I posted this last year, and several people found it helpful.
This year, my same exact friend is having the same exact scruples. December is a hard month. What one person can work around easily, will sink another. We don’t all have the same resources to help us overcome Mass-obstacles. The great news is that God is fully aware. He’s on the job. Personally Responsible for making sure your state in life is one that can help you get to Heaven, even when you genuinely can’t get to Mass.
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Originally posted 12/10/2010:
Recap for the spectators: Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. (The HDO’s are a handful of major feast days throughout the year.) But you are excused from this requirement if you have a serious reason you cannot attend. It’s a prescription, not a sentence.
So . . . on an internet forum, a catholic mom writes along the lines of:
I think I might have to miss Mass this Sunday because of <<insert serious reason that undoubtedly excuses her, not subject to debate>> but I’m not sure it’s okay, because I missed mass last week, too <<insert more serious reasons>> and plus I hate to miss so much church this time of year. What do I do?
The answer is: The Precepts of the Church are unchanged by what month it is and what happened last week.
It is of course a good sign if you regret having to miss Mass so much. It is is likewise good to recognize that Advent is a special time of year in the life of the Church. But that doesn’t change the Sunday Obligation. There isn’t a secret calendar showing weeks when you can skip based on a flimsy excuse, and other weeks when you have to show no matter what. Likewise, there isn’t a cosmic attendance policy giving you so many unexcused absences and then you fail the course.
You either can come, and therefore you must. Or you cannot come, and therefore, well, you cannot.
Much simpler than people fear. The Church is not out to get you. Well, okay, she is out to get you. But in a good way: She is out to get your soul into Heaven. And she knows that under ordinary circumstances, attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is what your soul needs. So go if you possibly can.
I think it might be worthwhile to note that your own pastor (read: parish priest) has the authority to dispense you from Sunday obligation. [disclaimer: this probably should be double checked as I cannot remember where I learned it.]
If you aren’t sure whether a particular reason is “serious enough” (for example, whether you may schedule a vacation that puts you in the wilderness all day on a Sunday) you can ask your priest to dispense you. This isn’t even necessary — if you know your reason is serious enough, you *can* make the decision for yourself — but it may put your mind at ease if you are worried about it.
My husband just did this because he’s trying to plan a ski mountaineering trip later in the winter. It is really easy to fall into the argument “but this trip is just for fun and I shouldn’t schedule any fun that keeps me from going to Mass on a Sunday.” But Father readily agreed to dispense him and now he doesn’t have to worry about it and can enjoy the ski mountaineering trip without a second thought.
Bearing that is a great point. Readers who have doubts about whether they can miss Mass should discuss with their pastor which circumstances require a dispensation and which don’t.
(Oooh. And ski mountaineering. Awesome. Yay.)
Other readers:
–A dispensations is *not* necessary to miss mass for a reason such as illness, care of another person, genuine lack of transportation, etc.
–It would be appropriate to speak to your pastor about whether if a dispensation is needed if your work schedule conflicts with attending Sunday/HDO Mass. A possible scenario is one where in theory you could make it to a Mass, but realistically your work schedule and need for rest make that not such a prudent choice.
–My understanding is that a dispensation may include the requirement that you attend a weekday Mass instead, or it may dispense you from the obligation altogether, per your pastor’s judgement and the particulars of your situation.
–Note that you can’t just decide for yourself to switch out a weekday for a Sunday Mass and call it good.
–If you have a legitimate reason to miss Mass (see: Illness, care of children, etc.), it is not necessary to make it up on a weekday, pray certain prayers at home, watch a Mass on TV, etc etc. If you are excused you are excused. Those other devotions are often beneficial, but in no way required.