B
Bill_Legare
Guest
Simple question … If it would take one hour to get to the closest church any Sunday when I’m 300 miles away from home (6-7 weekends each year) would attending mass when arriving back home on Monday be accepted?
- Status
S
Seatuck
Guest
Is it a hardship to travel that one hour to get to Mass.
S
Sunbreak
Guest
Monday doesn’t substitute for Sunday. An hour drive doesn’t seem that bad, especially if you would only have to do it 7-8 times a year. There are people in my area who drive an hour or an hour every Sunday to attend certain churches of choice. Also, there are people who drive to the coast or to the mountain for the day (an hour to an hour and a half drive). So, ask yourself if you would be willing to drive that hour if you were going to the ocean or to the mountains to ski?
B
Bookcat
Guest
For me I would not find an hour to be much of a problem…some walk very long periods in other countries…to get to Mass…
So I would certainly go. I often drive around an hour …I used to every week cause I liked a particular Shrine)
(Monday Mass is not the same as the Lords Day…and can not replace such…)
One can contact ones pastor if one likes…and ask him to dispense you that Sunday from Mass…if he judges that he can…he can do so. But one still should live the Lord’s Day…
a great reading from Pope Benedict XVI 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
B
baltobetsy
Guest
I think we may be misundertstanding the OP. It seems to me that on ordinary Sundays, he drives one hour to get to Mass. Six or seven times a year, he is even further away, 300 miles. And his question is whether he may substitute Mass on Monday for the Sunday when he’s 300 miles away on Sunday. Driving at 60 mph, it would take him five hours to get to Mass, and five hours back, making ten hours on the road, which is more than anyone would consider reasonable to insist upon, I’m sure.
If that is indeed the case, it would seem he has no obligation on the Sundays when he’s 300 miles away because of the great distance he would have to travel. If he wants to make the extra effort to attend daily mass on Monday or any other weekday, that’s great, but it does not substitute for Sunday. As said before, at that distance he has no obligation for Sunday. Either one has an obligation (and there can be no substitute for it) or he does not. It appears the OP does not. He could confirm this with his pastor if he wishes for his own peace of mind.
Let’s not jump on him for a lack of devotion before we’ve done the math.
If that is indeed the case, it would seem he has no obligation on the Sundays when he’s 300 miles away because of the great distance he would have to travel. If he wants to make the extra effort to attend daily mass on Monday or any other weekday, that’s great, but it does not substitute for Sunday. As said before, at that distance he has no obligation for Sunday. Either one has an obligation (and there can be no substitute for it) or he does not. It appears the OP does not. He could confirm this with his pastor if he wishes for his own peace of mind.
Let’s not jump on him for a lack of devotion before we’ve done the math.
5
5Loaves
Guest
Sunday is a holy day of obligation and so the obligation is to assist at a Sunday Mass, which may also occur on Sat. evening. Your priest is the one to ask whether the circumstance you are describing would dispense you of the obligation.
Many of us have to travel that far every Sunday.
That however is not the issue and only your priest or confessor can respond with a valid answer for your specific circumstances.
T
The_Idiot
Guest
If you are genuinely 300 miles away from the nearest Catholic Church even if it is only a few weekends in the year ] then I’m sure that your priest will remit the obligation to attend Mass.
However if the only problem is that it will take you an hour to get to Mass - sorry - you can try that one on your priest - but you could expect his to say that one hour of travel is perfectly acceptable .
However if the only problem is that it will take you an hour to get to Mass - sorry - you can try that one on your priest - but you could expect his to say that one hour of travel is perfectly acceptable .
J
Joan_M
Guest
One hour is not a particularly long drive to get to Mass, and, no, it would not be acceptable to just go to Mass on Monday instead.
If it is truly impossible to get to Mass on Sunday, then speak to your priest and ask for a dispensation. He may suggest that you attend Mass on another day, but that is not something you can decide for yourself.
One year, when I had to work for 2 - 3 weeks at a time in Tobago, West Indies, I drove for one hour and fifteen minutes to get to Mass. I did not find it particularly difficult. I played spiritual music on the cd player and also said the Rosary during the drive. The effort needed to fulfill my Sunday obligation made the day special.
S
Seatuck
Guest
It’s not lack of devotion that the problem but lack of punctuation.
I agree with the above. If the nearest Catholic church is such a difficult distance( the three hundred miles ) then the obligation is automatically removed. You don’t need to attempt to substitute (which is impossible , anyway) but could attend a weekday Mass for edification if desired.
5
5Loaves
Guest
OP says he’s 300 miles from home on those days, not 300 miles for a church.
He says the nearest church is an hour away when he’s at that location.
