- Oct 31, 2008
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I thought babies had the same obligation as everyone else to attend Mass every Sunday, only the responsibility for upholding it and the consequences for missing it fall on the parents.
My wife and I were in disagreement about that this morning. We go to separate Masses, and today she decided that she and my step daughter would go to the noon Spanish Mass after some quick dress shopping for a wedding she has coming up. I asked what about our son (18 months) and she said he could just stay home with me, indicating he wouldn't go to Mass at all since I had already gone and would be headed to work a few hours later. I said that wasn't okay because the sin of failing our obligation falls on the parents if we don't take our children. Eventually we decided I'd take him down to the Church and drop him off with her, so I did.
The main reason she didn't want to take him was the heat. We've been in the middle of a severe heat wave, the high yesterday was 117 and today it was about 107 when the noon Mass let out. It was bad enough that she had to take him to a doctor's appointment at 1:45 in the afternoon on Friday when it was about 110, she didn't want to put him through that again even though our parish is well air conditioned. She suggested he stay home and watch a live streamed Mass with me but I reminded her that hasn't been valid for years unless you're a bedridden invalid.
Someone else mentioned that babies don't have an obligation until they reach the age of reason, which is seven years old in the Latin Church. Is that right?
My wife and I were in disagreement about that this morning. We go to separate Masses, and today she decided that she and my step daughter would go to the noon Spanish Mass after some quick dress shopping for a wedding she has coming up. I asked what about our son (18 months) and she said he could just stay home with me, indicating he wouldn't go to Mass at all since I had already gone and would be headed to work a few hours later. I said that wasn't okay because the sin of failing our obligation falls on the parents if we don't take our children. Eventually we decided I'd take him down to the Church and drop him off with her, so I did.
The main reason she didn't want to take him was the heat. We've been in the middle of a severe heat wave, the high yesterday was 117 and today it was about 107 when the noon Mass let out. It was bad enough that she had to take him to a doctor's appointment at 1:45 in the afternoon on Friday when it was about 110, she didn't want to put him through that again even though our parish is well air conditioned. She suggested he stay home and watch a live streamed Mass with me but I reminded her that hasn't been valid for years unless you're a bedridden invalid.
Someone else mentioned that babies don't have an obligation until they reach the age of reason, which is seven years old in the Latin Church. Is that right?
