As some dioceses in the United States are beginning to restore the Sunday Mass obligation, I think it might be time to publicly wrestle with the disconnect between lifetimes of catechism classes telling us that missing Sunday Mass is a mortal sin, and the fact that every diocese in the United States, starting with our own, suspended the Sunday obligation (and often public Mass itself!) in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aided by conversations with parishioners in the confessional, I have found that it is helpful to separate the 3rd Commandment (“Keep holy the Sabbath day”) from the Sunday Mass obligation. The 3rd Commandment, like all of the 10 Commandments, is divine law and therefore absolute: it does not admit of any exceptions, and a direct and intention violation of it is a mortal sin. We must always keep holy the Sabbath day, no matter what. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass, however, is an ancient Christian practice required by the Church. In other words, from the first century until now, the Church has determined that the way in which we keep holy the Sabbath Day is, at minimum, to attend Sunday Mass. And because we, as Catholics, submit ourselves to the authority of the Church on these matters, failing to attend Mass when the Church requires it qualifies as a direct violation of the 3rd commandment.
I have found this distinction super helpful, personally, because it has clarified for me how the Church can say that the sick, the homebound, travelers, and those forced to work by their employers may be exempted from the Sunday Mass obligation; and it helps explain how a bishop has the authority to tell people they should not or cannot come to Mass on a Sunday because of a pandemic. We must always keep holy the sabbath day, but the Church has the power to require a minimum standard and then provide exceptions to that standard. Which means that even when we are sick, homebound, travelling, working, or in a pandemic, we must still find ways to keep Sunday holy. Personally, I find the Mass requirement the easiest way to do this, because I just have to show up. Not being able to attend Mass, and having to find other ways to pray and honor God on my own, is quite a lot more work, as I am sure many of you have learned on your “off” weeks.
As we prepare for the end of this pandemic, now would be a good time for all of us to ask about our Sunday practices. If we have fallen out of the habit of praying every Sunday, whether we attend Mass in person or not, this Lent would be an excellent time to rededicate ourselves to some form of prayer at home. Eventually our archbishop will restore the Sunday Mass obligation and I want to make sure we are ready for it. Plus, it is divine law, so there is that to consider.
Fr. Moore 