Fun, Faith Filled Facts #9: Missing Sunday mass is a MORTAL Sin? and so is….

Yep, that’s right.  Missing Sunday mass (in other words, not fulfilling your Sunday obligation) is a Mortal Sin.

Somehow amidst my Catholic upbringing and my 8 years of Catholic school, I missed (forgot) that fact.

Even more interesting is the fact that it somehow alluded my awareness well into my “re-version” (the period when Catholics who did not sway from the Catholic faith to another faith become like new converts and rediscover their Catholic faith.)  Sometimes I think it was due to the theory that God reveals a little bit of the truth at a time in our faith journey so that we don’t become overwhelmed.  Other times reality taps me on the shoulder and reminds me that it was probably due more to the fact that I was in denial.  I didn’t want to admit to myself that something as simple as not fulfilling my obligation to participate in mass would send me to hell.

But it’s true.

The Catechism states that :

2192 “Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church” (CIC, can. 1246 § 1). “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass” (CIC, can. 1247).

It’s number 3 in the 10 Commandments:

1.) I am the LORD your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
2.)  You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
3.) Remember to keep holy the LORD’s day.
4.) Honor your father and mother.
5.) You shall not kill.
6.) You shall not commit adultery
7.) You shall not steal.
8.) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9.) You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10.) You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

So what IS a “mortal sin”?  and how is it sooo effective in getting someone to hell?

The Catechism

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.

(Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.)

Basically, a Mortal sin is breaking any of the 10 Commandments.

Fr. Larry Richards gives a talk where he likens missing mass like jumping off a cliff.  People complain that missing mass once is a mortal act on their soul (aka mortal sin….in other words, it kills their soul).  Fr. Larry says, “Well, what if, once, JUST ONCE, you jump off a cliff…..ahhhhhhhhhhh…. ahhhhhhhhhh….. ahhhhhhhh…. SPLAT! You’re dead.  Even though you only did it once.  The same thing happens to your soul.”

So even though someone might only miss mass once, it’s a mortal sin and it requires one to receive the sacrament of reconciliation from an ordained priest to heal their soul, ESPECIALLY PRIOR TO ONE RECEIVING COMMUNION.

The Catechism states:

1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation

and

1037 God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance”:

It is a bit more complicated. (God gives us some consideration, just in case we are misinformed and do know understand the ramifications of our actions. Thank goodness!)

The Catechism states:

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

Not only do we need to attend mass on Sundays, but in order to fulfill the third Commandment,

The Catechism states:

2185 On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health.

I dare say that most cultural Catholics (those who are Catholic merely in upbringing not in practice) don’t know that missing Sunday mass is a MORTAL sin.  Why else would Catholic churches be so empty?  If the thousands of fallen away Catholics (in New York City alone) knew that merely missing mass on Sunday separates them from God and sends them on the fast track to hell, they certainly would think twice before missing mass.

I have empathy for those who do not acknowledge, as I used to, that missing mass is a Mortal Sin.  But now that I’ve heard Fr. Larry’s description, when I hear someone say that they don’t go to mass every Sunday I hear a quiet distant “…….ahhhhhhhhhhh………ahhhhhhhhhhhhh……..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh SPLAT.”  I wince and say a prayer for their soul.

God loves you.  Don’t miss mass on Sunday.  It hurts Him AND you.

By the way:

Here’s a list of OTHER Mortal Sins that need to be confessed

SINS THAT NEED TO BE CONFESSED
Abortion
Adultery
All use of illegal drugs
Any dealing with occult, IE. Ouija boards
Artificial Birth Control
Blasphemy: disrespect toward God or toward His Holy Name.
Breaking promises deliberately
Bringing dishonor to family, school, community, or the Church.
Calumny:  telling lies about another.
Despair:  To believe that God will refuse to forgive you
Destruction of other people’s property
Detraction:  Telling an unkind truth about another
Disobedience toward parents/teachers
Drunkenness, including any drinking under the age of 21
Excessive materialism
Gluttony:  eating or drinking to excess
Gossip:  talking about others
Hatred
Homosexual actions
Impure thoughts
Indifference to good or evil
Ingratitude
Intentional violation of school rules
Jealousy
Laziness
Lying
Malice:  The deliberate choice of evil
Masturbation:  impure actions with yourself
Missing Mass on any Sunday or Holyday
Murder
NOT PRAYING EVERYDAY
Not giving to the poor and the Church
Premarital sex, including oral sex, intercourse, impure touching of another
Presumption:  Sinning and saying God MUST forgive me.
Pride
Prostitution
Reckless driving that endangers you, passengers, or others
Rudeness
Selfishness
Stealing
Superstition
Unjustified anger
Using others for your own personal gain
Watching or looking at pornographic material

