Posted on 02/05/2015 2:50:39 PM PST by NYer
Most Catholics know we are supposed to attend Sunday Mass every week and observe various holy days of obligation throughout the year. It’s an obligation, however, that many do not observe. As my parish priest joked years ago when the pews of our sleepy rural parish were unexpectedly full, “There must be nothing going on in Tweed [Onterio] today.”
I suspect part of the reason so many Catholics ignore the Sunday obligation is, counter intuitively, the very word “obligation.” Our culture is not one that deals well with concepts like duty and obedience. The words “I was just following orders” is synonymous with mindless compliance, while the character of the “dutiful wife” or “obedient child” tends to be the subject of ridicule or pity.
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As a result, we end up with a divide within the Church. On the one hand, there are those who attend Mass only when there is an important event, when it happens to be convenient or when they are especially in need of divine help. On the other, you have Catholics who dutifully obey the precepts of the Church — but who too often look down on those who don’t.
For a long time, I was a member of the latter camp. When I was first received into the Church, I was an enthusiastic, often daily recipient of the sacrament. I went to Mass because I loved the liturgy and found great consolation in receiving Christ in the Eucharist.
Over time, however, I become scrupulous about ever missing Mass even for the best of reasons, and my perfect attendance record increasingly became an opportunity for self-congratulation. Worse, it became an opportunity to judge others who attended only on occasion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church acknowledges that there are conditions that validly excuse a person from their Sunday obligation. Illness, isolation, lack of access to transportation, the obligation to care for ailing relatives, and the care of infants are among the reasons why a person might be unable to attend (cf. No. 2181).
If we think of Mass attendance as a kind of spiritual badge of honor, these excuses can seem to be just that: excuses. Loopholes for the lax. After all, any really dutiful and faithful Catholic would find a way to get to church unless they were taken hostage on a Saturday night or found themselves unconscious in the back of an ambulance Sunday morning.
Only when I found myself in a situation where attendance at Mass every Sunday become a practical impossibility did I realize how absurdly presumptuous my judgment had been. In a subtle way, I had come to see my reception of Christ’s gift as a personal accomplishment, almost as a favor I was doing God.
The Sunday obligation is not a chore the Church exacts from her faithful children but a manifestation of her maternal concern. We are called to Mass every Sunday in much the same way children are called to the dinner table every evening.
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| * The shift in attendance between 1995 and 2000 reflects a change in the method used to collect the data. |
When the Church tells us that we are obliged to attend, she is telling us how often we need to receive sacramental nourishment in order to remain spiritually healthy. Choosing to skip Mass for trivial reasons is a mortal sin because it is a kind of willful self-neglect. It’s like a businessman who chooses to deprive his body of adequate food because meals cut into the time he has to maximize his profits. Being unable to attend for good reasons is not sinful, but it is a privation, like a mother who skips meals because she only has enough to feed her children.
Christ’s body is true bread, and the sustenance which we receive in the Eucharist is even more important to our well-being than physical food. Indeed, physical hunger is ultimately a sign that helps to illustrate our spiritual needs.
After Christ feeds the multitudes in John 6, the people he has fed go looking for him the next day. When they finally track him down, Christ reveals their motives: “You are not looking for me because you have seen the signs, but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat” (Jn 6:26).
The experience of being satisfied with food after a long day clearly made a deep impression. No doubt some of these people were poor and rarely had enough to eat. Others were dreaming of a world in which the Jewish people would once more be fed directly by the hand of God, as they were in the wilderness under Moses (cf., Jn 6:31). For them, the multiplication of the loaves did not merely point toward the relief of physical hunger but also toward political liberation from the power of Rome. The manna of Exodus had freed the Jewish people to escape the flesh-pots of Egypt. Thus, bread represented both nourishment and freedom.
When Christ answers them, he tries to guide their thinking away from short-term physical and political hopes. “Do not work for food that perishes,” he tells them, “but for the food that endures for eternal life” (Jn 6:27). Later, he clarifies: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).