B
Bookcat
Guest
Nope…he is asking about when he will be 300 miles away from home…and thus he will be an hour from Mass on a few Sundays…
E
Evan
Guest
When I was a child we would drive the hour to mass each Sunday. For our formation we children would also go to a summer school at the Church, 1 hour each way, each day, for 2 weeks, except when there was road construction; then it was 2 hours each way. AND we would still go the 1 hour each way for mass each Sunday.
We were Catholic.
It was not a hardship but an obligation:thumbsup:. After all, it was rarely hotter than 90 degrees (no air conditioning but the windows were down) and there was usually less than 10 of us packed in the car (the younger ones weren’t born yet).
We would sing about 99 bottles of beer (down to 1 and back up to 100). Must have driven our parents nuts. 
We were Catholic.
It was not a hardship but an obligation:thumbsup:. After all, it was rarely hotter than 90 degrees (no air conditioning but the windows were down) and there was usually less than 10 of us packed in the car (the younger ones weren’t born yet).
We would sing about 99 bottles of beer (down to 1 and back up to 100). Must have driven our parents nuts.
B
baltobetsy
Guest
Oops.
S
Seatuck
Guest
B
Bill_Legare
Guest
Durn thing said I wasn’t logged in … so let me try it one more time –
300 miles away from home to a camp out in the middle of the woods – half dozen times a year, only in the winter.
Nearest church from the camp is 1 hour away, which includes having to ride on a snowmobile to get to where my truck is. That means get dressed in snowmobile gear, ride to truck, remove helmets, ride to church and walk in all decked out in gear AND with ‘helmet hair’.
No electricity, plumbing, or showers at the camp. For a half-dozen times a year, I would HOPE it would be acceptable to attend mass on Monday, once we’re back in civilization.
300 miles away from home to a camp out in the middle of the woods – half dozen times a year, only in the winter.
Nearest church from the camp is 1 hour away, which includes having to ride on a snowmobile to get to where my truck is. That means get dressed in snowmobile gear, ride to truck, remove helmets, ride to church and walk in all decked out in gear AND with ‘helmet hair’.
No electricity, plumbing, or showers at the camp. For a half-dozen times a year, I would HOPE it would be acceptable to attend mass on Monday, once we’re back in civilization.
G
GwenL
Guest
Bill, a daily Mass never substitutes for Sunday Mass (or Mass on any Holy Day of obligation).
What follows is my opinion.
If your camp is a recreational activity, I would say that you must plan your recreational activities to make it to Mass on Sunday.
If your camp is a workplace, and getting to Mass is impossible or extremely difficult, I would say that you need to talk to your priest and request dispensation.
It is our obligation, but more importantly, it is our privilege to attend Holy Mass on the Lord’s day.
I would think that the Lord is quite pleased when you take the more difficult path to get yourself to Mass, even with helmet hair.
What follows is my opinion.
If your camp is a recreational activity, I would say that you must plan your recreational activities to make it to Mass on Sunday.
If your camp is a workplace, and getting to Mass is impossible or extremely difficult, I would say that you need to talk to your priest and request dispensation.
It is our obligation, but more importantly, it is our privilege to attend Holy Mass on the Lord’s day.
I would think that the Lord is quite pleased when you take the more difficult path to get yourself to Mass, even with helmet hair.
S
stormy99
Guest
**I traveled this year and somehow found churches along the way…Alaska where I was the toughest but I did it…only on a cruise and it wasn’t available and we were at sea…but everywhere else I went to Mass…
stormy**
S
Seatuck
Guest
Bill, talk to your priest. If traveling to Mass is as burdensome the way you describe then you can ask for a dispensation. You will want to set aside an hour to pray and meditate and perhaps read the Sunday’s readings on the Sunday that you will be missing mass.
As has been said , no weekday Mass is a substitute for a Sunday obligatory Mass . You can certainly do it for your own spiritual edification, though.
You will of course want to limit these trips that prevent you from meeting your Sunday obligation.I think 6 times over the course of the winter might be a bit much. Talk it over with your priest.
As has been said , no weekday Mass is a substitute for a Sunday obligatory Mass . You can certainly do it for your own spiritual edification, though.
You will of course want to limit these trips that prevent you from meeting your Sunday obligation.I think 6 times over the course of the winter might be a bit much. Talk it over with your priest.
Z
zab
Guest
I think it is best to ask your pastor about this. On the one hand, it sounds to me like it would be a hardship for you to get to Mass on those Sundays. But then I have too many questions like: Are you on vacation for six consecutive Sundays? Is it a difficult task to ride the snowmobile to get to the truck but not such a difficult task when riding it otherwise? Is it a problem getting enough fuel for your vehicles? Speak to your pastor. It is possible that you may get dispensation from attending Sunday Mass, but there is no making up for it by going to Mass on Monday. It would just be nice to do the extra.
J
jpjd
Guest
The answer to the OP’s is No. And the answer is No because Monday does not substitue for Sunday. Never. For no reason whatsoever.
- Status