The Mass is the Source and Summit of our Faith. As the source, the Mass strengthens and gives life to our faith; it’s where faith begins because it is the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary, in whom we place our faith. The Mass is “the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit” (SC, 14). As the summit of our faith, the Mass is the goal towards which all our activity must be ordered. The whole purpose of our lives is worship, and the Mass trains us to make a sacrificial offering of our lives in gratitude and love, just as Christ does on the altar at every Mass. When we come to Mass, we anticipate Heaven in a veiled way, becoming accustomed to the life for which we have been created – a life spent honoring, praising, thanking, adoring, and worshipping God. It is impossible for the Christian to truly live if he is not living the Mass, being strengthened by it, and striving towards it at each moment. This is a beautiful mystery, a fundamental truth of becoming a saint.
The Mass is essential. No one can become a saint apart from it. The Church lists five precepts that constitute the bare minimum required for a Catholic to be considered “practicing”, and the first precept is the obligation to attend Holy Mass: “You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor” (CCC 2042). This precept requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Mother, and the saints. This is done firstly by attending and praying the Holy Mass, and by resting from any activity and work that would impede this (cf. CCC 2042). The expectation to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day is absolutely obligatory for Catholics, and to intentionally miss Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation constitutes a mortal sin, meaning that one must go to confession in order to restore their soul to life and approach the Eucharist worthily. There are legitimate reasons to miss Mass on Sunday, such as:
- Demands of employment (i.e., healthcare workers, civil servants, etc.).
- *If you find yourself in this situation, do what you can to remedy it, and if nothing can be done you should go to your pastor and request to be dispensed from the obligation. If he believes you have just cause to be dispensed, he will then give you an alternative pious work to perform in place of the obligation.
- Serious illness or you are caring for someone who is seriously ill and needs you.
- Homebound
- Traveling, and there is no possibility of attending Mass
- *Realistically, Catholics have very little reason to miss Mass while traveling. One can never take a vacation from God. It should be standard practice while making travel plans to consider how, where, and when you will attend Mass. If, after a thorough investigation, it proves impossible, you should go to your pastor and request to be dispensed from the obligation. If he believes you have just cause to be dispensed, he will then give you an alternative pious work to perform in place of the obligation.
Beyond this, there really is no just cause for missing Mass, and this includes things like sports. This is especially important, because if our children think that sports are a legitimate cause for missing Mass, we will be malforming their religious consciences, and their parents will have to answer for that when God asks them to make an account of everything he entrusted to them in this life. We owe it to God to be at Mass, and we should want to be there to express our gratitude for everything He does for us. God gives us 168 hours every week, and He only requires us to give Him 1 in return (or 2, when there is a Holy Day). It constitutes a severe rebuke of God to withhold this small token of gratitude and only leads to greater selfishness in so many other areas of our lives. Even something like leaving before Mass is finished suggests we really don’t understand why we are at Mass in the first place. So many Catholics seem to think He deserves only those 60 minutes, and every second over the allotted time is simply too much to ask. To leave Mass early shows God and our brothers and sisters in Christ that prayer and worship are “getting in the way of the rest of my life”, something to “get over with” as soon as possible. If you leave Mass early, I invite you to spare a few more minutes and observe this obligation as an act of love for God and neighbor. Some say God doesn’t care, and it doesn’t matter if I attend Mass or if I leave early. This is a depressing worldview. To suggest God doesn’t care means we think He is indifferent, and if He is indifferent that means He doesn’t love us. I prefer a world in which God loves, which means He does care what we do because He cares about us and wants us to do those things that lead us to Him and avoid the things that don’t. The Mass is the first among those things that lead us to God, and it should be the source and summit of our lives. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess