Do I really have to come to Mass every Sunday?
Many Catholics today are under the impression that they need only attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation as and when they feel like it. This is a big error which from time to time needs correcting, hence the title of this newsletter. ALL Sundays are Holydays of Obligation, and in England and Wales, the other days Catholics are obliged to attend Mass are: Christmas Day (25th December), Epiphany of Our Lord (6th January), Ascension of the Lord (Thursday after 6th Sunday of Easter), Ss Peter and Paul (29th June), The Assumption of Our Lady (15th August) and All Saints (1st November). There is also Corpus Christi which is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but the current practice in England and Wales is to transfer it to the following Sunday. And if you think that’s a lot, before Pope St Pius X reduced the number of Holydays of Obligation to eight in 1911with his motu proprio Supremi disciplinae, there were thirty-six Holydays of Obligation! Regarding Sundays and Holydays, here is what the Code of Canon Law says:
Can. 1246 §1. “Sunday, on which by Apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holyday of obligation.” And then, Can. 1247 says: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.”
The Sunday obligation may also be fulfilled by attending the Vigil Mass on a Saturday evening. If you are housebound or sick, or you have to look after a sick person or a child, or you are travelling, or you are a long way from the nearest Mass, or you arrive at Mass and find it is cancelled because the priest is sick, you are dispensed from the obligation. But to not come to Mass because you have arranged other things such as sports, or you’ve decided you want to sleep late, or you simply don’t feel like coming, is a mortal sin, and you should not receive Holy Communion again until you have been to Confession. If you receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, you commit the further mortal sin of sacrilege. Parents must teach this to their children. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear:
#2181 “… the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”
So it is a serious thing to miss Mass. However, if you regularly have to work on a Sunday, the Parish Priest can give you a dispensation so as you may fulfil your obligation by attending Mass on a different day, which some of you already do. But why is it so serious to miss Mass on a Sunday or day of obligation? Firstly, God commands that we keep the Sabbath holy, but even more importantly we owe Him worship. He is the Creator. He has given us everything we have, including life, and so we owe Him everything. Even if you are bored and you feel you pray better elsewhere, it doesn’t matter. You still owe God the worship. We must give God what He deserves, and He deserves the best, which is the Sacrifice of His Son on the Cross which is made present on the altar at every Mass, and then offered to the Father for His glory and for the salvation of the world. Your prayers and your presence at Mass matter, and so when you don’t come, God is less glorified and the world is less sanctified, and even worse, you may find you drift away from Him altogether. And every Mass you attend with devotion will give you a higher place in Heaven.
Fr Paul Gillham, IC
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