Do you think that knowingly missing Sunday Mass is not a mortal sin?
“Do you think that knowingly missing Sunday Mass is not a mortal sin?”
“But what if you are on a ship at sea, and the ship crosses the international dateline, and....”
George Carlin (who went to Catholic school)
“Do you think that knowingly missing Sunday Mass is not a mortal sin?”
Yes. It is a manmade event. Church wants donations on Sunday. Besides, Saturday is the Sabbath.
I think the priest who wrote this article spoke a profound truth. Whether missing a mass or anything else, the nature of a mortal sin is so profound that the criteria he discussed must be met to achieve it. Whether those criteria have been met in any particular instance is only known to God and those personally involved in the act.
In other words, I think deliberately missing a mass can be a mortal sin, a venal sin, no sin at all, or even a praiseworthy act, depending on the circumstances. Which is not to say that the requirement to attend mass is subjective, rather that people's lives and relationship to God are not as simple and straightforward as the speeding laws in the vehicle code, or even the murder laws in the criminal code. God is far beyond such efforts to constrain His relationship with us in such a crude manner.
As an example, I've watched with amusement as Catholics, who decry the papal rejection of Protestants, wash their hands of the antics of Pope Frank. They invoke Canon Law this and that, but really it boils down to context and taking personal responsibility for ones own religious beliefs. And it doesn't change the religion one whit.