Everyone knows it is necessary to eat in order to stay alive, and if we don’t have enough food, it causes health problems. It is the same with the Mass. This is where we come in order to receive the life-blood that nourishes our souls and prepares them to be born to eternal life.
When a person misses Mass for serious reasons, Catholic Tradition offers ways of observing the Sabbath until it is possible to return to the sacraments — emergency rations for the soul, if you will. Individuals and families are encouraged to participate in the Liturgy of the Word and to set aside time for Sunday prayer. An act of spiritual communion can also be made anywhere and at any time by turning one’s heart toward the tabernacle and inviting Jesus’ real presence in the sacrament to spiritually nourish and sustain the soul.
Parish communities should also help absent parishioners return to the Mass. One of the risks of seeing attendance as a personal accomplishment is that it can blind us to the fact that access to the Eucharist is achieved through community.
Consider, for example, the story of the Wedding at Cana — a Gospel passage redolent with Eucharistic symbolism. Here we find that there isn’t enough wine to go around. Some of the guests are going to be excluded from full participation in the joy of the wedding celebration.
Mary’s solicitude at Cana shows us that we can enable others to participate by being aware of their needs and offering assistance. The hosts of the wedding know they are running out of wine, but they don’t know who to ask for help. They have no idea Christ is on hand, able to work a miracle.
People within a parish community might want to attend Mass regularly, but they might be unsure how to ask for the support they need. An older person who has lost their driver’s license might feel uncomfortable asking for a ride. A single mother caring for a chronically ill child might be embarrassed to admit she can’t afford a babysitter Sunday mornings.
Parishioners can imitate Mary by taking a friendly interest and getting an idea of what obstacles are preventing folks from attending more regularly. People who are afraid of asking for help are often grateful for a simple, gracious offer of assistance.
If we see the sacrament as a gift, and ourselves as conduits through which others are enabled to receive it, we can both avoid the silliness of spiritual pride and also help to build vibrant Eucharistic communities where everyone is able to enjoy the bounteous generosity of God.
My experiece with mass is that it is a snooze fest and the only way most people stay awake is because of the standing, sitting, kneeling calisthenics.
The prayers are all just repetitious memorized responses that haven’t changed for decades.
What is it about the “Catholic Sunday” that you believe to be a product of delusion?
You do realize, of course, that all those neat biblical quotes that you mentioned were brought to you courtesy of the Catholic church.....say thanks!!
John 6:53 is good enough for Catholics
“Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. “(Douay-Rheims Bible)
Just as the early Church fathers operated under Petrine authority to put together the books we call the Bible, we have Petrine authority to authoritatively interpret scripture for all generations. We have the CREDO.
**The prayers are all just repetitious memorized responses that haven’t changed for decades.**
Oops, the translations just changed three years ago. Update your knowledge bank, please.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, "I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, "I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
WOW, nobody can say that you aren't commited to Christ....you actually let something that miniscule drive you from the true church of Christ eh???.....nor do I believe your story...church envelopes are numbered so they can keep track of donations for your tax purposes....handing a newcomer a box of envelopes would have been counterproductive because neither you nor the parish would have been able to establish your tax deductible donations...sigh
You can have whatever day you want. Just don't lie about it being the Sabbath of the ten commandments.
When I know a man is on the broad path that leads to destruction, it isn’t loving to remain silent. The right thing to do is sound the alarm, even if it it’s upsetting. I believe only a lost man will allow another lost man to believe he’s right with God. Only a false prophet cries, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
You may not believe it now, but those who take the time to warn about Rome care more about you and others in the grip of Rome than you will ever know. When someone warns you about believing a false gospel, they are showing real Christian love. If we didn’t care, why would we waste our time? We don’t know you, we aren’t likely to ever meet you, we aren’t asking you to join anything, and we aren’t selling anything. I’m a Baptist, a Reformed Baptist, but I’m interested in building the kingdom of God, not my local congregation. I wouldn’t walk across the street to add to a Baptist church roll, but I’d try to swim the Mississippi if I thought the Lord might be pleased to use me to help save a sinner on the other side.
