When the Sunday Mass Obligation Binds and Ceases to Bind

This lecture was given at Sanctus Ranch, Pipe Creek, TX, on April 28, 2024.

The Sunday Mass obligation—in particular, the circumstances under which it may cease to bind—is a topic of considerable practical importance in our times. It is a positive precept of the Church that we must attend or assist at or hear Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation. As a positive precept, the commandment to go to Mass is to be followed when and as it can be rightly followed.

When I began to look into this question more deeply, I was surprised at the broad-minded attitude that older (preconciliar) moralists took on the question of circumstances that make the obligation to attend Mass not binding on an individual or a family. Given the stubborn survival of the 1960s revolution down to the present day and the worsening liturgical situation in many places, it’s time we recover the more supple analysis of our forefathers. This, I believe, will help to ease the troubled consciences of laity who feel crushed between a rock and a hard place.

In the first part, I summarize the views of widely-read preconciliar moral theologians. The second part concerns what the faithful should do in the case of irreverent Masses or the lack of availability of traditional Masses. The third part is why the Novus Ordo should be avoided as a matter of principle.

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