To obtain this list in a PDF, get info about Fr. Larry Richards, or hear his homilies go to http://www.thereasonforourhope.org/

Dear Friend in Christ,

On September 18, 2008, we have our annual CSPYA Open House. This open house is a CSPYA tradition. It is at this event where you can learn about our mission and what we do. We will also be talking about our events for the Fall 2008 season, which is our busiest time of year. Plus, this is an excellent opportunity to meet young adults! Please RSVP to info@cspya.org. Dinner and soda will be served. The place to be is the Cathedral of St. Patrick Parish House, 14 East t51st Street, between Madison and 5th Avenues (follow the signs that lead downstairs).

On September 27, 2008, we will be having our Apple Picking Trip! The cost to you is just your train ticket and admission to the orchard ($34.50 in total). Lunch and taxi ride will be provided for you. We will meet at the main clock of Grand Central Station at 9:30am sharp (yep, in the morning!) and then take the train at 9:50am and head to the Poughkeepsie. We will have lunch, head to farm, pick apples, and then take the 4:30pm train back to NYC. Please RSVP to info@cspya.org. At Grand Central, look for the core group members holding signs for CSPYA.

Theology on Tap-NYC has a new name: FAITH ON TAP-NYC!

The first lecture of the season is on September 29, 2008, at Metro 53 Restaurant, 307 East 53rd Street, at 7pm. The topic is “Conscience, Your Morals and Mine.” The first talk is by Fr. Thomas Williams, LC, Vatican analyst for CBS News and author of Spiritual Progress, Greater Than You Think, and Knowing Right from Wrong. Here is a preview of the other speakers and topics:

October 6, 2008: Kathryn Lopez, editor of National Review Online, will talk about “Faith and Politics: What is a Catholic to Do?”

October 20, 2008: Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, director of Catholic Charities, will talk about “God’s Plan for Your Life: Our Call to Charity.”

October 27, 2008: Monsignor William Smith, Catholic author and teacher from St. Joseph’s Seminary, will talk about Humanae Vitae

November 3, 2008: Fr. Richard Gill, LC, moderator of Faith on Tap-NYC, is back for “Grill the Priest: an Open Forum of Questions.”

November 10, 2008: Eve Tushnet, Catholic author and blogger, will be speaking this evening (Topic TBD).

– St. Augustine

Ultimately, all of these are ministries, for even - and even precisely - those leading a life of contemplation and total commitment to the Gospel do not simply abandon other people; on the contrary, by placing themselves at the center of the Faith, by taking their place in the heart of the word, they go forth from Jesus Christ to their fellow men in a way that could never be achieved by an external approach. 

When we look at the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, for example, we become aware, in a particularly convincing and impressive way, of that internal “ability-to-be-present” in spirit to the active life and its needs that is the product of a life led in the spirit of the Gospel.  Nevertheless, it is also true that there is a direct ministry to mankind, to the sick, to the suffering, that is not simply and not primarily a paid job that one can later abandon to return to one’s private life but is rather the content and law of life itself, which, in such a sharing with the other and his needs, finds its own freedom and fulfillment.

From: Ordinariatskorrespondenz, no. 31, September 28, 1978

– St John of the Cross

THE NEW CENTRAL ECONOMIC PLANNERS
By Francisco S. Tatad

Economics, “the dismal science,” may be getting even more dismal still, as some 26 economists from the University of the Philippines attempt to tackle the complex and complicated question of procreation and population.

