“Ask the Deacon” is a new column in which the three Transitional Deacons who will be ordained June 3 to the priesthood in the Diocese of Providence — Deacons Brian Morris, Joseph Brice and Stephen Battey — will respond to questions about the faith from Rhode Island Catholic readers.
Q. Is it really a sin if I miss Sunday Mass?
This question used to preoccupy the mind of teenagers, but today it is a very common question among almost every Catholic.
Besides the fact that Sunday is the feast of God, the day of the resurrection, and God himself commands us to “keep holy the Sabbath” (Exodus 20: 8-10), there are three basic reasons one should never miss Mass.
1) Gratitude. How else do we thank the Lord for all he has done for us? As St. Paul says, “What do we have that we have not received” (1 Cor. 4: 7)? Health, a place to live, a job, doing well in school, good friends, a hopeful future, joy, love and peace are all gifts. Are all these the fruits of our personal efforts? God gives us all these and much more. Should we not in return set aside some time to thank him for them, and in the way he chooses? We only exist because of God. He is the reason why we breathe, think, move, laugh and cry. He is the reason we remain alert when driving, focus when working, and awaken after a long night’s sleep. This is all his grace. In return for all these, he only asks that we worship him at least on Sunday. So, we go to Mass to express our gratitude.
2) We are hungry. “Like a deer that yearns for a running stream, my soul thirsts for you, My God” (Ps 42:1). “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” This is an inescapable reality we all have to face. Food, entertainment, people, money, fame do not satisfy that hunger. Deep down, we all feel something is missing; we feel empty. No earthly things satisfy us. Only frequent reception of the Eucharist satisfies this. The Eucharist is the way God “figured out” how to remain with us while he is gone. So we only do harm to ourselves when we fail to take advantage of this invisible but substantial reality existing in the Mass.
3) Satisfy our basic needs. It is where we learn how to become the best we can ever be. How do we find answers to the most burning and inescapable questions of life—questions like: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What must I do to be happy? What is the meaning of my life? What is my purpose? Left to our own devices, we never answer these basic questions clearly, objectively and honestly. Without the voice of God speaking to us in the sanctuary of our heart through the gospel, we answer them in ways that only satisfy our selfish interests.
We come to Mass, at least once a week, so that we become students at the school of the teacher who knows us better than we know ourselves, and answers our most intimate questions in the way that most befits our needs.
Have a question? Ask the Deacon!
Readers may submit questions for the deacons to consider by sending them to Editor@thericatholic.com, with Ask the Deacon noted in the Subject Line.
