Is it a sin to miss Mass on a Sunday? The short answer is “yes,” provided it is intentional and we have no serious obstacles that would prevent us from attending (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2181). 

 

Such obstacles might include sickness, poor health, taking care of someone that we’re responsible for, or a lack of transportation, among other things. But the obligation is only relaxed because of an actual obstacle, not just an inconvenience. 

 

It may be helpful to think of the Sunday obligation as we would other serious obligations. What would keep us from going to work or from attending school? The same kind of things can relieve us of what the Third Commandment obliges us to. 

 

Granted, the Sunday obligation is of a different order altogether, since it pertains directly to our relationship with God. We must recall that it is ultimately about keeping one of the Ten Commandments, not just living up to one responsibility among the many that we may have, or following a man made rule. 

 

If one is unable to attend for a serious reason, viewing Mass on television or online at http://www.rockforddiocese.org/tv-mass/ is a good way to still honor the commandment, even if it doesn’t permit one to benefit from physically being there (as in receiving Communion and being gathered with the community). 

 

If that’s not an option, simply meditating on the readings or making a spiritual communion are other good ways for us to acknowledge the seriousness of the commandment even though we may be legitimately prevented from attending. 

 

It is important to remember that we do not incur moral guilt for missing Mass because of a serious reason or because it is simply not possible to attend. Deliberately missing though is another story. 

 

In terms of the seriousness involved if one intentionally misses Mass, as the catechism reminds us it can constitute a grave offense since it involves the violation of a divine precept — provided of course all the other criteria for a mortal sin are met as well. Namely, that one freely consents to it, and that it is done with full knowledge that it is not only a sin, but a serious one. 

 

Keeping Holy the Lord’s Day has always been connected with public and communal worship. We Christians, like the Jewish people before us, have understood keeping this commandment as a sign of the covenantal relationship we have with God. 

 

A covenant is more than simply a contract or a set of agreed upon obligations. It is ultimately about sharing one’s life with another — it is about giving oneself to another, and receiving him or her in return. 

 

For us as Christians, this means not only receiving what God wants to give us, but it also necessitates that we give ourselves to God. Covenants, by their very nature, are reciprocal. 

 

We can never give to God all that He gives to us, but we can (and must) give to God what we can. As it pertains to the Third Commandment, at a minimum this means giving a little of our time each Sunday (which is actually His time) so that we can not only receive His presence but offer our own back to Him. 

 

A simple, essential and irreplaceable way we do this is by participating in Mass. We cannot receive His presence and offer Him ours in a way which supersedes what happens in our Eucharistic celebration. We must remember that it is God, in the person of Jesus, who established the covenant that we participate in at Mass.  

 

In fact, the words of consecration remind us of this  — “the new and eternal covenant.” To deliberately choose not to attend Mass is to fail to live up to one of our most basic responsibilities as a Christian. If we want to benefit from the “new and eternal covenant” that offers salvation, we must ensure that we’re actually participants in it.