The economists are urging Congress to pass the highly questionable Reproductive Health bill proposing that the State actively promote and provide contraception (to women) and sterilization (to both men and women) to bring down further the country’s population growth, now 2.04 % according to the National Statistics Office, or 1.72% according to the CIA World Factbook, 2008.

Under this bill, the State will be made to provide contraceptives and abortifacients, free of charge as “essential medicines,” to an otherwise healthy population. These would include oral contraceptives which the World Health Organization’s International Research Agency on Cancer has determined to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) to humans.

The economists worry that if the population continues to grow, the poor will only multiply. They want it checked via a state-funded program of contraception and sterilization. To them (as it is to the authors of the bill) it is not enough that there be free and unlimited market access to contraception and sterilization, as there is right now — the State must use the taxpayers’ money to provide the harmful agents to the population.

Against all existing evidence of a steadily declining family size with an average of three children, the economists reportedly claim that 57% of Filipino families have nine children or more. The statistic reads like one of those manufactured electoral counts in one of our notoriously crooked elections. It smells.

These economists have been known to espouse “liberalization, privatization and deregulation.” Although there is no attempt at full disclosure, many of them identify with international institutions and agencies that swear by the same principles but are simultaneously engaged in funding population control in the Philippines.

Now, what they want done to the population is nothing short of “central economic planning,” which they purportedly abhor in principle. The subject of their central planning is not the economy though, but the private lives and social behavior of people. Quite a promotion.

Economics, by definition, concerns itself with the equitable allocation of finite resources among recipients with competing needs. But what our economics professors want to do is to allocate the human being — or the human family — according to the finite resources available. And they want to put the State in charge of the allocating. That is no longer economics but population engineering. You do not find that in a well-ordered liberal democratic state; you find it in a totalitarian system.

We have a pro-life Constitution, but we have no penal law barring anyone from using contraceptives, abortifacients or sterilization devices or agents. The Church continues to teach these things are wrong and harmful, just as it continues to teach that killing, stealing, adultery and fornication are gravely sinful. But just as the Church does not have the means to prevent anyone from violating any of God’s commandments, it does not have the means to prevent anyone from using contraceptives and abortifacients, from getting sterilized, or even from contracting abortion.

The actual situation then is that no one is prohibited by law from practicing contraception. In fact, across the nation, the contraception prevalence is reported at 50%. The real issue behind the RH bill, therefore, is not whether everyone should have free access to RH information and services, which they already have, but whether the State should now enter the bedroom, supervise the conjugal intercourse of married couples, and spend taxpayers’ money to try to cure pregnancy, which is not a disease, even though it sees no need to provide free medicines and medical care to men and women dying from killer-diseases.

This is not an economic question at all. The issue is primarily moral and constitutional. Morality — the rightness or wrongness of an act —is the basis of law; the Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. No enactment of Congress may disregard or dispense with either. But we don’t have the space for a thorough discussion here.

The first question to resolve is whether the State has the right or the authority, as distinguished from naked and unlawful power, to redefine the fundamental rights of man as man, such as his right to embrace his wife and to father her children. These rights precede the rights of the State and are not subject to its consent, concurrence or modification.

Our Constitution correctly recognizes the primacy of such rights. Section 12 of Article II recognizes “the sanctity” of family life, and the family as the “foundation of the nation.” It binds the State to “equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.” This constitutes an outright ban on abortion, which is a punishable crime. It does not prohibit any individual from practicing contraception, but it necessarily prohibits the State from funding its own program of contraception or permitting any foreign-funded program of contraception to be incorporated into its own education and health delivery systems.

Why the distinction? Simply because if it is the constitutional duty of the State to equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception, it cannot be its right or duty at the same time to prevent women from conceiving.

If as a result of couples contracepting on their own, no pregnancies occur, then the State would have no one to answer to, and nothing to answer for. But if as a result of the State’s program of contraception no pregnancies occur, then the State has made a mockery of the Constitution. We would have perverted our laws and human reason itself.

So many sophisms have been thrown in to muddle this point. But you don’t need a PhD in economics or a master’s degree in law from an Ivy League University to understand it. A short home schooling on basic logic will do.

— St. Louis IX