I'm Italian! When it came to having dinner at home on time, it was the back of my father's hand I would worry about! Hellfire and damnation were not the issue!
Funny how ex-Catholics or non-Catholics seem to think they have all the answers for us. Go to You Tube and check out, "World youth day" or"Walk for life"... Kids are a lot more interested in what's important than they sometimes get credit for!
God bless you!
The books in the Bible did not fall from the skies. These books were assembled under Petrine authority by the early Church fathers. They got their authority not from their grandmother but the authority extended to Peter and his successors. We call this Petrine authority and all the preeminent theologians of the world agree.
Catholics do not need born again. We have the Church to interpret this and we have the Credo, and the the very word of Christ Himself. John 6:53
“Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Unless ye shall have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk his blood, ye have no life in yourselves.”
Catholic Sunday???????......Look at your protestant calendar, it is that red marked day at the beginning of the week....that is a Jewish Sunday, protestant Sunday, Catholic Sunday....whatever.....most of us get off work that day!!!!
What goes on between a married couple is between themselves and God. No one else’s business.
You had better put your trust in Christ, not Rome, not “Petrine authority.” It is Christ alone who can deliver you from the fowler’s snare.
“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”
Not a lie.
I guess the Our Father is just a memorized prayer that hasn’t changed for 2000 years.
Yes it now said at Mass in English instead of Latin.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, We've been through that enough times on these threads to prove that meme total bunk.
>>They got their authority not from their grandmother but the authority extended to Peter and his successors.<<
"and his successors my foot". There was no succession and there wasn't even a single pope until at least the 11th century. The first Roman bishop to call himself "apostolitc see" was Damasus in 366. The first one calling himself "pontifex maximus" was Leo the Great and that taken from the pagans. That whole "unbroken line" stuff is a joke.
>>Catholics do not need born again.<<
Jesus said different. If you're not born again you're not going to see heaven.
>>Verily, verily, I say unto you, Unless ye shall have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk his blood<<
Jesus was subject to the Old Testament laws. If He and the apostles had eaten blood they would have been sinning and Jesus would not of been fit to be the perfect sacrifice.
I feel called to Witness, FReepers, so I’m going to end with this:
I was born into the Catholoc Church. Baptized, confirmed, the whole nine yards.
Moved to Protestant.
Then lost faith. Became atheist.
Deist followed due to some of my education in physics and math. (Short version: This universe was designed. Period.)
After that, though, I walked some dark paths. Try hermestics for one (good luck Googling it - you might find some closely named pop culture versions). Bad stuff. Real. Decades ago BTW.
Then came back into the fold. Yup, a prodigal son, but probably still too failed to be worthy, so I pray daily for His Grace.
Nominally Catholic again, but simply discount any dogma that does not have Scriptural foundation. BTW, none of us have it 100% right. Fortunately, He does not demand that we do so, because only He could.
The take-aways:
Those who have true faith in God and Christ are so far removed from the others that it is almost impossible to describe. Trust me, I know. I once used to be on the other side. See above.
Just try your best. Try to respectfully educate each other. Please don’t cast aspersions (cultish, immolation, flagellation, heresy, etc.) That only serves the enemy. Yes, I failed on that score up thread. My bad.
Now, does that mean don’t try to help others grow in understanding and faith? Correct their errors? Of course not. Please try help each other without any arrogance that you are 100% right and without disrespect for your fellow Christians.
That also does not mean accepting anti-Christian doctrines. That is a path to the enemy’s fold. Sadly, too many see small differences as being anti-Christian because they just don’t truly grasp how evil the enemy and his followers have been and always will be.
Hard roads lie ahead, people. We are going to need each other. In fact, we already do.
Sigh.
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