year and a half ago. I haven’t been to a Vigil Mass since I was very small, so I think it will a different experience altogether. I’m going in about an hour for a good spot since I know it will be VERY crowded. 😃 I can’t wait!
 
Oh yes, the Easter Vigil is a BEAUTIFUL experience.
And I think I ahve done that before, gone to the Vigil as well as the morning mass.
I just don’t want to do it out of scrupulosity. And I may need to sleep in tomorrow, as I will be working again Monday and have been very tired.
And three masses within less than 24 hours sounds like a lot, especially since the mass on Sunday night is technically also an Easter Mass (only that I will use it to fulfill the Easter Monday obligation.)
So I am torn. Thinking, maybe because I was distracted the Vigil Mass didn’t fulfill the obligation in a way.
 
Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for my (and your) sins!

If you die peacefully in your sleep tomorrow night, before going to work, would you be glad that you went to Easter Mass to celebrate the gift Jesus gave to you and me, the Most Holy Eucharist?

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

Mark
 
Mark77 said:
Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for my (and your) sins!

If you die peacefully in your sleep tomorrow night, before going to work, would you be glad that you went to Easter Mass to celebrate the gift Jesus gave to you and me, the Most Holy Eucharist?

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

Mark
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She will, indeed, have gone to Easter Mass - the Easter Vigil, the first Mass of Easter and arguably the most important liturgy of the year.

It is unhelpful to try to lay guilt on someone who seems to tend towards scrupulosity.
 
Stay home and rest, Kathrin. It would be compulsion for you to go again in the morning.

Christ is risen! Happy Easter!

Betsy
 
Happy Easter Betsy! :):):)🙂

Well, now I woke up early anyway. Going to a family lunch later, but until then… hm, now I even kind of WANT to go. It IS ok to go 3 times in 24 hours, right?

Betsy, by the way, last night I had a talk with my Mom because I have been worrying so much lately; she thinks it may be a good idea to increase my medication a bit just to overcome this “crisis”, this is what I ahd been worrying about during mass last night, worrying that it might affect me in another way too, making me less enthusiastic for what gives me joy in life, you know I do like this aspect of my “obsessiveness”, I can really get into things and work hard for them. But then maybe that has nothing to do with obsessiveness, the bad kind anyway.
So then I started worrying about (of course;)): “Aha, you don’t trust God enough, you want to hold on to something else in your life again, huh…” So then I started to worry about having worried. :rolleyes: And mostly I started worrying about worrying about these things DURING EASTER VIGIL MASS.
Set off a whole new spiral…:rolleyes: Explained this shortly to the priest at the reception afterward. The same one who had told me it was normal that our thoughts wander sometimes, and it doesn’t mean we have missed mass. I explained to him that then I would start thinking about how I couldn’t concentrate on mass anymore, and then I could concentrate even less of course. He is really understanding.

Well, I took two tablets instead of 1 1/2 this morning. I’ll have to pray about this. When I first started taking this medication I once was on 2 tablets too, for quite a while I think, but that was long ago. I think I was ok. I have been hoping to be able to go down even further. But oh well.

'k. Better go now. Happy happy Easter everyone!! God bless you all, abundantly, have a wonderful day! If anybody wants to say a prayer for us scrupulous folks…🙂 thank you… I want to trust God. I want to trust that He leads me on the right way. I want to do things out of love, not out of compulsion. I want to spread love in this world.
(Now I feel guilty about writing “I want”…) But I mean want in a good way, not a greedy way.
I want to be able to feel joy, to live my dreams, without always second guessing myself. Except in a healthy way, of course!

Love and peace to you all!
 
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