Why Weekly Mass?

[thomasaquinas3]

To whom it may concern,
A few of my friends have approached me asking for the reasons that we, as Catholics, are required to go to Mass every Sunday, I was shocked that I had no idea, it is just one of those things that we do. So, I told them I would try to find an answer, and I hope you can help. I will copy and paste part of an e-mail from a friend as well...


I have a religious question for you. Why does the Catholic Church say that we have to attend a Catholic mass on Sundays? Why can't we go to mass at least once a month and worship God at other churches the other Sundays? I mean I understand that you can only get the body of Christ at mass, but if Jesus said do this in memory of me does this mean we have to do it every Sunday or in some cases every day? Does it have to with tradition, and if it does would the apostles have had mass every Sunday thinking that the end of the world was during their time, so they wouldn't have that many Sundays to receive. I'm just curious, because it seems like we are sending the message to all the other denominations that their service is not as good. And it tends to offend people when they find out that I can't go to their church instead of mine one Sunday. So anyway just wondering and if you could answer that would be great. In no way did I mean this to be challenging or insulting, I'm curious about why things are the way they are.



Thank you very much for your time, and God bless!

In Christ with the Immaculata,

ThomasAquinas3
MI

[cappie]

The obligation to participate in Mass on Sundays goes back to the very foundations of the faith. The first Christians were Jews who would have worshiped God every Sabbath. In Acts 2:46-47 the Scripture notes that the faithful went a a body to the Temple but met in their houses for the breaking of the bread and the prayers. So from the very outset a characteristic of the new movement was to gather together for what we would call Mass. They gathered after sundown on the Sabbath to commemorate the Resurrection. By the 2nd century, the weekly eucharistic ritual had been fully moved to Sunday. In time , Sunday liturgy became known as the Sunday Obligation

Of course the Mass is the supreme prayer for Catholics and therefore is the preferred prayer by which Catholics keep holy the Lord's Day

[b]From The Code of Canon Law[/b]

Can. 1247 On Sundays and other holydays of obligation, the faithful are obliged to assist at Mass. They are also to abstain from such work or business that would inhibit the worship to be given to God, the joy proper to the Lord's Day, or the due relaxation of mind and body.

Can. 1248 §1 The obligation of assisting at Mass is satisfied wherever Mass is celebrated in a catholic rite either on a holyday itself or on the evening of the previous day.

§2 If it is impossible to assist at a eucharistic celebration, either because no sacred minister is available or for some other grave reason, the faithful are strongly recommended to take part in a liturgy of the Word, if there be such in the parish church or some other sacred place, which is celebrated in accordance with the provisions laid down by the diocesan Bishop; or to spend an appropriate time in prayer, whether personally or as a family or, as occasion presents, in a group of families.

[b]From the Catechism[/b]

[b]The Sunday Eucharist [/b]

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."


2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another."


Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop." It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love:


You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.

[b]The Sunday obligation [/b]

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."

2181 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.

2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.