“Okay, Patrick, here’s the deal. Just moved to a pretty remote part of North Carolina and there isn’t a Catholic church within a hundred miles of here, and the drive is a good 2 hours each way, making it pretty tough. Here is the question: Is it better to a non-Catholic church (probably Baptist) just to get the worship time in, or is it better to skip altogether and find an alternative online app or something?”
That was the email a listener named John submitted to The Patrick Madrid Show, hoping to receive some much-needed advice from Patrick regarding this moral predicament.
Patrick began by explaining why neither of John’s proposed options were good ones. He said while he understands John’s desire to find time to worship God on Sunday, attending a Protestant or Baptist worship service does nothing to fulfill the requirement of attending Mass. Worship can be done anywhere, including in the privacy of your own home. Paramount to all other differences, it is the Blessed Sacrament that is lacking from other services.
“I would say no to the option of going to a Baptist church, because in a way that’s kind of defeating the purpose, but the other thing is, if you watch something online…I wouldn’t look to that as a solution either,” said Patrick. He went on, explaining that many people still operate under the idea that watching Mass online somehow fulfills your Sunday obligation to attend Mass.
Patrick clarified by saying that even during the COVID era this was true. Watching a digital form of Mass was not fulfilling the Sunday obligation, but that was because the obligation was lifted when churches were closed and it was impossible to attend Mass in person. The practice of watching Mass online was a way to stay in rhythm and continue to devote time to God on Sundays. It was the next best thing.
Patrick instead proposed a third option to John: make the sacrifice and drive two hours each way every Sunday to get to Catholic Mass in person. He asked John to imagine that his friends had invited him to a golf trip that required him to drive several hours away. Most if not all of us would all be willing to make the sacrifice of driving several hours to enjoy an outing with friends. If we’re willing to drive that far for ourselves and our friends, can we not make that sacrifice for Our Lord?
“So that’s my way of looking at this. No, don’t go to the Protestant church. No, don’t watch it at home on the app or anything. Just go. As the Nike people say, just do it. And I think you’ll look back later and you’ll say, ‘That was the right thing to do.'”
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