{"id":1354,"date":"2013-05-13T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2015-03-12T16:50:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T23:50:17","slug":"why-catholics-skip-mass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lisahendey\/2013\/05\/why-catholics-skip-mass\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Catholics Skip Mass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>I recently read an interesting article on the blog of Father Christopher M. Zelonis \u2014 another \u201cFr. Z\u201d \u2014 who calls himself a \u201cCatholic Priest, Amateur Musician, Insatiable Verbivore and Dedicated Runner\u201d<\/p>\n

The post in question was called \u201cUnpacking the Precepts\u201d: The Lord\u2019s Day Observance<\/a> and it delved into the reasons that the average Catholic misses Sunday Mass. Among them, the following:<\/p>\n

Sabbath Rest. As one CCD student told me when I was a seminarian visiting her class, \u201cDaddy says that he works all week and wants to rest on Sundays.\u201d The response that \u201cGod worked, too,\u201d holds no weight because He\u2019s God. Creation was no sweat off His back; only a Word was necessary! He \u201crested\u201d as an example for us, so that we should not become exceedingly consumed with production, results, and cash flow. Which came first: businesses having Sunday hours or shoppers engaging in Sunday commerce? Even the good people of Alcoholics Anonymous know, \u201cFor us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded\u201d (\u201cBig Book,\u201d p. 127).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You seriously need to click through and read the others, but especially take note of Fr. Z\u2019s offer:<\/p>\n

Let me know if I, as a priest, can do anything to help you. I\u2019ll pray, for starters.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yesterday, I sat in Mother\u2019s Day Mass and looked around me at all of the beautiful families who\u2019d made a priority of attending Mass together on Mom\u2019s special day. I pondered to myself how many of us moms seated in the Congregation would give just about anything to have this every<\/strong> Sunday, not just once a year on the second Sunday of May.<\/p>\n

We know from the most recent CARA numbers<\/a> that only 24% of US Adult Catholics say they attend Mass at least once per week or more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Maybe we need to take Father Zelonis up on his prayer offer. And perhaps being a part of the New Evangelization should mean regularly inviting our loved ones to attend Eucharist with us. By extending an open hand and a loving invitation to return to Church on Sunday mornings, we may stem the tide.<\/p>\n

A question for you:<\/strong><\/em> For those \u201cCatholics\u201d in your life who do not attend Mass on a weekly basis, what is the main reason they do not prioritize Mass attendance?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read an interesting article on the blog of Father Christopher M. Zelonis \u2014 another \u201cFr. Z\u201d \u2014 who calls himself a \u201cCatholic Priest, Amateur Musician, Insatiable Verbivore and Dedicated Runner\u201d The post in question was called \u201cUnpacking the Precepts\u201d: The Lord\u2019s Day Observance and it delved into the reasons that the average Catholic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[973,136,42],"class_list":["post-1354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-evangelization","tag-family-life","tag-mass","tag-priests"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Catholics Skip Mass<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I recently read an interesting article on the blog of Father Christopher M. Zelonis -- another "Fr. 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