Why is it a Mortal Sin? Skipping Mass and Communion without Confession
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Ascension
4.9 • 7.1K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2019
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why is skipping mass a mortal sin? And when we do go to mass, why do we need to receive communion in a state of grace?
It’s tempting to believe we can love God in whatever way suits us, but that’s not how love works. The way we express our love for God is through obedience and worship. Fr. Mike speaks a harsh truth when he says, “If you love God on your own terms, you don’t love God, you love yourself.”
In the first of two explanations, Fr. Mike explains that going to Mass on Sunday is our weekly chance to prove our love for God.
Fr. Mike’s second lesson in this video addresses the issue of receiving Communion in the state of mortal sin, which follows the logic of the first lesson above.
Communion with God is only possible once we have been reconciled with God and his Church. Both Christ and St. Paul make this clear:
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:27).
Fr. Mike briefly addresses what sin is, and directs his viewers to this previous episode of his wherein he addresses the topic more thoroughly: What is Sin?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Can I be real for a second? For just a millisecond? |
| 0:02.4 | The Dalmagadon, the people in the whole I feel the second? |
| 0:05.6 | I am the model of a modern major general, the veteran, |
| 0:08.5 | the venerated Virginian veteran who's been all lining up. |
| 0:11.6 | Okay, here we go. |
| 0:16.1 | Hi, my name's Father Mike Spins and this is the Century Sense. |
| 0:19.1 | So a young man had emailed me recently and he asked about |
| 0:23.2 | what's the big deal? A, he had two, a couple questions, a bunch of questions, |
| 0:26.2 | actually a lot of questions, but here's the two. |
| 0:28.5 | One was, or a, or a, was, what's the big deal? |
| 0:33.4 | Like, why would intentionally skipping mass on Sunday or holy |
| 0:38.1 | this publication? Why would that be a mortal sin? |
| 0:39.9 | Like, why that has the weight of a mortal sin? |
| 0:42.5 | The second question was, why, well, I'll just go to the first one. |
| 0:46.0 | Here's a shortage answer. Here's the briefest answer, |
| 0:48.8 | briefest that, briefest of answers that I can offer of, |
| 0:51.6 | why would skipping mass on Sunday be a mortal sin? |
| 0:54.1 | The kind of sin that separates us from God, |
| 0:57.0 | because one of the things that happens is we think, well, no, |
| 1:00.4 | I made the nub the video about this, but we sometimes reduce sin to what hurts |
| 1:03.8 | to someone else or what seems to be a massive, |
| 1:07.5 | a massive rebellion against God. |
... |
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