Why must we go to mass weekly?

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Hey forums, my sister asked why we must go to mass on Sunday. She is lapsed and said she thinks its just an attempt for you to give the Church money. I know that isn’t true, since a tithe is not required, but how do I respond? Thanks.

-Matt
 
i don’t know Matt, how do you respond? You are a Catholic. Why don’t you type up what you might say to her?
 
I forgot to mention, Im not practicing. I said its a covenant thing (commandments and all) but that wasn’t good enough for her. I need some help
 
MHT32 said:
Hey forums, my sister asked why we must go to mass on Sunday. She is lapsed and said she thinks its just an attempt for you to give the Church money. I know that isn’t true, since a tithe is not required, but how do I respond? Thanks.

-Matt
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  1. It is not required for you to bring money to Church. No one will come after you if you don’t give anything to the Church, even if you go on Sundays and weekdays. 🙂
  2. You’re right - it’s a “covenant thing.” 🙂 God created us and gave us everything that we have -breath, sight, sound, touch, taste, and everything that we experience through those senses. In return, He wants to be worshipped. It’s not much to ask - once a week, for an hour or so. Plus a few other things that He likes us to do, such as follow the Beatitudes and the Commandments, go to Confession when we’ve sinned, and things like that. Once you get into the routine of it, it’s not very difficult to do. The hardest part is getting started, but once you’ve created the habit, you’ll never break it.
 
We go to Mass because Jesus told us to.

catholic.com/tracts/christ-in-the-eucharist

*"Jesus first repeated what he said, then summarized: "‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’" (John 6:51–52).

His listeners were stupefied because now they understood Jesus literally—and correctly. He again repeated his words, but with even greater emphasis, and introduced the statement about drinking his blood: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:53–56). "*

Also, we see the early Church fathers partake in the same mass that we celebrate today:

patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-fathers-explain-mass.html

*"St. Ignatius of Antioch

Writing just after the end of the first century, only a few years after the death of St. John the Apostle, St. Ignatius gives us a short but powerful indication of the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. He refers to those who absent themselves from the Eucharist celebrated by the bishop and his priests. The Greek word he uses for the “altar” used in Christian worship is thysiasterion, which means “place where sacrifices are offered.” “Let no one deceive himself,” St. Ignatius warns, “whoever keeps away from the altar (thysiasterion) deprives himself of the divine bread” (Letter to the Ephesians 5:2; A.D. 110)."*

*Epistola Apostolorum

This work, only discovered in 1895, was originally composed in Greek but exists today only in Coptic, Ethiopian, and Latin translations. The Ethiopian version is the most complete and contains a beautiful dialogue between Christ and His Apostles after the Resurrection about the offering of the Christian paschal sacrifice. This passage, translated especially for Envoy magazine, is not found in any English language collections of the Fathers. It’s as though the objections of Protestants against the sacrifice of the Mass where already being anticipated and answered back then:

"The Lord said, ‘You will celebrate the memorial of My death, that is, the Passover Sacrifice . . . at the cock’s crow, at dawn, you will perform My feast of love and My memorial’ . . . . The Apostles said, ‘Lord, haven’t You drunk to the full of the Passover Sacrifice? Is it then necessary that we do it again?’ Jesus responded, ‘Yes, it is necessary, until I come again from the Father’" (Epistola Apostolorum 13; A.D. 140).*

There are a lot of great references to the early Church fathers celebrating Mass in that article. Hope this helps!
 
And if i may add something off topic, the greatest love we can ever have is to love God and oh how He returns that love far greater than we can ever perceive “To love God is the greatest of all romances, to seek Him, the greatest adventure, to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”
 
Because we are blessed to have the privilege - and we can even go every day if we want, and be that much more blessed! :yup:
 
I don’t like to give long answers cuz I.think it discourage people from reading so here’s what it comes down to: why WOULDN’T you go to mass weekly? For that matter why not daily? The Blessed Sacrament is God Himself in the Flesh living breathing and thinking. I know its hard to believe but that Host is a living thinking Being (Jesus) and to receive God in your own body and soul is the greatest thing of your life if you truly love God so why wouldn’t you want to experience that as often as you can? If you want something out of mass the Eucharist is it! No exception
 
Originally, this was done so that the clergy could eat. Lots of different sects competed with each other. Ultimately, the most successful one is the one that tells you to come frequently and keep them well stocked with meat.

This is an evolutionary explanation. 😛

But really, because it keeps you close to the body of Christ. I’m not sure what that means, but something like that. 🤷
 
Aside from other good answers, see also:*CCC#2190 The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday…*In this weekly remembrance, we are reminded of our roots in ancient Israel, covenants, worship, typology, etc…etc…!
 
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