As the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln announces the end of the televised Mass for the homebound, the Register asked Father Caleb La Rue to write an “Ask the Register” column explaining the Sunday Mass obligation.
As I get older, I find my memories of childhood being more and more murky. So I might not have all the details of this correct, but I seem to remember being a kid and being on a summer road trip with my family and spending what felt like hours trying to find a Catholic church in the South so we could get to Mass. This was before GPS and Smartphones. So, as far as I remember, we were just driving around, hoping to find one. I do not remember much else about this experience (we did eventually find a Church and go to Mass), but it did leave a lasting impression on me. It taught me that going to Mass on Sunday (or in this case, Saturday evening) was important, and you put time and effort into it.
First, a distinction needs to be made between the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and the obligation to keep holy the Sabbath. These are sometimes treated as the same thing, but they are not. The obligation to keep holy the Sabbath is a Divine Law, given by God, for the sake of ensuring humans take time to rest and renew their relationship with God at least once a week, so we don’t burn out and lose sight of what really matters. It is one of the many ways our loving Father protects us from ourselves.
The obligation to attend Mass on Sunday is an ecclesiastical law. It is a way our loving Mother the Church protects us from ourselves, making sure we take time at least once a week to go to gather as a community and go to our God and be fed by Him. We all know how hard it is sometimes to make good choices for ourselves. So the Church makes the choice for us, requiring us to go. Even when we aren’t feeling it, we still go to Mass and give God the space and opportunity to work in our lives.
It might be surprising to learn that, strictly speaking, there was no formal, universal obligation to attend Sunday Mass until the first Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1917. Before that, it was just sort of understood you went to Mass on Sundays. Prior to Constantine legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire, going to Mass could cost you your life. Those who went did so not because of an obligation but a genuine desire to encounter Christ in the Eucharist that was, for them, more important than life itself.
During later periods of the Church, local penalties for missing Mass began appearing both in local councils as well as secular law. The Church, through ecumenical councils, repeatedly emphasized the importance of Mass, especially Mass on Sundays, but never formally mandated all Catholics must attend Mass on Sundays.
Following the broad secularization of the late 1700s into and throughout 1800s in Europe, the Church felt it necessary to explicitly require all Catholics to attend Mass on Sunday. This requirement was carried over into the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which states, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass” (CIC c. 1247).
The Church, being a kind and reasonable Mother, recognizes that sometimes it is not possible or not prudent to attend Mass. Because it’s the Church’s law, She can allow for exceptions to it, which She does. “ If participation in the eucharistic celebration becomes impossible because of the absence of a sacred minister or for another grave cause, it is strongly recommended that the faithful take part in a liturgy of the word if such a liturgy is celebrated in a parish church or other sacred place according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop or that they devote themselves to prayer for a suitable time alone, as a family, or, as the occasion permits, in groups of families” (CIC c. 1248 §2). While this canon is mostly speaking to a situation in which a parish or a community is unable to have Sunday Mass, it nevertheless applies to individuals as well.
If someone is truly unable to attend Sunday Mass, there is no obligation because the law itself removes the obligation. Sickness, inclement weather, or infirmity due to injury or advanced age are all traditionally recognized to be grave causes which cause the obligation to attend Mass to be removed until the cause ceases. A person in these situations does not need dispensation from his or her pastor, the law “relaxes” itself.
As the canon suggests though, even when a person is legitimately unable to attend Mass, he or she should still devote time in prayer. It is not a strict requirement, but even if people cannot attend Mass, they still need to keep holy the Sabbath. So, taking time to read the readings for the day, watching and praying along with a streamed or televised Mass and, in so far as they are able, taking time for silent prayer are all good ways of still making time to strengthen our relationship with God.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
