Our Weekly Obligation as Catholics

Because this blog is also my journal, I found it appropriate this morning that Father John included such a wonderful letter about a Catholic's obligation to go to weekly Mass! I want to record the whole thing here mostly in order to clear up any questions that Leia Rose or Annie might have about this subject in the future. There have been SO many times where Catholic friends have told me that it was "okay" to skip Mass while out of town, . . . and a few times when I believed them enough to do so. : ( This is especially significant considering that next week we are going to Virginia, and I was currently struggling with the idea of going to Mass (because it will be difficult). And as happens so many times, our Lord sent me this sign to impel me yet again to honor His sabbath day. : ) It is also significant because one of our lesser acquaintences just gave me a lecture about how she is "not into making her children sit for an hour listening to a priest talk." Hmmmm, sad that is what she thinks of a Mass. The importance, as Father John relates, is the celebration of the Eucharist. Here's an easy short version: "The present Code [of Canon Law] reiterates this, saying that “on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to attend Mass. . . . The faithful are obliged to attend Mass unless there is a grave impediment [such as feverish sickness]. . . . Moreover, Pastors should remind the faithful that when they are away from home on Sundays they are to take care to attend Mass wherever they may be, enriching the local community with their personal witness."

Now for the long version:

The Sunday Obligation and Ministry in the Church
In Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Dies Domini: On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, he states that all Christians are bound by apostolic tradition, ecclesial law, and, above all, our own conscience to not only “come to church” on Sundays (or the Saturday vigil Mass) and on holy days of obligation, but to do so for the purpose of “celebrating the Passover of the Lord in the sacrament of the New Covenant” by “attending Mass” and “taking part in the liturgical assembly.” This is our fundamental action as Christians. All else is both derivative of and ordered toward celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is that which impels us outward to “Go in peace to love and to serve.” Without the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy we are not incorporated into that Body of Christ which we both become and
receive every Sunday.

There are a great many ministries that take place at St. Thomas More on Sundays and are in fact proper to Sundays, because the duty to keep Sunday holy cannot be reduced exclusively to its heart of celebrating the Eucharist. Our Sunday obligation, as the source and summit of our Christian life, is in fact “lived well if it is marked from beginning to end by grateful and active remembrance of God’s saving work… including moments of catechesis, which…prepare for or complete the gift of the Eucharist in people’s hearts” (Dies Domini 52.) Such activities, no matter how fully one participates in them (including teaching for the catechumenate, faith development, JYM/TYM, nursery, etc.) which do not also include attending Mass and taking part in the liturgical assembly not only do not fulfi ll one’s Sunday obligation but also are thirsting for that which enables such ministries and catechesis to be bound to the Body of Christ: celebration of the Eucharist and its consequent outpouring of love and service. Joining with over two millennia of pastors of the Church to whom Pope John Paul II referred in his Apostolic Letter Dies Domini: On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy, I want to commend you all for the gifts of yourself, especially that of your time, to minister with me to the faithful whom God has entrusted to my care. Without your commitment to service, the very service which is both made possible and required by our attending Mass, the work of God would not continue in the world. It is my pastoral duty,
however, to remind you that your ministry fi nds both its origin and its purpose because of your weekly celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy with the worshipping assembly. I close by echoing Pope John Paul’s prayer that “In coming to know the Church, which every Sunday joyfully
celebrates the mystery from which she draws her life, that the men and women of the Third Millennium may come to know the Risen Christ. And constantly renewed by the weekly commemoration of Easter, that Christ’s disciples may be ever more credible in proclaiming the Gospel of salvation and ever more effective in building the civilization of love.”
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
John G. Durbin, STL
Pastor, St. Thomas More Catholic Church

The Sunday Obligation
Since the Eucharist is the very heart of Sunday, it is clear why, from the earliest centuries, the Pastors of the Church have not ceased to remind the faithful of the need to take part in the liturgical assembly. “Leave everything on the Lord’s Day,” urges the third century text known as the Didascalia, “and run diligently to your assembly, because it is your praise of God. Otherwise, what excuse will they make to God, those who do not come together on the Lord’s Day to hear the word of life and feed on the divine nourishment which lasts forever?” The faithful have generally accepted this call of the Pastors with conviction of soul and, although there have been times and situations when this duty has not been perfectly met, one should never forget the genuine heroism of priests and faithful who have fulfi lled this obligation even when faced with danger and the denial of religious freedom, as can be documented from the fi rst centuries of Christianity up to our own time…

Even if in the earliest times it was not judged necessary to be prescriptive, the Church has not
ceased to confirm this obligation of conscience, which rises from the inner need felt so strongly by the Christians of the first centuries. It was only later, faced with the half-heartedness or
negligence of some, that the Church had to make explicit the duty to attend Sunday Mass: more often than not, this was done in the form of exhortation, but at times the Church had to resort
to specific canonical precepts… The present Code [of Canon Law] reiterates this, saying that “on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to attend Mass.” This legislation
has normally been understood as entailing a grave obligation: this is the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and it is easy to understand why if we keep in mind how vital Sunday is for the Christian life. Today, as in the heroic times of the beginning, many who wish to live in accord with the demands of their faith…live in surroundings which are sometimes decidedly hostile and at other times—more frequently in fact—indifferent and unresponsive to the Gospel message. If believers are not to be overwhelmed, they must be able to count on the support of the Christian community. This is why they must be convinced that it is crucially important for the life of faith that they should come together with others on Sundays to celebrate the Passover of the Lord in the sacrament of the New Covenant…“to ensure that Sunday is appreciated by all the faithful, kept holy and celebrated as truly ‘the Lord’s Day,’ on which the Church comes together to renew the remembrance of the Easter
mystery in hearing the word of God, in offering the sacrifi ce of the Lord, in keeping the day holy by means of prayer, works of charity, and abstention from work.”

Because the faithful are obliged to attend Mass unless there is a grave impediment, Pastors have the corresponding duty to offer to everyone the real possibility of fulfi lling the precept. The provisions of Church law move in this direction… Moreover, Pastors should remind the faithful that when they are away from home on Sundays they are to take care to attend Mass wherever they may be, enriching the local community with their personal witness. At the same time, these communities should show a warm sense of welcome to visiting brothers and sisters…

Excerpted from Pope John Paul II’s
Apostolic Letter
Dies Domini: On Keeping the Lord’s Day
Holy (1998), §46-49