Many young Catholics in the 21st century have begun asking themselves what it means to be Catholic in modern times. Does one still have to keep the Sabbath? Can one still be a good Catholic and miss mass regularly? In the minds of many young Catholics, no, they don’t and yes, they can. In a 2005 National Catholic Reporter survey, ninety-five percent of young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five stated they believed one can be a good Catholic and not go to mass (D’Antonio). The survey also stated that only fifteen percent of young Catholics go to mass regularly and that only thirty-three percent confessed they would never leave the Church. What these statistics reveal is the urgent need to reeducate young Catholics who hold such opinions because they are not Catholic. Too many of today’s young adults are redefining what it means to be a good Catholic. This crisis needs to be addressed post haste before other people begin losing the right understanding of orthodox Catholicism. The intention of this paper, therefore, is to shed light upon the erring perspective of many young Catholics in this country who believe you can be a faithful Catholic and not attend mass. I will explain, using logic, Scripture and Church teaching, why one must follow the command to keep holy the Sabbath and why it is impossible to be a good Catholic and not attend mass weekly if one wishes to be a faithful follower of Christ.
Catholics must keep the Sabbath day holy if they wish to be Catholic. “Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God” (Exodus 20:8-10). These words, given to us by God Himself are not to be taken half-heartedly. God created a covenant with man, and man, in gratitude for this covenant, should say thank you by giving God the worship and adoration He deserves. Catholics tend to forget that the covenant between God and man meant so much to God that He sent His only beloved Son to suffer and die in order to save us from our sins and bring us to eternal life. Because this concept seems alien to most young adults, it helps to compare this idea with something on a purely natural level. For example, if someone were to save our life from death through CPR, we would thank them profoundly. So too should we be with God. We should want to thank God who saved not only our bodies, but also our immortal souls from everlasting death, since He really did save us by bringing us back into friendship with Him. Thus, to give God one day a week is the least we can do in gratitude for all He did and continues to do for us.
Next comes the issue relating to the filial obedience we owe God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the “third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the Sabbath: ‘The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest’" (2168). Thus, Sunday is a day to rest. Why? Because God said so and if we love God we will keep His commandments. Christ stated at the Last Supper “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). If one wants to work on saving their soul and gaining salvation, one must always do what God says. To do otherwise is to not obey God, to sin, and hence grow farther away from God. Is this something people really want to do? Perhaps not, but they do not consider that God loves obedience and especially loves those who follow His commands. Whom does a mother have greater affection for, her obedient child or her disobedient child? The answer is obviously the obedient one, but God is the same way. Obedience is, therefore, the proof of your love for God and the key to starting an intimate friendship with Him. “If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love” (John 15:10). If we will want this love, we must show Him our love.
Furthermore, if one wanted to look at the Ten Commandments on a scale of importance from top to bottom, it says something having keeping the Sabbath number three on the “top ten” list of things you must do to be saved. This obviously reveals that God Himself sees this as something of utmost importance to us, since it is to Him. He knows that if we are to be His children we need to give Him our time. As with any relationship, there needs to be time together and time spent getting to know the other person. God, knowing man better than he knows himself, wants to have an intimate relationship with him so that he can come to know, love, serve, obey and please God which will only increase the chances of his being happy with Him forever in eternity. Why would we want to go to heaven and spend time with someone we didn’t want to spend time with while on Earth? As Christ says “If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be” (John 12: 26). If we are to be His friends in Heaven, we must start by doing so now.
The next argument to refute is the idea that one can both be a good Catholic and not attend mass on Sunday. First, it must be stated that this idea is doctrinally impossible. Article 2180 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church emphatically declares “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.” Additionally, article 2181states “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.” To miss mass, therefore, without sufficient reason is a grave matter, which translates into mortal sin. Mortal sin means you are outside God’s grace and, should you die in that state, would go to hell. Additionally, in the gospel of St. John, Jesus says "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you will not have life in you." (John 6:53). To not go to mass, to not receive the very body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is to not have life in you. You are outside of Christ and hence are not being a good Catholic. Therefore to say one can miss mass and be a good Catholic is both wrong and impossible.
In conclusion, while many of today’s young adults are unaware of their error, it is nevertheless necessary that the truth be revealed so their attitudes can be corrected and so they can begin to practice and preach the true faith which Christ revealed. The people surveyed from this poll need to be told that keeping the Sabbath is an obligation which we, as Catholics, owe to Almighty God without question. For in the end, God wants nothing but our good. If we trust Him and do what He says, then we know that what we do is for our good and will lead us closer to achieving that union with God which we all crave. When we love someone we want to be with them. Because God loves us, He wants us to be with Him. We should, then, want to give Him back that same love, by following His commandments and spending time with Him at mass. To deliberately not follow His command to keep the Sabbath, is not loving God and ergo, not being a good Catholic. While it is hoped that this reality will open the minds of these young adults, one can only pray that at some point, God will touch their hearts and guide them back into full union with the Church and thus full union with Christ, by their coming to love God and observe His laws.
Works Cited
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Washington, DC. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops. 1997. 31 Oct. 2006
D’Antonio, William. “Survey of U.S. Catholic: Generational Differences.” National
Catholic Reporter. Table 4 (2005). 20 Oct. 2005
The Holy Bible. Douay-Rheims Version. Rockford, Il. TAN Books, 1989. DRBO.
2003. 20 Oct. 2006 < http://www.drbo.org/>.
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