How far away must Mass be

[Resurrexi]

What is the distance from the nearest Mass one must be for one to be no longer obliged to attend Mass?

[cappie]

There is nothing I know that gives a distance however the common teaching of theologians in the past and now is this: Travel excuses from the Sunday obligation as often as it is impossible to interrupt the travel without moderately serious inconvenience. For instance, if one should be making a necessary and long journey by train or plane and those in charge of the travel do not permit a stop or sufficiently long stop to fulfill the obligation.

There is a basic principle in moral theology that states that while a negative law (i.e. one that commands a person to NOT do something, e.g. “thou shalt not commit adultery”) binds very strictly, a positive law (i.e. a commandment that obliges someone to DO something) can only bind if the circumstances actually allow the commandment to be fulfilled. In Latin this is phrased ad impossibilem nihil tenetur, or “in the case of the impossible, nothing binds”. I like to translate it as “if you just can’t do it, you just can’t do it”.

Of course, it is always good to try and do something to show our sincerity to the Lord, that we are not trying to take advantage of our circumstances to “get away” with breaking a commandment.

[Theoketos]

heheh, an unreasonable distance.