One more, and then goofing off must cease and I go off to work. (Yes, I have been on vacation this morning. Thank you Super-In-Laws.)
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.