When does the obligation to attend Mass begin?
score:9
[UPDATED, substantially revised, and corrected]
The short answer is that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass begins when children reach the age of reason, age seven at the earliest.
Children become subject to Canon Law as soon as they are baptized: Canon 96 of the Code of Canon Law [CIC] says,
By baptism one is incorporated into the Church of Christ and is constituted a person in it with the duties and rights which are proper to Christians in keeping with their condition, insofar as they are in ecclesiastical communion and unless a legitimately issued sanction stands in the way.
However, merely ecclesiastical laws do not bind until the subject reaches the age of reason:
Merely ecclesiastical laws bind those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, possess the efficient use of reason, and, unless the law expressly provides otherwise, have completed seven years of age (Can. 11).
The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days is, in fact, an ecclesiastical law, found in Canon 1247:
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.
Therefore, insofar as the child’s obligation is concerned, it cannot begin until the subject is seven years of age, and never applies if he is does not have the use of reason (e.g., the severely mentally handicapped).
Having said that, children still have certain rights as baptized Catholics that parents have the obligation to respect.
For example, all the Christian faithful (including children) have a right to be educated in the Faith:
Since they are called by baptism to lead a life in keeping with the teaching of the gospel, the Christian faithful have the right to a Christian education by which they are to be instructed properly to strive for the maturity of the human person and at the same time to know and live the mystery of salvation. (Can. 217).
Moreover, parents have a duty to impart that education to their children:
Therefore, it is for Christian parents particularly to take care of the Christian education of their children according to the doctrine handed on by the Church (Can. 226).
Since, starting at age seven, children will be obliged to live out their faith by attending Mass, they should be already used to attending Mass before that obligation begins.
Therefore, parents do have leeway regarding whether to bring very young children to Mass—which can be logistically difficult—but the goal should be to bring them to Mass as soon as that is feasible.
(Naturally, the obligation to be at home with young children constitutes one of the “grave” causes that can excuse someone from going to Mass, along with illness, the obligation to take care of the ill, etc.)
Source: “Are there any guidelines from the Church regarding bringing children to Mass?” from Catholic Answers. (Thanks to svidgen for pointing this out.)
More post
- 📝 Does Catholicism allow rebaptism?
- 📝 Why did the people believe that no one would know where the Christ came from?
- 📝 What were Martin Luther's opinions on the Crusades?
- 📝 What happened to the tribe of Dan in Revelation?
- 📝 Are Catholics not supposed to pray the St. Michael Prayer?
- 📝 Why is the Bible subject to a high level of interpretation?
- 📝 Who is the king described in 2 Kings 8:1–6?
- 📝 Is a claim of 50,000,000 Baptist martyrs accurate?
- 📝 What does 'ages of ages' mean, specifically?
- 📝 Digital versions of Greek Bibles
- 📝 Making a vow and defaulting - is there forgiveness?
- 📝 Is there a difference between theology and apologetics?
- 📝 What is the meaning of the phrase "Entertaining Angels"?
- 📝 When Friday asks "Why God no kill the devil?" is Robinson Crusoe's response in line with Anglican theology?
- 📝 If baptism cleanses original sin then why do the children of baptised parents still need to be baptised?
- 📝 How can trinitarians profess co-equality when Jesus said the Father was greater?
- 📝 Who is the American Catholic Church?
- 📝 Does Unitarianism - as a whole - worship God as a Person?
- 📝 A paradox that arises from Christian duty as "ambassador"
- 📝 Within the Catholic Church, what are the main reasons given for the decline of Catholicism in the Netherlands?
- 📝 Did John Calvin teach that souls 'pre-existed'?
- 📝 What is the difference between lust and sexual desire?
- 📝 Saints in Heaven?
- 📝 Why no specific names of false apostles and false brothers in Acts and epistles?
- 📝 What is an overview of methods used by Christian churches to discipline their members?
- 📝 Where does Jesus stand on war and peace?
- 📝 If God is omniscient , He would have forseen how He would send the flood and kill everyone
- 📝 How did the Inquisition impact modern Christianity?
- 📝 Is there a Bible-verse, what says that one must not quote the bible all the time?
- 📝 How do Filipino Catholics get a church annulment when their state marriage is valid, considering the Philippines doesn't have divorce?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When does the obligation to attend Mass begin?
- 📝 Can a priest give a Mass in American Sign Language (ASL)? What does he do when he is supposed to lift up the Eucharist while speaking in ASL?
- 📝 When only one species is validly consecrated, does the Sacrifice of the Mass take place?
- 📝 When the Bible talks about wine does it mean alcoholic wine?
- 📝 When does the Pope speak ex cathedra?
- 📝 When does the bread and wine become Body and Blood?
- 📝 When talking about the Trinity, what does "persons" mean?
- 📝 What actions does the LDS church (Mormon) take when a member does not pay tithing?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church mean when it calls humans co-creators with God?
- 📝 When did the Church in the West begin communicating in Latin, instead of Greek?
- 📝 Does the Bible indicate when the Ark of the Covenant officially disappeared?
- 📝 When did Martin Luther begin to see the church as entirely apostate?
- 📝 When and where does the statement, "Christ paid the penalty for our sins" first appear?
- 📝 From a LDS perspective, when does the Holy Ghost get a Physical Body?
- 📝 Does the seal of confession apply even when the sin is intended and there is no desire to repent?
- 📝 Where does God draw the line when it comes to Sin?
- 📝 How does our work on this earth transfer into the new earth when God returns?
- 📝 During communion, when does the wafer stop being Jesus' body?
- 📝 When did the Latin Catholic Church begin to generally require fasting only one hour prior to the Eucharist?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 Does the Bible prescribe any rules for who may attend and "join" a Catholic church?
- 📝 When did the use of formal, seminary-type education begin and why?
- 📝 When scripture quotes a non-biblical source, without any opposition of the source, does it imply any endors*m*nt?
- 📝 Why does Mosaic Law insist on primogenitur even when the dad despises the first born son's mother?
- 📝 When did the concept of οὐσία begin to refer to God's nature?
- 📝 Where in the Bible does it mention that God mourns with us when we mourn?
- 📝 What does the Nicene Creed mean when it says that the Father and the Son are of the same substance?
- 📝 When did the early church begin reciting the Lord's Prayer in corporate worship?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, why does Paul spend so much time arguing that the law doesn't apply, when Jesus seems to indicate that it does?
- 📝 When a Jehovah's Witness is reinstated how does the congregation react?