← The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
If You Need to Miss Mass, ALWAYS Do THIS First (Sunday Mass Dispensation Explained)
00:07:52
Attending Sunday Mass is essential in the Catholic faith, and intentionally missing Mass is a mortal sin, which requires confession before you can receive communion again. However, did you know that if you have a serious and legitimate reason for being unable to attend Mass, you can request a dispensation from your priest? Today, Fr. Mike explains that while missing Mass and requesting a dispensation should not become a regular occurrence, it is possible under certain valid circumstances. Tickets are on sale now for Fr. Mike Schmitz's Parables Tour at www.AscensionPress.com/FrMikeTour! May 19 - Washington, D.C. May 20 - Philadelphia, PA May 21 - Cincinnati, OH [SOLD OUT] May 22 - Nashville, TN Join Fr. Mike live for an unforgettable event as he unpacks the parables of Jesus. This is your chance to experience his powerful message in person!
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
I know we don't like that word. I don't like that word either. You're excited about this? Oh, my gosh. Here we go. Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents. Hey, guys, one quick thing before we get started. Ascension is committed to creating media that helps Catholics grow in their faith and in their relationship with the Lord, which is why we put up videos like this every single week, completely free. These are only possible because of people like you who have supported Ascension's free media with both their prayers and with their financial gifts. So if you believe in this mission or if you know someone who has been impacted by a video on this YouTube channel or any of Ascension's free media, please go to ascensionpress.com support and say your thanks. That's ascensionpress.com support thanks. We probably all know that the Sunday Mass is a pretty big requirement to go to Sunday Mass and holy days of obligation is such an important thing that to skip Sunday Mass or skip a holy day of obligation is a grave sin. Like, to intentionally do that is to. To commit a mortal sin. We know this meaning that if I intentionally skip Mass in order to receive Communion the next Sunday or whenever I go back to Mass, I have to go to confession first. Like it's a big deal. The Mass is the heart of the Christian faith. The Mass is the encapsulation of our redemption, right? It's the encapsulation. It is the representation of the event that saved the world and redeemed the world. And you and I are invited to participate in that Mass regularly on the Lord's Day, right? On Sundays. And so it is. It's not just important, it is essential. It's not just very, very, you know, highly recommended, but it's an obligation. Why? Because if I'm going to live this new life, if I'm going to walk in the grace of Jesus Christ, but I separate myself from the source of that grace, right? That the Mass we call the Mass, the source and the summit of all Christian life. Mass is the source and summit of all grace that's given to us, right? That this reality, that every grace, every ounce of redemption that comes to us comes to us from the cross. What's the Mass? The Mass is the representation of Jesus Christ's sacrifice of himself to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. To intentionally say, eh, I'll skip, is to intentionally separate myself from that dynamic living relationship. So here's the question. If I do that what do I do? Well, a, go to Confession and then start going to Mass. But what if. Here's the what if question comes up. Like, what if. What if I work in the hospital, I'm a nurse, I'm a doctor, I'm an emt. What if I'm the military and I'm deployed and I can't get to Mass because we don't have any Catholic chaplains In my, My. My unit and my division. Up here in Minnesota, Northern Minnesota, we have the Boundary Waters. So the Boundary Waters people go up and what if I'm taking my family? We're going up to the Boundary Waters, but because of work and because all these things, we're going over a weekend, like, what do I do then? Well, this is actually pretty fascinating. Did you know that if you know that you're not going to be able to make it to Mass because of work or some other kind of obligation, or because you're taking your family up to the Boundary Waters? And last I checked, unless you have a priest in the family, you will not be able to have Mass when you're up in the Boundary Waters. Did you know that in the catechism, it indicates that you can actually ask for dispensation from your pastor? That if you know that, yeah, I'm going to Boundary Waters, or I know. Gosh, the way this worked out, we have a lot of athletes on our campus. And sometimes the athletes are like, father, there's a tournament over the weekend. I want to get to Mass. I've asked my coach if I can skip a game and make it to Mass. And they're like, absolutely not. What do I do? Oh, we're traveling over the time. I would have ducked out of the game, but we're in the bus or we're in a plane while Mass is happening. What do I do again? You can ask for a dispensation. Just ask your proper pastor and say, father, there is some good reason why I will not be able to make it to Mass this upcoming weekend. Can I have a dispensation? And he has the ability to give you the dispensation from that Sunday obligation. Now, now, we don't want to make that a habit. Obviously, if we can change it, if we can make it to Mass, then we want to do everything we possibly can to make it to Mass. But if you find yourself in that place where you're stuck, there is a way forward, and that is by asking your pastor for dispensation. Now, he might say, okay, so have you really exhausted all opportunities. Have you really checked all options? Have you really actually made an effort? He might ask that, and he also might say, okay, in that case, on that day, say you're going to the Boundary Waters. On that day, I'm going to ask that you and your whole family read the readings for mass that day and pray with them. Or I'm going to ask that you maybe pray a rosary as a family. Or I'm going to ask whatever the thing is. Now, that's not a replacement, but it is a way that your pastor, who gave you the dispensation, is asking you to still live out the Lord's Day. Now, sometimes people do this. They're like, you know what? I can't make the mess on Sunday. I'll just go on Monday. No, we have to actually ask for dispensation. Now, why is that important? Well, let's go back to the heart of sin. What's a sin? You've heard me say this a thousand times. A sin is not just breaking a rule. It's not an accident, it's not a mistake. Sin is where we're telling God, God, I know what you want. I don't care. I want what I want. So sin is basically, God, I know I'm going to do what I want to do. Sin is the opposite of submitting myself to God's will. What is dispensation? That's saying, God, I know what your will is, and I want to do your will. I'm not able to because of X, Y, or Z. So I'm asking your representative, like my pastor, I'm asking him for permission to be excused. I mean, it's kind of like this. I remember hearing the example, like, imagine your family had. You always get together for like, Sunday brunch or whatever. The thing is, right, there's some kind of meal that your family's always there. It's like kind of rain or shine, doesn't matter what's happening. The family gets together, we have this meal. That's what makes us a family. It's our one time we get together for sure, we have to be there. Now, it's one thing to say, ah, mom and dad, I'm really sorry. There's a real good reason, may I be excused? And they're like, sure, we understand. There's a real good reason versus, you know what, I'll just skip and I'll say I'm sorry later on. And I have to say that I know for myself. I've been largely influenced by one of my uncles who once said, you know, better to beg forgiveness and ask permission. I took that and ran with it. Like he did not intend for me to take it and run with it. But I sometimes have really taken that to the heart. But in this case, it is much, much better to ask permission than have to beg for forgiveness. Why? Because by asking for permission, I'm saying again, God, I want to do what you want me to do. There's a real good reason why I may not be able to. Rather than take it upon myself to say, I'll just go my own way, I'm asking for permission. I'm asking to be excused. And that keeps us in this real way, in relationship, right? Because every real relationship has real rights. We have access to the Father, we have access to the sacraments, we have access to God's grace. But every real relationship also has real responsibilities. And part of that real responsibility, being part of this real family called the church, is we're expected to show up for that communal worship as the family. And so if I'm not going to show up, I don't just take that on myself. I can ask the representative of that community, that priest, my pastor, I can ask him for dispensation. And it shows the fact that I want to be part of this family. I'm not separating myself from this family. But there is a good reason why I can't make it. So please, may I be excused? Of course we have to be on danger against again, making it a habit or making it kind of one of those default positions. But know that that actually is an option for you. Not an option, but essential. But if you can't make it, ask for dispensation. It's a real thing anyways, from all this here to sense presents. My name is Father Mike. God bless.