Mass attendance obligation

[Lord'sWarrior]

I don't agree with the obligation to attend Mass within the Catholic Church. Somedays I don't feel I want to leave the house (because of my mental illness), and feel that that is too much of a commitment I am not able to make. And the law of the church says that if one misses the Mass, one has to confess it. I then would spend, whenever I felt unwell to attend it, all the time in confession. Which is ridiculous.

 

[Basil the Great]

It is not considered a grave/ mortal sin to miss Mass, if one is unable to attend due to health issues. However, you would probably need to ask a priest to see if your mental illness would qualify as an exemption. I imagine that most mental illnesses would probably not qualify, but it is possible that some might.

 

[RaymondG]

It is not considered a grave/ mortal sin to miss Mass, if one is unable to attend due to health issues. However, you would probably need to ask a priest to see if your mental illness would qualify as an exemption. I imagine that most mental illnesses would probably not qualify, but it is possible that some might.

If his priest decided that his illness did not qualify, would it then become a have sin? And what would be the consequences.....spiritually?

 

[AV1611VET]

It is not considered a grave/ mortal sin to miss Mass,

But it is considered a venial sin, is it not?

 

[FireDragon76]

I don't agree with the obligation to attend Mass within the Catholic Church. Somedays I don't feel I want to leave the house (because of my mental illness), and feel that that is too much of a commitment I am not able to make. And the law of the church says that if one misses the Mass, one has to confess it. I then would spend, whenever I felt unwell to attend it, all the time in confession. Which is ridiculous.

Are you Catholic? If not ,then it doesn't really apply to you.

Catholics don't teach you are obliged to attend mass if you are ill or financially unable to do so. If you are mentally ill, you would not necessarily be obliged to attend Mass. It is something you would want to discuss with a priest or spiritual director, however, to be certain.

What the rules are really about is people who take their religion not very seriously and prefer to sleep in on sundays or "commune with God in X,Y,Z" because they think it isn't important to go to church. It's not about people that are struggling with serious problems in their life.

 

[AV1611VET]

Are you Catholic? If not ,then it doesn't really apply to you.

If he was your son, would it matter to you?

 

[FireDragon76]

If he was your son, would it matter to you?

The religious obligations of Catholics do not necessarily apply to non-Catholics.

 

[AV1611VET]

The religious obligations of Catholics do not necessarily apply to non-Catholics.

If he was your son though, would it matter to you?

What if he passed away before you?

Would you be purchasing indulgences for him? praying him out of purgatory? whatever?

Just curious, because my mother-in-law is a Catholic and she laments her daughter's (my wife) conversion to Independent Fundamental Baptist.

 

[Basil the Great]

If he was your son though, would it matter to you?

What if he passed away before you?

Would you be purchasing indulgences for him? praying him out of purgatory? whatever?

Just curious, because my mother-in-law is a Catholic and she laments her daughter's (my wife) conversion to Independent Fundamental Baptist.

Your mother-in-law cannot but help be concerned. She is probably aware of the Catholic Church's current understanding of the ancient doctrine, Outside the Church, There is no Salvation. The Church is now much stricter in it's application of said doctrine to ex-Catholics who become Protestant or Orthodox, than those who were raised Protestant and Orthodox. I believe it is felt that a Catholic who leaves the fold has deserted Holy Mother Church, which they believe was founded by Jesus for the salvation of mankind, and thereby said person has at least indirectly betrayed Jesus.

I am not Catholic. I do not believe in indulgences. However, I do believe in praying for the dead and the greatest flaw in Protestantism, in my view, is the general refusal to pray for the dead. Prayers for the dead go back to the earliest days of the Christian Church. It is high time for Protestantism to return to this ancient practice. Do said prayers help and if so, how much and in what way? I do not know the answer, but as I keep saying here in the forums, prayers for the dead cannot do any harm!

 

[AV1611VET]

However, I do believe in praying for the dead and the greatest flaw in Protestantism, in my view, is the general refusal to pray for the dead.

Wouldn't refusal to baptize for the dead be considered even greater?

 

[Basil the Great]

Baptism for the dead is a LDS/Mormon practice. I do not know why you are associating that with praying for the dead? They are two very different practices. One requires an act on the part of the deceased, to either give a "yes" or a "no" to the offer of a Mormon baptism. The other may or may not require something on the part of the dead person, as it is a petition from the living on behalf of the deceased. It is up to God if he wishes to use said prayer, and if so how, but remember this, God exists outside of time and space. Hence, He has the ability to use said prayers for the dead, retroactively or prospectively, if He chooses to do so, to offer someone a last chance of salvation at their moment of their death. Since He can see the future, He knows our future prayers. Even if a prayer for the dead cannot help get someone saved, if might still be able to grant them a lessening of their sufferings in the afterlife and is that not important for those who do not make it to Heaven?

 

[FireDragon76]

I must be confused. Are we talking about Gurrier being an ex-Catholic?

 

[JIMINZ]

I don't agree with the obligation to attend Mass within the Catholic Church. Somedays I don't feel I want to leave the house (because of my mental illness), and feel that that is too much of a commitment I am not able to make. And the law of the church says that if one misses the Mass, one has to confess it. I then would spend, whenever I felt unwell to attend it, all the time in confession. Which is ridiculous.

.
You will not find such an Obligation in the New Testament.

If you feel you are unable to attend, then don't attend.

The Jews followed the letter of the Law, Jesus said to follow the Spirit of the Law.

Mat.12:11,12
11) And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

This type of law about attendance, is a law of man, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[JCFantasy23]

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