Why Going to Mass is Not Optional

 

Do you understand the Sunday Mass obligation? Do you know someone who doesn't understand this? Do you understand why it is a Mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass without grave reason? In our modern society, faithfully attending Mass seems to have become an act many Catholics view as optional. The teaching of the Church has never changed. To get directly to the point, it is not optional. Faithful Catholics are obligated to attend Mass each and every Sunday.

 

But we should not view the word ‘obligation’ as a bad thing. Going to Mass is not a punishment, it’s not a chore to get out of the way so you can go to the movies or out to brunch. The Mass is celebrated at Christ’s instruction, “Do this in memory of Me.” If we all take a moment to understand why participating in Mass is so important, why skipping Mass is a mortal sin, maybe ‘obligation’ will no longer seem like such an imposing word. Understanding why the Mass is so important is the first step to loving the Mass. And when you come to love the Mass, going to church on Sunday no longer feels like an “I have to,” but instead becomes an “I need, I want to."

 

 

Before going further, it is important to note what the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us on the subject.

 

The Code of Canon Law, the legal code of Christ's Church, states:

 

Both the code of Canon Law and the Catechism clearly state the obligation. There was some general teaching prior to Vatican II that one had to be present for the offertory through reception of Holy Communion to fulfill the obligation. However this is not a part of the canon and the faithful are to participate in the complete Mass in order to fulfill the Sunday obligation.

 

Some consider the formal language of the Catechism and Canon Law to be somewhat inaccessible, or others may read the Catechism and rebuke what is said simply because they think there are “too many rules.” Of course, rules are in place for a reason – even when it comes to driving, where the seemingly mundane rule of staying inside the painted lines has an enormous effect. So we can easily acknowledge that the rules about something so much more important – our faith – were not thrown together randomly, but have great meaning. Beyond the precept itself, we can also look at why it is so critical, and better understand the importance of participating in Mass every Sunday.

 

 

When asked why Catholics go to Mass on Sunday, the third commandment is quite often given as an answer. This commandment is definitely not where the reason we are obligated to participate in Mass ends, but it is a good place to start. In the earliest days of Christianity, Sunday replaced the Sabbath as the Lord’s Day because it was on Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead, Sunday on which He appeared to two of His disciples and broke bread with them:

 

“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Lk 24:30-35)

 

It was from that first day onwards that the faithful began to celebrate the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and rising, and still today, it is in the breaking of the bread that we recognize Jesus. The Second Vatican Council also recognizes that Sunday as the foremost day to celebrate the Eucharist was handed down from the day of the resurrection: