Travel Dilemma

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Hello. I am concerned about missing Mass this weekend. I agreed to go with my mom on a two day driving trip (she will be spending the summer in another state and I will fly home after we get there) but did not realize at the time that it would be Saturday and Sunday. The plan is to leave early Saturday morning and arrive at the half-way stop that night. I checked Mass times in the city we are spending the night in but the latest one is 5 o’clock so we will not be there yet. On Sunday there are not Masses early enough to attend before we need to get on the road. Once we reach our destination Sunday evening there are not Masses offered late enough.

What should I do? Technically there are Masses available but based on the travel times I am doubtful that I will be able to attend (we will also have a dog with us to complicate things more). My hope is that I can convince her to delay our departure Sunday so I can attend Mass, which is deeply important to me, but I am doubtful that we will be able to because it is a full day of driving.

I am worried because I will be going into the trip fully knowing that I will (most likely) not be able to fulfill my Sunday obligation but do not want to back out because my mom already paid for my flight back. I have been praying for a solution or an opportunity to arise for Mass but I feel stuck. I also thought that if I miss Mass I will make sure to go to confession right away but feel wrong about doing that too because I would be presuming forgiveness for this.

Can anyone offer some advice? Thank you!
 
You do your best, and if you cannot get to mass you cannot get to mass. If you are troubled, talk to your pastor. No one here has pastoral care over you, he does. He can give you a dispensation-- although if you *cannot *get to mass no dispensation is required.

Please don’t fall into scruples. You aren’t required to forego travel or do the impossible. If your mother won’t agree to postpone departure or otherwise impedes your attempt to go to mass-- or if it simply doesn’t work out (you never know when you will get delayed on the road even when you did have a plan in place to attend a certain mass)-- you have done your best.

There are times on trips when logistics just do not allow for finding a mass to attend.
 
Travelling is a valid reason for missing Mass, altho one naturally tries to make it. But if you cannot make it to Mass because you are travelling, it is ok.
 
I shall be in a similar position as we are going to be traveling in our 5th RV in a couple of weeks to the west coast. I realize that missing Mass is a “moral” sin and will go to confession as soon as I can get to a church. Please let me know if there are others out there that will be facing similar situations…
Thanks!
 
Thank you very much for your answers and guidance. This got me to thinking that God does know my heart and that I will absolutely make a point to attend Mass if possible this weekend.God bless!
 
If you have the ability to speak with your family for concurrence -

I would consider leaving a little earlier on Saturday AM and traveling an hour longer or so on Saturday PM … which would allow you to attend Mass in that slightly farther destination Sunday morning while still arriving Sunday Evening …

I am fairly certain your mid way point is not exactly midway … so you could choose a slightly different destination for that overnight stay and accomplish approximately the same travel time …

Last year I traveled from west coast to east coast and planned my itinerary to allow for Mass attendance …being an employer paid [who could care less about whether I make Mass or not] - I had to cover a certain average mileage every day, had a firm amount of days to make the trip as well as Per Diem… though I had to travel on Saturday and Sunday I was not paid salary and only received Per Diem if I made the mileage.

It took a little work but it is doable … and with the entire country to cross … some days were longer, some shorter - the mileage met

Good Luck
 
libbeylu said:
I shall be in a similar position as we are going to be traveling in our 5th RV in a couple of weeks to the west coast. I realize that missing Mass is a “moral” sin and will go to confession as soon as I can get to a church. Please let me know if there are others out there that will be facing similar situations…
Thanks!
Click to expand...
I just have to correct a couple of things here. Intentionally missing Sunday Mass WITHOUT A VALID REASON is grave matter. If done with full knowledge and full consent of the will, it is a mortal sin. If there is a valid reason for missing Mass, not only is it not a mortal sin, it is no sin at all.

A lot of people will confess missing Mass when there is no sin, and they do it just to clear their consciences. This is actually not a good practice, spiritually. It’s not a good practice for a couple of reasons.
  1. It treats something as sin that is not sin. Fundamentally, it’s rooted in a false understanding that God is not merciful, that He doesn’t love us, and that He is really just a divine scorekeeper, keeping track of who is and who isn’t in a state of grace.
  2. It treats the sacraments as legalistic rules to follow. Confession is not magic. It doesn’t “work” if the person is not contrite and at least have the intention of not committing the sinful action again. So, let’s say someone is doing unnecessary work on Sunday that is causing that person to miss Mass. The person goes to Confession, knowing full well that he or she is going to continue in the unnecessary work. In this scenario, there is no firm purpose of amendment. The person is treating Confession as just ritualistic words he needs to be sure the priest says. But, it doesn’t work that way. God looks into the heart. If the person is truly contrite, then he or she should quit the job. If the job is necessary, then there is no sin whatsoever, so nothing to confess.
My advice…if you intentionally miss Mass without a valid reason, then get to Confession, and resolve to not do it again. If you unintentionally missed Mass through no fault of your own, or had a valid reason to miss Mass (i.e. illness, sick child, sick parent, necessary work, no priest available) then there is no sin and no reason to go to Confession (for this at least).
 
If you are making a good faith effort and not deliberately missing due to the length of travel, then I personally would not consider it sinful. I went on a vacation, and missed 2 times because I could not figure out how in the places I was at to get some form of transport & make it to a Mass. I went to confession upon my return, and told the priest who told me I should have made an even greater effort. Another priest when I mentioned the same thing said at least I tried but make sure to make the effort unless your circumstances do not permit you to attend Sunday Mass.
 
buc_fan33 said:
I just have to correct a couple of things here. Intentionally missing Sunday Mass WITHOUT A VALID REASON is grave matter. If done with full knowledge and full consent of the will, it is a mortal sin. If there is a valid reason for missing Mass, not only is it not a mortal sin, it is no sin at all.

A lot of people will confess missing Mass when there is no sin, and they do it just to clear their consciences. This is actually not a good practice, spiritually. It’s not a good practice for a couple of reasons.
  1. It treats something as sin that is not sin. Fundamentally, it’s rooted in a false understanding that God is not merciful, that He doesn’t love us, and that He is really just a divine scorekeeper, keeping track of who is and who isn’t in a state of grace.
  2. It treats the sacraments as legalistic rules to follow. Confession is not magic. It doesn’t “work” if the person is not contrite and at least have the intention of not committing the sinful action again. So, let’s say someone is doing unnecessary work on Sunday that is causing that person to miss Mass. The person goes to Confession, knowing full well that he or she is going to continue in the unnecessary work. In this scenario, there is no firm purpose of amendment. The person is treating Confession as just ritualistic words he needs to be sure the priest says. But, it doesn’t work that way. God looks into the heart. If the person is truly contrite, then he or she should quit the job. If the job is necessary, then there is no sin whatsoever, so nothing to confess.
My advice…if you intentionally miss Mass without a valid reason, then get to Confession, and resolve to not do it again. If you unintentionally missed Mass through no fault of your own, or had a valid reason to miss Mass (i.e. illness, sick child, sick parent, necessary work, no priest available) then there is no sin and no reason to go to Confession (for this at least).
Click to expand...
This is probably the best thing ever written on this forum on the subject. Thank you for your clarity.

-Fr ACEGC
 
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