Sunday Obligation: How to Reassure Newcomers by Rev. Anthony Cekada (1994)
Question: I worry about losing potential converts from the Novus Ordo because of the “Sunday obligation” question. Someone is revolted by the Novus Ordo and starts coming to my Mass. Then some new breed priest tells him that he is “not fulfilling his Sunday obligation” — as if Vatican II types believed in that any more. The potential convert starts to worry. Do you have any suggestions on how to reassure such people?
Answer: If your convert already has already arrived at a firm conclusion that the Novus Ordo is irreverent and non-Catholic, you might approach the subject along the following lines:
The modern clergy sometimes claim that going to a traditional Latin Mass at a church not approved by the diocese does not fulfill the Sunday obligation or is a sin.
Implicit in such a statement is the notion that a Catholic is somehow “obliged” to go to the New Mass. This is dead wrong. Your first obligation is to honor God and save your soul. No one can legitimately oblige you to assist at a Mass that both dishonors God through its irreverence and endangers your salvation through undermining the Catholic faith.
As regards “sin,” if you’ve gone to the New Mass for a while, you’ve probably figured out that the modern clergy have just about managed to do away with the idea of sin. If going to the traditional Mass is a “sin,” it’s probably the only one the post-Vatican II clergy still believe in.
Question: I worry about losing potential converts from the Novus Ordo because of the “Sunday obligation” question. Someone is revolted by the Novus Ordo and starts coming to my Mass. Then some new breed priest tells him that he is “not fulfilling his Sunday obligation” — as if Vatican II types believed in that any more. The potential convert starts to worry. Do you have any suggestions on how to reassure such people?
Answer: If your convert already has already arrived at a firm conclusion that the Novus Ordo is irreverent and non-Catholic, you might approach the subject along the following lines:
The modern clergy sometimes claim that going to a traditional Latin Mass at a church not approved by the diocese does not fulfill the Sunday obligation or is a sin.
Implicit in such a statement is the notion that a Catholic is somehow “obliged” to go to the New Mass. This is dead wrong. Your first obligation is to honor God and save your soul. No one can legitimately oblige you to assist at a Mass that both dishonors God through its irreverence and endangers your salvation through undermining the Catholic faith.
As regards “sin,” if you’ve gone to the New Mass for a while, you’ve probably figured out that the modern clergy have just about managed to do away with the idea of sin. If going to the traditional Mass is a “sin,” it’s probably the only one the post-Vatican II clergy still believe in.
Question: I worry about losing potential converts from the Novus Ordo because of the “Sunday obligation” question. Someone is revolted by the Novus Ordo and starts coming to my Mass. Then some new breed priest tells him that he is “not fulfilling his Sunday obligation” — as if Vatican II types believed in that any more. The potential convert starts to worry. Do you have any suggestions on how to reassure such people?
Answer: If your convert already has already arrived at a firm conclusion that the Novus Ordo is irreverent and non-Catholic, you might approach the subject along the following lines:
The modern clergy sometimes claim that going to a traditional Latin Mass at a church not approved by the diocese does not fulfill the Sunday obligation or is a sin.
Implicit in such a statement is the notion that a Catholic is somehow “obliged” to go to the New Mass. This is dead wrong. Your first obligation is to honor God and save your soul. No one can legitimately oblige you to assist at a Mass that both dishonors God through its irreverence and endangers your salvation through undermining the Catholic faith.
As regards “sin,” if you’ve gone to the New Mass for a while, you’ve probably figured out that the modern clergy have just about managed to do away with the idea of sin. If going to the traditional Mass is a “sin,” it’s probably the only one the post-Vatican II clergy still believe in.