Why Must We Attend Mass Every Sunday?
As members of the Catholic Church, we are morally obligated to follow five precepts of the Church. The first and foremost of these precepts requires the faithful to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Obviously, this precept has its roots in the 3rd Commandment from the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai that adjures us to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Yet, some may ask why God would place such an obligation upon us. After all, wouldn’t it be just as proper to take time out of our busy schedules in the comfort of our own homes, or in some isolated cabin in the woods? Why must we attend Mass on Sundays rather than simply stay home and rest up for the workweek that lies ahead? The simple answer can be found in the Book of Exodus 3:18. The common understanding of Moses’s mission to Pharaoh was to request that the Israelites be set free from slavery. But careful reading of this verse reveals that Moses initially asked Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to go on a three days’ journey into the desert to offer sacrifice to the Lord. Rather than complete emancipation from the toils of slavery, Moses simply asked for a vacation, as if to suggest to Pharaoh that after a little break from work, the Israelites would return to their bonds and labors.
Of course, God knew that the Israelites had become enslaved in more ways than physical toil. They had also become enslaved by Egyptian culture, finding themselves surrounded by the various and false gods of their captors. The Israelites had forgotten the One True God, and unless they could break free of the bonds that enslaved them, they would never be free, no matter how far they ventured from Egypt. After hundreds of years in slavery, God’s chosen people had forgotten the One who had chosen them. Subjugated to the authority and rule of Pharaoh, the Israelites had likewise submitted to the culture in which they were held captive, and rather than worshiping the One True God, they followed the practices of their captors and worshipped many false gods. And Pharaoh knew full well that in order to remain in power, it was necessary to lord his power over those who were his subjects. Pharaoh knew if the Israelites were to experience even a few days of liberty they would desire even more freedom and it would be virtually impossible to control them, much less convince them to return to their status as slaves.
Unlike Pharaoh, God, who is the One True Lord, does not lord His authority and control over us. By granting us free will, God allows us to choose for ourselves who we will follow. But God understands that if we do not take time out from the busy-ness of life, we, like the Israelites, will choose to follow many false gods. Getting caught up in the demands of popular culture, work, and even play, we can lose sight of what truly matters most in our lives. As Jesus reminded the Pharisees in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God intended the Sabbath to be a holy day of rest and worship, to remind us of our duty to God, rather than simply following the law as prescribed by the Pharisees in Jesus’s time.
In many respects, sin is like slavery. It confines us and binds us, often against our free will and deprives us of true liberty and happiness. God who truly loves us and gives us the freedom to choose to love Him and follow Him, does not force us to do so. Instead, He gives us the freedom to break the bonds of slavery by reminding us that Sundays and holy days are to be set aside as a means of breaking the bonds of the false gods who would otherwise rule our lives.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.” "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day.
Winston Kenton — SFA Theologians Guild Member