Valid Excuse For Missing Sunday Mass?

[El_PAso]

Hi,

Can I miss Sunday Mass if it puts a dog at risk?

I find myself homeless, not broke but on the road searching for a place to move with school and work and family each being 500 miles from each other! Yikes!

I will be the desert southwest and have a puppy who travels with me and can’t stay in the car when too warm/hot; dangerous and illegal in many places-rightly so!

I’m not sure where I will be in the coming weeks and have no idea about Mass times and if the grounds are shaded, have early morning Mass, shade etc. Not knowing where I will be I can’t rely on boarding her or relying on friends so assume she is with me 24/7 for the meanwhile.

I will probably be camping and at distance from the nearest parish from week to week and not know what the weather or shade conditions will be, if convenient and safe i will certainly attend but unsure at what lengths I have to go to find a Church that is safe for a puppy to be in a car; shade, time of Mass etc…

My next stop puts me 45 miles from the nearest parish and no clue what the grounds are like. In such cases I doubt I would even attempt as this means 90 miles of driving and puppy at risk… That is my basic question; how hard to I have to try?

I love going to Mass and attend daily. It is the center of my life and I am sad I may be missing my daily and even more the possibility of Sunday Mass.

Thanks for understanding,

Elpaso

 

[fencersmother]

I believe there is a dispensation for travelers. But you should contact your pastor before you need that dispensation.

 

[Mintaka]

fencersmother –

If he’s already un-homed and in transit, he has no residence. If he’s not residing anywhere, he doesn’t have a pastor or a parish anymore. If he is still at home, then sure, asking ahead for a dispensation is a good idea.

Also, you don’t have to go get a formal pastor dispensation for everything that happens; you just have to have a serious reason to be released from the obligation. That’s how the law goes.

(Knowing you weren’t going to be able to go to Mass for six months while living in Antarctica would be more a dispensation thing. Dispensations are for those times when you can plan ahead.)

Elpaso –

The Sunday obligation doesn’t apply to people who have a “grave reason” (serious reason) not to go to Mass. “Necessary travel” is explicitly defined as a grave reason in many sources.

Also, seeing as Judaism said you could feed and care for animals on the Sabbath without it being work, and you could do work to save an animal’s life on the Sabbath, and seeing as how Our Lord talked about that as being a good thing (which is why it was also a good thing to do miracles on the Sabbath to heal humans)…

I would say that caring for a puppy is a grave reason to miss Mass, also.

(Obviously, you would want a dispensation if caring for a puppy was going to make you miss Mass for six months or something like that, but this is a short time during necessary travel.)

All that said, Masstimes.org and parish websites are a great resource, and you can combine that with Google Maps or Google Earth to find out a lot about the parish and its grounds. Calling parish offices (if they’re open on Fridays) can often get you a lot of info and help. Heck, you might meet some nice people that way!

Good luck on your land odyssey through the beautiful Southwest!

 

[El_PAso]

Thanks,

I figured but was having trouble finding the time to research this.

Another similar question; I think I know the answer but how late can one attend Mass and receive the Eucharist?

Once when traveling I got times messed up and walked into Mass actually into the line for the Eucharist and went ahead and received.

I think one should be present for at least the Liturgy of the Eucharist to have “validly” attended Mass but not sure where I heard/read this…

Thanks,

EP

 

[KendraDZ1902]

If you are living out of your car, why even keep Fido? Sure, you aren’t broke, but Fido will still cost you money. Money that could be spent on your traveling expenses or trying to find a home. If I were homeless, the last thing I would want was another mouth to feed.

I’m not a huge animal lover, I guess. I don’t call my dog my “fur-baby” and if it came down to it, I would choose myself over him. So, if I were homeless, Duke wouldn’t be with me.

If Duke became sick next weekend, I would still attend Mass. If Duke was throwing up blood or was seriously injured, Duke would be shot to be put out of his misery and buried out back. Yeah, I’ll miss him, but I can always get another dog. Maybe you should get a dog when you have better capabilities?

 

[Vico]

fencersmother –

If he’s already un-homed and in transit, he has no residence. If he’s not residing anywhere, he doesn’t have a pastor or a parish anymore. If he is still at home, then sure, asking ahead for a dispensation is a good idea.

Also, you don’t have to go get a formal pastor dispensation for everything that happens; you just have to have a serious reason to be released from the obligation. That’s how the law goes.

(Knowing you weren’t going to be able to go to Mass for six months while living in Antarctica would be more a dispensation thing. Dispensations are for those times when you can plan ahead.)

Elpaso –

The Sunday obligation doesn’t apply to people who have a “grave reason” (serious reason) not to go to Mass. “Necessary travel” is explicitly defined as a grave reason in many sources.

Also, seeing as Judaism said you could feed and care for animals on the Sabbath without it being work, and you could do work to save an animal’s life on the Sabbath, and seeing as how Our Lord talked about that as being a good thing (which is why it was also a good thing to do miracles on the Sabbath to heal humans)…

I would say that caring for a puppy is a grave reason to miss Mass, also.

(Obviously, you would want a dispensation if caring for a puppy was going to make you miss Mass for six months or something like that, but this is a short time during necessary travel.)

All that said, Masstimes.org and parish websites are a great resource, and you can combine that with Google Maps or Google Earth to find out a lot about the parish and its grounds. Calling parish offices (if they’re open on Fridays) can often get you a lot of info and help. Heck, you might meet some nice people that way!

Good luck on your land odyssey through the beautiful Southwest!

Just some canon law on proper pastor or ordinary (CIC):Can. 100 A person is said to be: a resident (incola) in the place where the person has a domicile; a temporary resident (advena) in the place where the person has a quasi-domicile; a traveler (peregrinus) if the person is outside the place of a domicile or quasi-domicile which is still retained; a transient (vagus) if the person does not have a domicile or quasi- domicile anywhere.

Can. 107 §1. Through both domicile and quasi-domicile, each person acquires his or her pastor and ordinary.
§2. The proper pastor or ordinary of a transient is the pastor or local ordinary where the transient is actually residing.
§3. The proper pastor of one who has only a diocesan domicile or quasi-domicile is the pastor of the place where the person is actually residing.